vista point

[Carla_]

View of Lake Cachuma, CA

It's a bit of a drive for me, but this site is so accessible I could come back here for a reshoot.  Any suggestions on what needs improving?



Thanks

[LarryH]

Carla - it is a pretty shot but IMO unremarkable - literally.  There is not a subject per se - yeah, the lake but it is too expansive.  Composition is a very weak point with me so hopefully some others will commment.  (I always hate it when I post something and nobody comments, pro or con)

[New England Moments]

  A few things come to mind for me here ,  so you feed off of what you will, and weed the rest 

  First, although a Beautiful Scene and Majestic , its lacking Dimension,  and/ or depth for me... meaning something needs to be in the foreground to give it that bite,  Window Dressing...   When shooting a wide open Vista everything becomes smaller when you shoot in wide angle, so u need the extra edge of foreground interest , for both Scale and Depth to a shot of a wide open Vista...
   
  Second, The  Diagonal sandy area in the foreground is not working, it takes ones eyes left or right, and not into the scene..  that is what a Diagonal will do, Direct the eyes...  You want the viewer to enter this scene, not be directed away..  U need to move forward from the point of where u took this to remove the Diagonal line..

  Third, that tiny little spec of a boat ( White) is a Powerful Distraction, because it is close to a thirds PowerPoint, and the eyes Will rest there...

  Fourth, the Tall portion of grass center Frame, appears as another  serious distraction, running Vertical, in an all horizontal Composition.

 Fifth...  OUT of your Control... but , I find the Lake running out of the frame on both sides a Distraction... but naturally this could be a Very long lake , what can ya do.. 

 I also think , even though you have Nice Detail, that the  Detail is mostly in the distant mountains,,, you want everything sharp in a Vista,  foreground to Background, so,  with tripod,  get a larger DOF, ( higher F/Stop number )...


 Just some off the Wall opinion by me here, for your thoughts....  Its a Beautiful scene , and Shot by you , I just believe with a few adjustments, it can be stronger..

[Carla_]

Larry and NEM,

Thanks for your honest comments.  I knew it wasn't right before posting but wasn't sure if it was the manufactured sand for a foreground or the shape of the lake, which really isn't all that long.  If I had a 10 mm lens I could easily get the whole lake from where I was standing.  Actually, the original captured the lake but I had too much sky.If I make it back tomorrow morning I'll know what to look for.

This is the original, with only sharpening and a noise reduction.

[Doc]

Tom's vision. Also took care of that area in the bottom right.

[Carla_]

Thanks Doc.  I never thought of making a pano.