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The quality of work Otto von Münchow shares on his site, In Flow,is astounding. He posts images of his own and those of students from his workshops. Occasionally he invites readers to submit images to his critique page, where he offers generous and thoughtful feedback. I learn a great deal simply from reading his comments about images that look perfect to my humble eyes.
Recently I submitted one of my own images. First I will show the original, unedited image:
As you can see, I have a trouble holding my camera level with the horizon. I have to adjust and crop more images than I like to admit. I also thought that street light looked sort of nasty and thought the upper portion of the sky had little to offer so I cropped a bit more from the top. I also felt that this image lacked the crispness and contrast that I wanted, so I adjusted the shadows and highlights and upped the contrast and brightness just a smidge. The following image is what I submitted to Otto’s critique page:
You can read the details of Otto’s critique here. He nailed it when he surmised that I shot the image in the afternoon. I might have had to wait for two hours for any human activity in this sleepy little village on the southern coast of Iceland and, since I was with a friend, that was out of the question. (I find myself snapping most of my photos on the run, which probably explains a lot.) I went back to the original image and tried to incorporate his suggestions as I re-framed it:
By golly, I think I like it, except for the fact that the focal point seems awfully centered now, which is a failing I’ve been trying to overcome. Funny, I thought the fence added something, but I don’t miss it at all, nor does the street light bother me now. What do you think?
Rangewriter 
I like the last picture much better, although I’m not sure if I could explain why. If I had to offer something, I’d say the original had too much empty road.
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Yeah, Charles and what’s funny is that as I shot it, I thought that road leading to the horizon would be evocative. Hah. That’s what I get for thinkin’! 😉
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I like the last picture better as well. You know I agree about having some people on the street, as it gives me an eerie feeling of one of those deserted towns from a Twilight Zone episode, but in color.
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That’s funny. TZ colorized! I might have had to blow up some dolls or something. Ah…maybe I could Photoshop a tiny red trike in the road…nah, maybe not. 😉
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Cue Rod Serling….a tranquil and scenic small town. Maybe it is too tranquil. Susie went away to college, but when she returned the town was vacant. Cue TZ music.
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Whooooeeee…..
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Wow. He sure has an eye! I love the way the character of the clouds really comes out in the finished photos. Not just a grey blob in the background. Did you tweak the color as well? Seems much sharper and crisp.
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When I fiddle with the shadow and highlight, it seems to do amazing things to the entire photo, especially bring out the depth of the clouds.
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This is the kind of picture to make abstract. I like the first photo as a study to make it all abstract …the challenge would be endless…the story it protrays is endless….love it……kd
Paintings anything in color….love the hue. Imagine the mood you could get.
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Yes, of course, you, the painter/artist would see it in a fresh way. Wish you could jump on where I left off. It’d be fun to see your vision.
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Do like the final photo best. But all of them struck me as paintings. I had to go back and re-read as I really thought they had a magical, painting feeling. Terrific !
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Thanks, Sybil. Wish I was capable of painting something like this. I feel lucky to be able to harness mechanics to express my vision.
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Otto’s critique page is a big help for many of us. It’s so cool that he’s willing to take the time to critique our work and offer feedback that creates a marked improvement, not only in the submitted image, but in our future work also.
I love the final version. Your images are always compelling, and I enjoy seeing the world through your eyes. In fact, your photography has a way of making me think that I know you, if that makes sense.
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Hi there! I noticed that you’d submitted one of your photos and was thrilled to see the advice Otto provided. Yours was one of those that I looked at and thought, how could one improve on perfection? Otto’s keen eye looks far deeper than my flawed one. It takes practice, not just looking and fiddling with settings, but thinking. I’m touched if my images speak to you. I don’t think of myself as having a style or a look or anything. So whatever you pull from my images, I think, is a result of your own sensitivity. I’m not sure I know myself yet. Is that when life ends? When we know ourselves? I seem to be on a perpetual and never-ending search for the self. 😉
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awesome
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Thanks so much, Phani.
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Fun to read the comments, Linda. 🙂
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Feedback, it’s the icing on the cake. Thanks again for your great tips.
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Linda,
Wow! Thanks for introducing me to Otto’s Photo Critiques. He gives lovely compliments and helpful suggestions for each photo. I’m learning a lot from his website.
Cindy
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Yes, Cindy, Otto is absolutely generous with his critques and he has a keen eye. I wish there were more hours in the day so I could just immerse myself in his site.
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I think the last one is much better. I liked the first one, but now I see the difference. The plain building and the fence added nothing. Incorporating more of the sky and cropping into the image really made it dramatic. I like it a lot. 🙂
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Thanks George. Your choice seems to be winning hands down. I find it fascinating how such tiny changes can impact an image so strongly.
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Good capture & what you did with the last pic made it even more perfect 🙂
http://www.sweetsharing.com/
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Thank you kindly!
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I have to agree, the last version is the most expressive to me. I like the new colour, turquoise. the way the sky changes from cloudy to clear, and that the shadows on the road do not dominate the picture so much.
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