Bear River Bird Refuge

Its a nice composition, but does lack the punch that some sunset or sunrise light would give it. Definitely get back during the magic hours - would love to see this comp with new light. Happy light hunting!

I'll second what David said. You did a good job with the conditions you had and the technical end of things looks to be solid. The main thing that this could benefit from is some better light to make it pop from top to bottom. The background mountains and the sky are just a bit too hazy and flat looking.

I like the detail of the reeds(?) the larger version offers . And the light is even, yet as mentioned unremarkable. I agree about a revisit at daybreak. I also think the comp is solid.

The variety of elements, the depth of the scene, and contrasting colors are very appealing. Maybe it's my laptop, but there appears to be some kind of "bubble" in the sky above and a bit left of the highest peak.

Thanks for the comments. I agree wholeheartedly about the light. I was there for the magic hour but the magic didn't happen. The gates of the refuge don't open until sunrise and this morning they opened just a little before so this wasn't right at sunrise but was shortly after. Nest try I can get there more quickly knowing where I want to go. I hung around for a while waiting for better light but it didn't happen. It is one of a number of sites that I have found that I will keep trying. I have another image from this morning that I will post to get your feelings on the comp. Tony, I will go back to the original and see if it is something that I did to cause a bubble.

Love the FG grasses - beautiful browns. The BG mountains & sky look a bit on the drab side however; I might consider boosting contrast a little back there.

I'll disagree with the others--personally i find the hazy flat light here a bit refreshing--a magic hour shot is the expected (and somewhat cliche) but his shows it like you would expect to see it, the light, color etc are appropriate for the conditions, which even if it isnt spectacular, make this more accessible. Its a nicely balanced comp too.

A beautiful scene, Chad. I like the muted colors and soft light.

I really like the basics and composition of this shot and your exposure on the foreground looks great. I would try some selective processing on the mountain-sky portion of this image. Just bringing up the black point in levels via photoshop on that portion would help a lot. Otherwise a nice photo.

Wonderful composition and scene, looks like a great place for bird photography. I might try some selective levels adjustment on the mountains but overall a nice pleasing image, well seen and well done.