Thank you very much for such a high complements.
hkr: Thank you for mentioning those two giants for the comment. I don't even dare to touch their works. I actually still consider most of the people here as mentors, since I'm only a beginner(started seriously in 2004) and still somewhat young(26). I'm still trying to get my basics(composition and exposure) down, so I haven't tried processing my own film or anything alternative.
I'll continue to learn for you all,
Didi
I love this image, Didi. I'm from Minnesota myself and miss the snow sometimes. Take this critique for what it's worth because I'm much newer to photography than you are but for me, the lamppost is a bit of a distraction. I tried "cropping" it out with my hand and my eye was drawn then to the tree and snow-covered bench instead of the light. Just a thought.
Another perspective to what jolynned suggests might have beem to step back a few steps to include the lamppost more towards the 1/3 point of the frame and also include the branches of the trees. I also wish the lamppost were straight. But this is still a lovely and evocative picture. thanks
Thank you very much for the input. I actually tried to crop the lamp post but it feels just a little "unbalance" for some reason. You're both right though, that the lamppost doesn't look too pleasing the way it is even though as a whole the image is good. It might be because it's not straight(maybe because I'm shooting from a downhill slope) and/or the tree too close to the edge.
Thank you for very constructive feedback.