It is a beautiful photo. Color is great, the scenery can't be beat and the story is there. BUT there is one major flaw. The horizon cut right across the middle. I think I would change the name and focus of the photo and show more of the beautiful blue sky and white clouds.
Thank you for your insight! I usually try to avoid dividing my photos with the horizon and general it sits int he lower third of the image, but I really liked this shot with the main focal point being framed up dead center. Mostly to retain as much road and sky as I could. I loved how not only the road, but the cliffs on either side helped draw the eye to the main formation in the middle.
I'm going to dig through the photos from this shoot, because I'm sure I took a few framed up with the horizon on the lower third. If I can find one I'll post it and we can compare
Rules are always meant to be broken. That is what I like about photography, it is always open to interpretation.
I couldn't agree more. Although rules can be helpful, and extremely useful in photography, you can really miss out on unique images if you always stick to them no matter what.
I agree...rules are meant to be broken. Just not here.
This is a textbook Rule of Thirds shot, and should remain textbook. The foreground here is uninteresting, comparatively, to the rest of the composition. This would've made a great "belly shot" where you lay completely prone on the ground to get the shot. Instead, we have the photographer's eye level view, which makes an otherwise stellar composition...well, frankly...ho-hum, because the Rule of Thirds is broken.
It's an awesome photo. The color is excellent, and it's tack sharp. Those of us who live in the flatlands would kill to have some scenery like this. But in order to take things to the next level, you have to be willing to think outside the box and come up with interesting vantage points. A belly shot or extreme low angle would've really set this one apart. The road would've been distorted really wide up close and narrowing towards the horizon, better leading our eyes through the shot. It also would've leveled out the cliffs in the background.
It makes me want to be there and I don't think you can ask more of of a scenic photo than that.