Sunset on Lake Ontarioby
firstduchessComment by emorgan49: Hello from the Critique Club - Sorry to be late with my review. Sometimes life intervenes.
This is an extraordinary photo! My first instinct is to only write "GASP!" and leave it at that. But probalby you want more words. Since it is perfect in my eyes, I can only tell you why I like it so much. I can't offer any suggestions for improvement.
This image brings to mind the very tightly controlled japanese gardens where even the stones and dirt are raked into lines to compliment the plantings. You have created a wild version of that idea. Had you raked the snow and sand and waves and clouds into that perfect pattern you could not have made it more precise. I suppose those are tire tracks, but WOW, they are lovely as they snake from right to left. Yes, the movement in the picture is all right to left, rather than the more common left to right. The wind blows left, the lines point left, the bouys are left, the snowbank piles up left. Nice!
You have three elements here: foreground, mid ground and back ground and each is exquisite in it's own right, But you make them tie together and compliment each other so the sum is even more than the perfect parts. Foreground: swirlies, moving grasses, muted tans, absolutley in focus. Mid ground: Ocean - white caps mirror the snow banks, flecks of white pick up the snow and clouds, muted blues, bouys as a point on interest (in the rule of thirds place, too). Background: Mirrors the fore and mid grounds, stripe of tan stripe pf blue. Now the tan is narrow, like the ocean and the sky is wide like the beach. The swirls are in the blue clouds. Gorgeous.
Textures! WOW! look at all those textures - grass, sand, snow, waves, clouds. They all work together without competing or getting cluttered! I can HEAR this scene, whoosh wind, swish little waves, swoosh draw me in.
I love the colors, they all go together so well, tans and blues, such soft colors, such sharp focus. I love the muted light. Sunset? It must have been FREEZING yet the picture has a warmish inviting feel despite the snow. I like the two little dabs of man made colors, red and blue.
Okay, I have a pet peeve about tilted pictures and I agree with the commenter who said the horizon is just a hair tilted. There! I found something to improve.
Message edited by author 2003-01-28 12:11:21. 
Photographer found comment helpful.