[Jocko]

Because I am unable to get out taking photograph I have been revisiting some of my early raw images, to see how my technique has changed.
This one was taken at nearby, Dysart, last September. What do you think?

   
Nikon D80, Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR lens, Auto mode, 1/800 sec, f5.6, ISO 250, 105mm lens equivalent, processed in Lightroom 6.6 and Nik Software.

[MrB]

The image quality seems OK to me John but, as a photograph, it seems to be an image with no clear purpose. There is an awful lot of content but for me there not a specific interest that is related to the title. The people do not appear to be doing anything relevant to the boatyard, the vehicles seem to distract from the boats, the buildings are rather bland, and there is not a clear view of any particular boat or group of boats or the boatyard itself. Sorry!

Cheers.
Philip

[EnglishBob]

I find myself in agreement with Philip. While the picture is exposed correctly and the colour et all are fine, I struggle to find a clear subject within.

I know your subject is the Boat Yard, but I find it too busy and with no "landing place" for my eye. I find myself jumping between the yellow van and the red car, and not seeing the details within.

[EdMak]

Hi John, as one of your record pics, OK, I would straighten up the post, bottom right, and, via my monitor, a bit more general contrast.
As to progress, I see a difference on posted pics, improvement, since you joined. Regards. Ed.

[Jocko]

The image was taken on a day I went out to take groups of 3 images with a view to trying HDR software. There was no real thought put into any of the images. It was like collecting stamps, but before you have enough to make choosing an option.
I am in total agreement with the remarks made about the image. There is no story, no flow. Just a moment in time recording an event that happened to be in front of my lens.

[EnglishBob]

I am in total agreement with the remarks made about the image. There is no story, no flow. Just a moment in time recording an event that happened to be in front of my lens.

That is actually a good thing, after I had started taking my photography much more seriously I ran into a problem, I no longer took photos.

Let me explain,
...the subject was wrong
...there was no story
...the sky is boring
...the light is wrong
...I already have dozens of those
All reasons I gave myself for not pressing the shutter and taking the shot. I finally realized the issue and adopted the mantra of "just take the damn picture and worry about the content later!"

[Jocko]

My wife always complains when I take the camera when we go out. She keeps saying. "Why do you want to take that? You have photographed everything 100 times.". It is just my way of doing things. As I have said before, I don't have an eye for a photograph. But take 1000 and 1 or 2 are worth the effort. And now, with digital, 1000 costs the same as 1.