Swans on the Water

This is a pretty nice photograph. I like the overall scope of the shot, and I love the way the colors turned out on this; it's not overly saturated like you see so often with these kinds of shots. Even though you were using a Cybershot camera, this one almost has the look of a filtered SLR shot.

However, there is significant room for improvement. First of all, I'm not crazy about the composition. Yes, the photograph and its development look very nice, but since this is about photography as an art form, you need something that is going to set this shot apart from a simple engineering shot. The actual capture is only part of the process. Even in spontaneous photographs, the composition is something that should be considered.

The main problem with the composition is that your primary subject matter (these loading cranes) is in the dead center of the frame. You should avoid taking such "bull's-eye" shots; they are not as visually interesting. You want your viewers to be interested not only in the subject of the photograph, but in the photograph itself. You can do that by setting up your composition by the Rule of Thirds. You can also visually enhance the shot by experimenting with the angle - try tilting it so the horizon isn't completely horizontal, or try getting under the cranes if possible. That's the beauty of static subjects in the digital age: your ability to experiment is almost unlimited. When I take pictures, I might take a hundred shots and only use five.

As far as your exposure is concerned, your technique seems pretty good. However, I'm noticing that the sky is quite grainy (I'm really looking at the open sky more than the cirrus formation cutting across it). I can't tell whether that is just part of the shot or if it's something else. If I had to guess, I would say that you enhanced the saturation and/or contrast during your post-editing phase and this was the result. I've had that happen to me a few times, and there are several ways to fix it.

First, I see that you took the shot at ISO 100. That's a good speed, and most cameras won't go lower than that. However, if you can set your ISO speed lower, you should. The higher the ISO, the grainier the shot. Second, you should take this into Photoshop and try to blur out some of the graininess. I usually select the sky (using a fairly high feather) and use a slight Gaussian blur. You could also just use the blur tool.

Overall, a very nice photograph. It could stand significant improvement, but I like it. I like the subject matter you chose; most seaport/dock and similar photos are more interested in the ships than in the actual dock facilities. You did a very nice job in showcasing the size of these cranes and making an eye-pleasing work. Nicely done.