Whidbey Island Sunrise

[olocnrcr]

Newbie grateful for any comments/criticism

http://907gibbons.smugmug.com/photos/554958165_jQNfm-M.jpg

[Ekaj]

Horizon is crooked. Colors seem washed out. Not much to look at.

For a more interesting composition, try not to have the horizon bisecting the image. Do we need to see all that sky?

[waltera]

Nice photo I would watch your horizon .

[olocnrcr]

Thank you both. Your critiques are very helpful. Photo was made with a D90 about 4:45 AM, a half hour or so before actual sunrise. Liked the reflection of the mast in the water. Composition tips very useful.

[BeaKeR]

I think you've got a great shot here. You did a nice job of capturing the muted pastels, and it has a wide open feel to it. It really feels quiet and peaceful, like early morning. As you noted, the reflection is nice too. :thumb

So, on to nitpicking. You may not have heard, but the horizon's not level. :wink

There's also a bit of a vignette. Normally I wouldn't even mention it, but I think it makes the photo feel more closed in, which is the opposite of how this shot should feel in my opinion.

You might try punching up the colors a tiny bit. Definitely don't go nuts - it's not sunset, so it shouldn't be bright & saturated like a sunset.

I don't think you need to lose any of the sky. Generally speaking, putting the horizon line in the lower part of the frame enhances the feeling of stability. So I'd try to keep the horizon low, even a little lower than you have it. I might think about cropping it in a bit on the left side. Try it and decide if you like it. But if you do crop it, don't let the mast reflection hit the bottom of the frame. I hope this doesn't come off overly specific and bossy, just saying what I'd look out for.

Anyway, great work. If you end up reprocessing it I'd like to see the new version.