Rounding the Bend

[Iguanasan]

I'd appreciate hearing people's thoughts on the way I composed this shot. Please comment freely.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7347/15747636663_de673e4184_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/pZyKJX)

Rounding the Bend (https://flic.kr/p/pZyKJX) by Iguanasan (https://www.flickr.com/people/99125755@N00/), on Flickr

[Marko]

The comp and exposure are good and I like the reflection but to me it feels like he's too far from us. He's looking away which doesn't add any 'connection' to us and the gesturing feels incomplete if that makes any sense so it's not super-compelling for me I'm afraid.

[Runmonty]

I concur with Marko.

Generally I like the composition, however I feel it is halfway between two different photos, one being an action study of the skater, and the other being an exploration of the skaters interaction and placement within his environment

As as a study of the skater there isn't enough going on and not enough interaction. A small fraction of a second later or earlier may have shown greater extension of his legs which would be more dynamic.(but of course he wouldn't have been in the right location in the frame then)

I suspect you were more interested in the general composition of the skater on the ice as a design element. In this case I think the background hurts it. If you were elevated and were able to isolate the skater on the ice without the background, those beautiful curved lines and reflections would become more prominent, and the blue ice would be more striking.

Of course if you nail both at the same time it would be wonderful

I hope this makes sense and is just my 2 cents worth. Anyway what would I know, the only ice I ever see is in my gin & tonic.

[kennedyw]

Agree with both Marko and Runmonty, but at the next opportunity I would also watch out for the background pole placement and try to avoid staking him right in the centre....

[ewaizel]

Too much distraction in the background.
I like the ice reflections.

[Iguanasan]

Thanks, everyone. I appreciate the comments. I knew the shot had some issues, it was a quick grab on the way to work in the morning. There were a few speed skaters doing some light warm ups and timing a great shot would have taken longer than I had (had to get to work).

My big reason for asking was to see what comments about composition came through. We've been having some discussion around composition at my local photography club. This shot was intentionally "non-traditional" (ie. not rule of thirds) and yet I still felt it worked even if it wasn't one of my best shots. Maybe I'll fire up the composition discussion in another thread....

[asnow]

I like the composition, however I don't get a feeling of motion here at all. A little slower speed with a bit of blurr may have helped.