Early morning before the tourists come
by RUEDISCHMUTZ

Comment by mycelium:
Great reflection. The boats in the foreground add to the sense of depth. The glow above the mountains is off-putting... I don't know if the sky was really like that or if that's an artifact of post-processing, but I wish it weren't there.

Not far from home
by RUEDISCHMUTZ

Comment by Germaine:
I'd have cropped out some of the bridge in the foreground. It overwhelms the cottages.

Invitation for dinner
by RUEDISCHMUTZ

Comment by KiwiShotz:
::: Critique Club :::
Immediately you open this image, it communicates quality. t's a quality setting and it's a quality photography. As soon as you open it, it's obvious that a lot of time and care have gone into making it. I frankly don't understand why it scored low 5's.

The comments are valuable in seeing what bugged people about it. You went for the flat light look and got it but what that cost you was definition. This is just the sort of image that you need an igloo for. That's the effect you were after but didn't have the tools to do it. The igloo is just a bigger version of the egg shell. You can make one out of silk or bedsheets. If you get a nice even round shape and pump your light in from outside, you get that overall lighting affect that you were looking for - and it's much more controllable.

With this kind of shot, you are allowed to cheat too you know. The wine looks a bit dull and flat and contributes to the image looking that way too. Most food photography doesn't use food. Ice cubes are plastic, ice cream is cornflour, gravy is gelatine etc etc. In this case, you could have used water first in the glass and then just dripped some wine into it until you had a balance of colour and light glow. I appreciate you were working against the sunrise, so you have to do this before hand and experiment a little.

Like some of the commenters I too find the colourings clash a little. The green plate and the blued tabled cloth don't sit well together. Perhaps a stark white plate would have worked better as a strong contrast to the black handles and almost black rose leaves.

Brett

Hot drink
by RUEDISCHMUTZ

Comment by eschelar:
This is one of the best fire pictures I've ever seen for exposure. Absolutely amazing.

I'm disappointed that there isn't more of the fire. I would have loved to see the top of the fire in this pic.

I seem to recall that performers a long time ago used to use alcohol like brandy or vodka for this trick. Couldn't find any mention of that in current use and no references to historical use. I guess the connection is still there in rumor tho.

Not far from home
by RUEDISCHMUTZ

Comment by Minstrel:
thank you for sharing this beautiful corner of your world

Hot drink
by RUEDISCHMUTZ

Comment by helenthura:
Really like this take on the topic.

Not far from home
by RUEDISCHMUTZ

Comment by mexico:
You've obviously put some thought into the composition of this shot and judging by the sky, you were lucky to get the sunlight.

Hot drink
by RUEDISCHMUTZ

Comment by jvchuy:
Now that is a HOT drink and a great picture

Hot drink
by RUEDISCHMUTZ

Comment by Commando303:
This is an amazing photograph, and it cleverly adheres to the "beverage" theme.

Hot drink
by RUEDISCHMUTZ

Comment by mkalandros:
Nice photo. Calling it a beverage is a bit of a stretch, though.