Melting Frost
by Drake

Comment by tjbel05:
Simple and lovely.

Melting Frost
by Drake

Comment by npasel:
Well done, I love this.

River Reflections
by Drake

Comment by Ecce_Signum:
Hi Drake and welcome from the Critique Club (albeit it a little late).

I'll dive right in with my issues with the image and why (I think) it got the score it did. For me the sky is not 'angry' as you say but has a large blown area then insipid greys (classic HDR effects). The overall image is a little boring for me however it is a lovely spot and I do like the reflection of the clouds in the river.

I think if this was cropped to a square, removing most of the sky it would look better and if there was a canoe or Swan sailing up the river then it would have faired much better imo. The different colours of the trees add to the scene.

The leading lines created by the banks of the river draw me nicely to the end of it and I wonder what is around the bend (if it is actually a bend). Maybe a polarizing filter would have helped the sky and cut through the reflection better than HDR?

Windy Day at Grand Haven
by Drake

Comment by snaffles:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Hmm thought I recognized that lighthouse ;-) Nice sharp punchy colours, though it's rather daring to have two red objects of the same hue in the pic as they're competing with each other for attention - my eyes are racing along the catwalk between the two going 'OOh! Aaah!' at each end, then back again. The crests of the waves are a little blown out, part of the problem with shooting tidal waters on a sunny day. Decent postcard-y shot.

More dof or a faster shutter speed might have helped a bit. Some would say to use an ND filter but then, you're shooting through another layer of glass, and it would be a shame to compromise the sharpness of that lens. Composition is straightforward but risks being cluttery with essentially two focal points at the right and left thirds. I'm npt super-crazy about the sandy shore as it's oof; focus stacking may be worth trying.

Hope this has been helpful

Susan

South Haven Light (circa 1872)
by Drake

Comment by snaffles:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Very nice shot, great crashing waves over the lighthouse and the breakwater/railing/lights line leads the eye straight there. Love the glowing red light in lighthouse, automatically leads the eye to a focus point.

But I think it would have done much better in Seascapes and Landscapes, as this is what it looks more like than a tribute to a recognized historic landmark. Here, the lighthouse is diminished by all the natural forces happening around it. It's playing a supporting role, not the lead. If you look at the front page and what won and placed in the top 5, you can see that the subject just fills the frame. DPC voters tend to be a very literal crowd; they want to see a historic landmark in all its glory, you better give it to them!

I know you were working with ambient conditions, also my favourite to work with. I think cropping out the sand on the lower part of the frame would have helped, you could have left just enough for the seagull to play in :-)

Feel free to PM me

Susan

South Haven Light (circa 1872)
by Drake

Comment by clickodak:
I really love it Give 8

Grand Haven Storm
by Drake

Comment by snaffles:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Nice dynamic shot of waves crashing up against the lighthouses, love the railing/walkway? along the top of the breakwater, spray everywhere, great green tones there in the waves like jade and peridot. The green contrasts perfectly with the red of the buildings and both colours echo the relative monochrome of the sky. I'm also a fan of the low pov which looks well-used here. I might have wanted to give it a little hit of contrast and saturation to bring out those hues some more, but that's my opinion.

But I do find the oof rocks in the foreground do suck some of the great energy out of this otherwise nicely focused, sharp image. Obviously you don't want to risk getting caught by those waves, but had there been a way to skirt around them for a less-obstructed view - or just managed to raise your pov a bit to avoid the bulk of them - I think this pic would have easily made the top ten. If they were completely unavoidable you could have tried focus stacking and taken a shot of only the rocks, in focus. But if you shot handheld, as your settings seem to indicate, that would be tough to accomplish.

Hey, it only just finished out of the TT and has two faves, so nothing to sneeze at there!

Hope this has been useful to you, feel free to PM me with any questions.

Susan

Grand Haven Storm
by Drake

Comment by Abra:
The rocks in the forgoing do not add to the image for me and are a little distracting. However, I love those waves so all is forgiven.

Windy Day at Grand Haven
by Drake

Comment by bmartuch:
Very nice. Love Grand Haven.

South Haven Light (circa 1872)
by Drake

Comment by sugarbear:
Amazing shot.