why did you decide not to enter? I think it is a fresh clean picture!
what do you think of my reject? After what is happening now with the photo i DID enter, I hoped that I would have entered this one..but hey, maybe this one is all wrong too??
It looks too contrasty to me,just play around with the levels, up the contrast and saturation and it will really pop.
I like the composition, will make a nice picture.
It's too bad you decided not to enter it. It is a beautiful scene. My biggest beef with it is that the waterfall appears to be flowing from that branch. Moving a scootch to the left would have solved that. It is a very monochromatic scene so some dodging and burning in key areas to reveal a bit more textural detail would be helpful.
I probably would have given it a 5 because of the nice exposure, beautiful location and overall good composition.
I like the strong lines and diagonals. I think the graininess lends a certain immediacy to the scene as well; as if someone might come running up or down those stairs any minute. If the exposure was silky smooth it would have a more quiet mood. Either way it would have been very interesting and I probably would have given it at least a 6. I don't notice the slight blurriness of the foremost rail and don't think it really takes away from the overall deep DOF. I can tell you from experience, I think you would have lost votes from the popular majority because of the graininess.