Does this type of shot work?

paulocon

Playing around with some old shots.

I would appreciate some C&C of this one. It is the summit cairn on Shanlieve in the Mourne Mountains. I am undecided as to whether the shot has any appeal, leaning towards the only appeal being to me as it's a personal snapshot.

smash

There's nothing really of interest in the shot, and it's quite dull. But that's just my opinion.

paulocon

smash wrote: »

There's nothing really of interest in the shot, and it's quite dull. But that's just my opinion.

Thanks for the honest appraisal. The problem I have with a lot of these kind of shots is that they are very personal in that I'm a big fan of the mountains and the to me, the shot brings back memories of a particular day.

Nice to honest feedback.

smash

There's no real point asking for C&C on a shot that appeals to you based on personal memories. Others will never feel the way you do about it and only look at the shot purely from an academic point of view.

I have thousands of shots that mean a lot to me, but really they're nothing special to anyone else.

Every You Photography

The problem is, I would say, the fact that the picture is unidimensional.

As there is no particular "subject" on the picture, the picture is quite dull.

That is of course only my opinion

paulocon

smash wrote: »

There's no real point asking for C&C on a shot that appeals to you based on personal memories. Others will never feel the way you do about it and only look at the shot purely from an academic point of view.

I have thousands of shots that mean a lot to me, but really they're nothing special to anyone else.

The reason I was asking was to get the opinion of someone who is seperated from the personal memories to see if the shot held any value beyond that. I highly suspected that it hadn't and the answers on here have clarified that situation.

What I find with landscapes is that looking at an image after an event can invoke these personal memories (bring you back to that point in time) and it can be hard to seperate yourself from that process to make a clear judgement on the merit of an image.

paulocon

Every You Photography wrote: »

The problem is, I would say, the fact that the picture is unidimensional.

As there is no particular "subject" on the picture, the picture is quite dull.

That is of course only my opinion

Fair points and looking at the image, I can see exactly where you are coming from. Many thanks for that.

sineadw

It completely depends on what you want the image to do. If you want it to dazzle, then no, it's not working. If you had something a bit deeper in mind, or if it means something to *you*, then it has a whole different set of parameters for its definition of success. Not every landscape has to be an Ansel Adams

EyeBlinks

sineadw wrote: »

If you had something a bit deeper in mind, or if it means something to *you*, then it has a whole different set of parameters for its definition of success. Not every landscape has to be an Ansel Adams

But then you'd need a complex narrative to subtely link the viewer to the aesthic.

Don't chuck it out, it may be valuable :rolleyes::p;)

sineadw

EyeBlinks wrote: »

But then you'd need a complex narrative to subtely link the viewer to the aesthic.

Misstaken

Reminds me of the Dublin Mountains, of which I'm a big fan.
Just lacks something of interest.. even a lonely sheep perhaps of do a self portrait and sit in the grass in the foreground.
)

paulocon

Misstaken wrote: »

Reminds me of the Dublin Mountains, of which I'm a big fan.
Just lacks something of interest.. even a lonely sheep perhaps of do a self portrait and sit in the grass in the foreground.
)

Thanks. Like I said, I need to think about what I am trying to achieve before taking a shot. A lot of the time, it tends to be point and shoot and what I see doesn't necessarily transfer that well across onto the final shot. I like the desolation and remoteness of the shot above but it is very much a personal shot.

Here is another shot of a mate running down Slieve Meelbeg in the Mournes during a challenge walk up there. It's a shot that I like and feel is a lot stronger. Would be interested to hear what others think.

Misstaken

i prefer the second shot... but you can barely see your friend.. if he had stood closer to your camera, you could have gotten a lovley capture of him and the mountains in the background... just my thinkin' on it! Love the weather, looks awesome

paulocon

Misstaken wrote: »

i prefer the second shot... but you can barely see your friend.. if he had stood closer to your camera, you could have gotten a lovley capture of him and the mountains in the background... just my thinkin' on it! Love the weather, looks awesome

He wouldn't stand still long enough for me to get him more in frame! I agree though, he's hard to spot in the picture. The weather that day wasn't actually that great - started off misty then went to overcast. Occassionally, the sun would peak through the clouds and light up parts of the landscape. Amazing how vivid the colours become when the light hits the heathers and grasses!