A boat load of color

[Whistletown Wilds]

After Looking duck photos in the same spot for a week , I realized I may have a different and interesting shot. I love the colors and the taut lines. What do you think and how could I improve it? Thanks ahead of time to all!

[Texas Dave]

I think exposure wise you nailed it! As far as the content, I personally would opt for either way closer or farther away. More of a close up detail of some of it's colorful features or a distant shot with a less busy background. Is the title of the boat soft or is that an optical illusion from the way the font is painted?

[Dave Humphries]

Is the title of the boat soft or is that an optical illusion from the way the font is painted?

I do see a 'drop shadow'/3D effect in a subtly different shade of red/orange on the text - perhaps that's what you're seeing Dave?

I tend to agree with your comments about the scene in general, I never shoot docks because my brain can't cope with the 'visual chaos', I prefer simpler compositions

My only suggestion (for Sherwood) for making a big scene work might be a monochrome conversion, but it still needs the right combinations of colours in juxtaposition in order to be able to colour filter to get a good strong contrast composition of a main subject separated from the background. Unfortunately, I don't think this shot could do that

This was f/9 at 114mm on a Canon 70D (iso100, 1/200s)

Failing that, other ideas are;
shoot at as wide an aperture as possible to ensure only the subject is sharp
get in close with an ultra wide angle
+ what Dave said

However, I appreciate that docks and quays often don't allow the access we might desire, often for safety reasons, apart from anything else.

Cheers, Dave

[Geoff F]

Did you take any shots from different angles?

This is a bit 'front on and square with the main subject' which tends to lose apparent depth to the scene. And many people wouldn't realise that the subject was actually a boat.

There is quite a bit of 'clutter' in the background but that is typical for quaysides and for me there is sufficient colour variation to avoid any serious confusion.

Focus and exposure are fine, even with a wide range between white highlights and dark shadows.

[Shadowman]

You've got a good subject of color, just make the most of it. Look for complimentary colors or include the water if possible.