[ray]

Im getting paranoid about level horizons, so i did 4 of these i hope ive chose the level one im going to sit back now and hold my breath Be good

[stepheno]

It's a good shot, well framed, good colour and exposure, but........you don't need that big boulder.

[AQ]

I think that there is a great picture in there. I do agree about the foreground rock . If you get back there try taking it from slightly to the left to either loose the rock or move it to the edge. You could also straighten the water. It slopes down to the right a tough.

I must get back up to the lakes soon.

[LJR69]

I think the rock kind of spoils it but it's not a bad photo by any means. If the rock was slightly further in front, a bit more over to the right and maybe slightly lit (fill flash with a neg compensation perhaps?) it would help. Alternatively I think you could lose the rock altogether and just let the pier take the eyes through the frame.

[Rob Barron]

Lovely peaceful composition Ray. I don't think the rock is bad per se, I think it is just that it is so dark. So, I thought I'd have a look to see what detail was available but there wasn't much so I have created some myself. This gives the rock more interest and doesn't darken the picture as much. The horizon was 1 degree out which doesn't always matter in cases like this as the horizon meets land and not sky but I do think it looks better straightened so I have done that as well.

When adding detail into the rock I used the obvious cloning technique BUT if I had just used what was there as is, it would have shown obvious repeating patterns. I avoided this by doing a couple of things: first is to change the source point regularly and work in very small stages. The other is something a lot of people don't think to do: I copied the rock to a new layer, rotated it and used it as the source point to copy detail across. I rotated the rock a couple of times as well. Because the detail is now in different directions, you won't notice any repeating patterns so it looks more natural :o)

The reflection of the rock is very low as you have cropped it so tight but I did add a bit of detail into the reflection as well just to give it a lift. I finally adjusted the colour balance to try and remove the yellowy part of the sky (did you do some burning in?) and the green colourcast. It isn't perfect but I think it is better.

Ok, see what you think

Cheers,
Rob

[ray]

Thank's Rob yes it is better, as for did i do some burning inWhat
dont know what you mean but ive just recieved a book from vinny, so ask me again about burning in in a couple of yearsand ill tell ya

[Rob Barron]

LOL, all it means is did you use the Burn Tool (opposite of dodge tool) used for darkening selective areas? It lloks like you used it in the brightest area of the sky to darken it down a little.

Glad you like the rest of it

Cheers,
Rob