Starrett Lake at Dawn

by Ralph
(Zion, IL)

Stepping out of the camping tent first thing in the morning to the edge of the family's favorite lake, to catch a sliver of beauty enjoyed for decades by loved ones and friends.

The lighting was perfect and the objects situated to fit into a system of thirds. The border of greens assisted in adding 3D effects.


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I like this shot – lots going on, and yet so tranquil!

There are a great many things about Ralph's photo, it's tricky to know where to start.

The scene itself of course helps here. A nice calm lake, surrounded by lots of leafy green.

But there's more than just nature. See those boats? Now imagine the scene without them. No-where near as good. It would still be a nice photo, but the boats add a little extra something to the scene!

Then there is the shooting angle. Ralph has sensibly sought to get something into the foreground. This always helps scenic photos as it adds depth to the scene. Click to read a digital photography tutorial on adding foreground interest.

But there is more than just adding some foreground interest. The trees on the left and right of the photo add a frame around the picture.

It's a good idea with this sort of photo to have a look around to see if you can frame a photo by using something of the scene – well done!

With all these positives in the photo, is there anything that would improve it?

I have one suggestion – use software to add a little post processing.

I've said a few times here before that post processing is NOT cheating! Photographers have been manipulating colour, saturation and contrast as a stage of darkroom developing since photographic film was invented.

Software simply puts these techniques into the hands of everyone.

I've had a quick go at this myself, and you can see my efforts here, along with a description of what I did to the image.

All in all though, lovely photo. Thanks Ralph for the submission,

Ed.

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