In the creek

[Sully]

9.20 creek -14 by barvan55, on Flickr
Go for it

[seaslug]

Nice effect, recon a little more cropped from the top might get rid of most of those OOF leaves and also place the waterline a little less central.

[Sully]

Thanks seaslug, I did think about that but was worried that the one OOF leaf further down would become a real distraction ....

[seaslug]

That one would be easily cloned out.

[seaslug]

[sejac]

For me, there is no center of interest in this image. What exactly is this photo about? Is it the water and textures of the water, the tree trunk, the leaves? The elements are a bit confused and the composition is therefore not very strong. The central placement of the water level is effective. The "Rule of Thirds" is also there, but nevertheless the composition is not strong. There is little to catch the eye, to draw it into the image. The leading lines - for example, the tree trunk - lead the eye upward out of the photo.

And what about the light quality? Maybe a bit flat. Not really doing much to help the image. Not bad, just not especially interesting.

And the DOF? I'm not sure the clear background detail is helping either. Rather busy in the top third.

Well Barb, you posted in "Pick It To Pieces". I only hope you found my analysis useful and constructive.

[Sully]

Thanks seaslug … I have homework to do re Lightroom editing Thanks Charles … what drew me to take this photo was the movement of the white bubbles in the water flowing past, and around, the tree trunk … along with the green leaves hanging down. Rule of thirds is sometimes confusing, as is the need for blurring the background … … … sometimes it is ok and sometimes it's not. I have a preference for 'smooth' images (no noise) … maybe I have taken that too far in my editing. Please keep offering advice, it is appreciated.