Carew Castle No.17

[taffy]

I spent one morning taking shots of this castle in West Wales around sunrise. First thing the water was really still and I got a number of good colour shots with a perfect reflection of the castle in the water. Later the clouds developed and a breeze blew up, breaking up the reflection, although the sunlight was still coming through onto the water. I thought it would look better in B&W, so tried my hand at converting this one, practising dodging and burning - would be interested in any comments how how it could be improved?

Thanks

Taffy

[Marko]

This is quite good taffy! Holy banana do you ever live near scenic places


I can see that a bit of work went into this so far and it's starting to sing! I very much like the placement of the castle as well as the curve in the grassy shore in the foreground. Remember to keep your eye on the prize (focal point). For me the prize in this shot is the wicked castle. I think that's why you took the shot and titled it the way you did.

The water at the mid-left edge is stealing the show here as it is the brightest element in the shot. I would tone it down and dodge even harder on the castle's stone. The grass is a great element here but to my taste it's a bit too sharp. I'd rather see the grass softer and the castle sharper. One last thing, the patch of 'island grass' in the foreground has a 'halo' around it which is also a bit distracting.

Just so you know, at this point we are just fussing with the details.

Hope that helps

Marko

[tirediron]

I'm going to disagree with Marko on the composition. I find that the curve of the foreshore is actually leading my eye right out the LH side of the image, and with the subject being so far to the right, I miss it altogether. Overall, the treatment is good, and the mood of the image definitely suits.

[tegan]

I would also add that the post work: dodging etc. looks too obvious and unnatural and I think that a major crop from the left might help as well.

Tegan

[taffy]

Thanks for the comments, seems to be mixed opinions. I did consider cropping before posting but thought I would wait to see what the comments said.

Thanks
taffy

[scorpio_e]

I think the cropping is good. I might crop a little more on the left side I would burn around the trees. The light areas bring your eyes to the tree and I think you would the eyes to move to the castle.

[taffy]

For completeness and to practice the techniques I have re-worked my first effort following the comments made - see attached.

I went for a squarer crop; darkened the sky and grass slightly and darkened the highlights and halo on the water as well as dodging the castle.

Cheers

Taffy

[Marko]

This second rendition is much better IMO! Now my eye goes to the reason you took (and titled) the image in the first place

[tegan]

Great work! I much prefer this version.

Tegan

[wjeffries]

Yep, much better now. Love the square crop too.