First Proper Post - C&C's welcome

[Shooter Shep]

This is my second post but my first where I actually went out thinking that I knew what I was doing. Assignment for my beginners college course was to shoot a landscape, I took this 2 hours before college after a two week break because I'm a puddled individual who leaves everything till the last minute but.... I'm quite happy with it! There were several others that didn't turn out. I've edited it a tiny bit in tweaking the levels on photoshop. I am a complete beginner looking for tips so feel free to rip to shreds! [IMG][/IMG]

[pnodrog]

Time of day and lighting very good. The only thing that spoils it for me is the size of the rusty pile/peer? on the left side. The shape of its edge has an interesting relationship to the bridge but I think it would be better cropped to at least half its width. The little slither of bright sky on the very edge under the bridge deck is a bit distracting and could be removed either by cloning or cropping.

The difficult lighting is handled very well. Some viewers may prefer to see a little bit more shadow detail but the fact that the bridge is basically a silhouette with a hint of detail I think is fine. I doubt that it will be torn to shreds but it will be interesting to read what others have to say.

[Donald]

I think the single most important part of this is your statement that you went out with a feeling of knowing what you were doing. Whether you actually got it right or not is, in my view, and at this stage of your development, of secondary importance. It's working at that consciousness-level that's really important. Thinking about what you're going to do and how you're going to do it, before you get there and do it. That's what's going to make the difference in the long-run in terms of you achieving consistency and quality.

On this image, I'd agree with Paul about that left hand side. I'm not sure that seeing so much of that adds to the image. I think seeing some of it, does give a context and helps frame the bridge. I looked at it as if it was cropped to just to the left of that little flare/light spot (that you need to clone out).

I think the question of having a blown sun in it or not is a matter of choice. For me it's a bit 'in-your-face' and I might have held off until it went down a bit and behind that pier support just to the right.

But it is obvious that you put thought into the composition and got yourself a location that gave you the chance for something much more than just a snapshot of the bridge. Good on you. Keep going for it.

[Shadowman]

I thought the framing on the left was fine but could be lessened some, and the bit of flare could be eliminated. What i found to be out of place is the stone border at the bottom. It does add a bit of leading line but it leads no where.

[Mark von Kanel]

I thought the framing on the left was fine but could be lessened some, and the bit of flare could be eliminated. What i found to be out of place is the stone border at the bottom. It does add a bit of leading line but it leads no where.

+1 i agree, the rest of the image works for me.

[Shooter Shep]

Thanks guys, very helpful comments. I'm a novice in both the shooting and editing departments but I'll get there in the end I'm sure. I've tried to take on board everything that's been said and here's the further edited version...

Donald, you seem to know exactly where I'm at. I was actually going for the blown sun effect though it is a bit 'in your face', I just wanted to pull off something a bit creative and a 'bit more than a snapshot' as you accurately put it. I think I got what I was looking for which is encouraging, but especially encouraging are some of the comments on here.. So glad I found this site and thanks again to all above. [IMG][/IMG]

[Donald]

Right away, you've got yourself a much stronger image. Well done.

[Mark von Kanel]

Much better!