I entered this in the Arundel Camera Club Novice Digital Open Competition on 1/14/2009 but did not place. The judge said I should clone out the birds in the sky. There are three birds that look like birds and are reflected in the water. According to the judge, all of the other birds looked like dirt and should be cloned out.
Here is a cleaned up version per the judge’s comments.
What do you think?
Amateur Photography 
I kind of agree. The original is very beautiful, but when you take out the birds, you really get a different quietness that deer seem to posses and along with the fog on the hillside.
nice capture
peace n abundance
cheyanne
I agree also. And you should also take out … and clone this … and ….
I read your earlier posts about Tony Sweet and other contest entries. To me, we could be driven mad by judges and their subjective, agenda-driven comments. Of course, if you want or need a judge’s approval, then we should listen.
But otherwise, the pictures, all of them, are quite nice and get my response.
To me it also raises the very important issue of just what photography is and how it relates to reality. Do we judge a photo by how close it is to reality? Or, should be “kill” off those extra birds and bluriness to meet some kind of “other” standard?
Who knows? To me, both are good alternatives. It’s a shame, in my view, that one is pushed by judges.
I have been selling my photos, and I’ve had to come to grips with whether to create a photo to meet the buyer’s desires or follow my own instincts. Not that one is better than the other, it’s just a dilemma we face.
Howard
Great feedback. Thanks, Mike