Winter In The Field

Let me know what ya think

Nice, But this is winter in a field here

An amateur like me probably should not critique a photo, but the first looks like it has too much Sky. I would probably try to crop some of it out and make it a panorama shot.

I s going to say the same about the second one, but I kind of like the vastness of all the green crops with the trees in the background.

I like the contrasting colors here. I'm guessing you wanted to capture the massive cloud structure along with the rest. You might try getting closer with a wider angle lens, you'll get more detail in the tractor and stlll capture the vast sky/field. Nice shot!

Nice image, I wonder if it would have more of a punch in B&W, especially the play/contrast of the clouds to sky contrasting with the dark tractor. Do you have Silver Efex, by chance?

I shoot in monochrome, so yes I have the B&W but liked it in color more.

Are you open to some critique on internal balance and Gestalt theory?

Along the same lines as Mike I should not critique a photo. The thing that stands out to ME in this photo is it's not shot in the rule of thirds. This is one of the first things I learned here at Nikonites.

Your shot has snow on the bottom so it was easy for me to add it in Photoshop to show you what I mean. I did this with out cropping out your sky

I know rules are meant to be broken but when composing a shot try to think about the Rule of Thirds it's going to help your photos out a lot.

Your second shot is taken closer to the rule of thirds you left enough room at the bottom to balance out the top

Just my two cents.

AxeMan, with respect, I disagree with the suggested composition you posted.
I don't think stacking the line of horizon in the middle of the frame adds anything to the composition. I prefer Stangman's original choice of favoring sky over land in proportions. I like the blue portion of the sky starting from the upper right corner, and leading straight to the subject, i.e., the tractor.

Also, I find that there is enough space in front of the tractor to indicate direction.

I find the 2nd photo to have a few unresolved tensions in its composition: (please tell me if I exaggerate)
Mainly it has a skew horizon and lacks subject. It's a nice photo, but without a single subject, I would have focused more on texture and the repetitive pattern of the grass with an ultra wide angle lens shot at knee level. My line of horizon would have been placed in the upper 3rd section of the horizontal frame, showing less of this pure uninterrupted blue sky.

No offence taken Doc. Like I said in the beginning I really should not be critiquing photos. For some reason I felt compelled to comment on this one.

You bring up some very interesting points in your post and I find your thread http://nikonites.com/general-photography-forum/5086-limiting-rule-third.html very interesting thanks for sharing.

Stangman great shot, nice capture on the sky