[Steve]

I have had a look at these for a while now and I am sorry to say that I disagree with you on all three. While the work that you have carried out is beneficial not only to the finished pictures but also to you developing your post production skills I feel that the subject captured in the shots has been overlooked…

In the two that you like the most you are drawing us in to look at the pilot waving, unfortunately he is not waving at us but at someone in the other direction completely. I see this as a little like photographing the back of an animal…sort of missing the point.? The pictures themselves are fine and the focus etc is spot on showing the camera skill has been applied but the subject position (the wave and direction he is looking) which you have no control over has let them down.

Now the third shot is a whole different story, I feel this could well be the strongest of the bunch. It has been captured well with a great moody sky surrounding it and together its does indeed show the isolation and scale. I would play on that and increase the contrasts to make the sky more moody and imposing, showing the strength and power of Mother Nature and how weak we are in comparison. Use the curves tool and then if needed apply a crop at the end to focus the picture. I really do think the third shot could be a very strong image.

Hope that helps?