Transcendental Reflectionby
m_sarzynskiComment by KaDi: Greetings from the Critique Club!
First impression, this is a crisp and believably saturated image. The setting is obvious and the subject clear...someone enjoying the outdoors on an overcast day. Well, I
think he or she is enjoying it....
Obviously the image was dinged by the DNMC votes. The most likely reason is the setting...though the challenge description gave latitude for non-urban settings I'm sure that many people couldn't get past the concept of "street." But the other part of the description calls for "candid" when a person is involved as the subject. Because the viewer cannot really see the person's expression in the image it is hard to interpret as a candid. So, as some of your commentators mentioned, it might have been more satisfying if some of the face showed.
Technically, this is fairly well handled. The exposure is pleasing. The colors are believable. The DOF separates the subject from the background. There are textures in the clothing that contrast with the softness of the surrounding nature. The horizon seems a little tilted but doesn't stand out, rather it gives a sense of possibly being in a boat. The cropping seems abrupt...a little too little on the left, perhaps, to provide balance for the figure.
On the whole, the purpose of the image is unclear to me. If this is about the person, I feel it lacks a sense of emotion. If about the landscape and a person's involvement with it, then the connection is tenuous...the subject aloof. If it's primarily about the landscape then the figure of the person is too prominent an only seems to obscure the setting.
Photographer found comment helpful.