In the Valley at Dusk

peter, IMHO, it seems to be two compositions and there's relatively little coherence between the two halves. i find the top section compelling - the river snaking through the woods and the lower section (which appears a touch oversharpened to me) less so. the river appears out of the rock as well - this further does not help the comp. these are my observations & thoughts - many may disagree.

I think Stuart has pretty much said what I was thinking. The trick with this sort of near/far composition is to relate the FG to the BG in an interesting way and that just isn't happening here. The over-sharpening isn't really helping this much either. Not working for me, I'm afraid, Peter.

Lovely. The blue hues are a nice twist.

I think this works overall but . . . and I have to admit this surprises me, since I'm not always great at critiquing comps . . . upon viewing it I had many of the same thoughts that Stuart expressed so well. Like Stuart, I like the top half and wish you'd composed it with an emphasis on the river below, ignoring the fallen tree perhaps in favor of a some of the grasses that appear at the edge of the cliff. Like I said though, I think it works reasonably well despite those critiques . . .

Peter, I like the curve in the river!

The leading line of the river is good, but I agree with the other comments made. The foreground and the background don't seem to match.

Interesting composition, Peter. Both the foreground and the background are interesting but they feel disconnected. I'm not sure if this is problematic or not. On one hand, it gives me a sense of the sheer drop off which may have been your intent. On the other hand, I would like to see some sort of transition connecting the foreground and the background if that makes sense.

From a processing standpoint this looks pretty good but I would like to see a bit more contrast in the trees and it looks over-sharpened to me (but that is probably just the web version).

EDIT: I posted my comment before reading the other comments and it looks like I am in agreement with the others who have commented. I think this is an enjoyable shot but hopefully these suggestions will help for next time.

Peter,

I'll be a little different and say that the composition works pretty well for me. My reasoning is that while there may be a disconnect between the two halves, I feel that there is a great amount of depth created here; or at least a great sense of height and distance. In other words, I get the feeling that I wouldn't want to get any closer to the edge cause that looks like at least a 1,000 ft, maybe even more.

My only suggestion is the cyan. I'd pull back on that especially in the wood and even the lichen. Just a little to cyan for me, but that could just be me.

I like it Peter.

Lon

in some ways i also see two comps here. but i do also love your version. it's kind of unique...but itworks for me. I like the curve in the river. with your comp you created depht in this shot........two different scenes composed into one shot.

Ah yes, Thaya Tal. I only visited once and did not really get some keepers. I see the reasoning the others have regarding the "split", the fg is particularly interesting but I also agree with Lon - the depth of the scene and feeling of vertigo adds a lot of "life" and interest to the composition.

Hello Peter

Perfect Exposure and Composition .... The Thayatal NationalPark is on my list ..... :-)
Glad to see a little group of Austrian Photographers here in the NP-Forum ....

Best Regards from Upper AUSTRIA (Schörfling am Attersee)
Helmut

This is a very interesting image Peter. I too can understand all the thoughts on this. It seems to work for me. Like Lon, this is as close as I want to get to the edge. Does seem a little over sharpened with this web version. There is a place I go to in Upper MI. that looks very much like this. Cheers! Nick