[Barbara G.]

Here is another one I really like the staging for this photo. This is the original photo taken earlier today and it was in auto intelligent mode. Any suggestions, feel free to let me know.

   

[kNox]

I like the shot, it makes everything seem peaceful.

Regarding the framing, I usually like to get obstacles like the trees you have in the foreground out of the way. That way you get a better view of the whole scenery.

[Dean]

I agree. You have said this is a picture of two bridges but main subject is 6 trees.

[Barbara G.]

This is near Twin Bridges State Park in Oklahoma - sorry for the confusion on the subject title. :0)

[EdMak]

My monitor shows it a tad flat, and bit cold. Spruced up in P/S, then sharpened, nice shot. Ed.

[MrB]

Ed, the sky indicates a sunny day and so I think you are right to warm up the colour balance and give the image a bit more colour. However, sharpening has gone much too far - see the strong white outline around every tree trunk, branch and twig, and also along the horizon. Barbara's image is actually quite sharp - we can see every leaf of the foreground trees, and there is good detail in the background, clearly visible when brightened up a bit. If any extra sharpening is applied, it needs to be very subtle.

Barbara, the Auto Intelligent Mode of your camera has done a good job of exposing the interesting bright sky correctly, but the inevitable result is that the shadow areas, i.e. the six foreground trees and the tree stump, look darker than our eyes would have seen them. The good news is that modern DSLRs are quite good at recording the detail there, and most image editing software has an option to lighten just the shadow areas, to allow us to reveal that detail just as we would have seen it at the time.

Cheers.
Philip

[Barbara G.]

Awesome! Thank you for all the critique and posting the different possibilities in making photographic changes. It is helpful to see different peoples perspectives and read their opinions - it broadens my thinking! :0)

[EdMak]

Philip, Since the original is 277Kb, I expected the halo effect, this would normally not show on a "Proper" sized jpg.

Here is another way, first time I have tried it, done on a friends' Laptop, using the touchpad, and, he has the programme!! Rather like the trees. Cheers. Ed.

[MrB]

I find that the more an image is processed, the less it looks like a photograph, and the more it becomes like a painting. No doubt some viewers will like that effect, and it is a perfectly valid interpretation of the art. But the reason I would process an image such as this landscape, would be to gently enhance its realism, to make it seem as though I was there viewing the actual scene.

   

Cheers.
Philip

[EdMak]

viewing the actual scene

That's the crux really. If, to me, any processed pic, could have been taken, by a snapshooter, then it's a pic, after that, it's a Digital Image.

The original shooter, is the one who can clarify this.

Went to a national exhibition last year, two local pics were impossible, composition wise. one was"highly commended" My comments were not appreciated!! Cheers. Ed.

[Jeffbridge]

Very cool shot! Great job!

[Barbara G.]

Thank you Jeff! Appreciate it!

[Freeman]

Amazing, Ed and all, to see what you can contrive to do to give a nice picture real impact.

[Phil J]

There are some 'really' talented people who post on here, ED & Philip to name but two. However, if the original image is uninspiring or dreary then there is 'in my opinion' little that can be done with it. Therefore in this regard I think congratulations are in order to Barbara for capturing a really good image in the first place.

Regards.

Phil.