Stone Stairs take 2.

[kevinj]

Tried again,think this one is better..

[seaslug]

Doesn't quite work for me Kevin. The light and shade is just a bit harsh for my taste. Maybe a HDR treatment might have helped here as the water is quite bright, yet the background quite shaded.

Don't know what you might think about my little fiddle.

[kevinj]

Like your fiddle,on a learning curve and appreciate your advice.

[sejac]

I must say I agree with much of what Greg says.

That rock in the corner bothered me as well. Rather too close to the edge. Maybe tilting the camera down a bit, and over to the right might enable you to include the entire rock, which has real potential as a foreground feature. If not tilting the camera down, actually get down lower, for a lower angle of view - not always easy for old blokes like me I know. (The things I do for my art!!)

The alternative crop I thought of was to take a bit off from the top. The problem is that the stairs are too centrally placed in the frame, and cropping from the top would give a more balanced, "thirdsy" (rule of thirds) look to it. Greg's crop achieves the same thing.

The light is a bit harsh and flat. I immediately wondered what the scene would look like in the morning or afternoon. Golden glow of afternoon light possible? Just a thought.

Maybe consider warming up the colors a bit as well.

Looking forward to "Stone Stairs take 3". You can't give up now.

[Phoenix]

Think you have to get out there when the light is a bit kinder, very hard work to get a high contrast picture looking good when there's so much going on..however B&W can sometimes bring out the interesting features and make the most out of contrast.

[kevinj]

I must say I agree with much of what Greg says.

That rock in the corner bothered me as well. Rather too close to the edge. Maybe tilting the camera down a bit, and over to the right might enable you to include the entire rock, which has real potential as a foreground feature. If not tilting the camera down, actually get down lower, for a lower angle of view - not always easy for old blokes like me I know. (The things I do for my art!!)

The alternative crop I thought of was to take a bit off from the top. The problem is that the stairs are too centrally placed in the frame, and cropping from the top would give a more balanced, "thirdsy" (rule of thirds) look to it. Greg's crop achieves the same thing.

The light is a bit harsh and flat. I immediately wondered what the scene would look like in the morning or afternoon. Golden glow of afternoon light possible? Just a thought.

Maybe consider warming up the colors a bit as well.

Looking forward to "Stone Stairs take 3". You can't give up now.

Thanks Charles,I`m going to persevere until I start to get it right,your advice duly noted and stored away for future reference.

Think you have to get out there when the light is a bit kinder, very hard work to get a high contrast picture looking good when there's so much going on..however B&W can sometimes bring out the interesting features and make the most out of contrast.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n407858[/ATTACH]

Thanks Jo,like your B/W version,I`m trying a bit more B/W now,so much to learn when you try something new.