The positioning of all elements of your composition are so right that cropping either sides or sky would spoil it- I would be tempted to clone or healing brush in some sky and rocks into the corners. Nice calm, timeless image of muted tones contrasts very well with the over-saturated look that seems to be all around us just now!

pixelpixie: I agree about the elements in the shot. I spent a long time composing it and waiting for some light to break through so I can't crop. I shall have a go at eliminating the corners in CS - that healing brush is such a great tool, and see if I can do a pro enough job.

...and I used a tripod...

I think you could clone out the problem areas easily enough. It is a beautiful shot and worth persevering with. Is that a tiny figure in the distance?

pixelpixie: Thank-you Paul for your encouragement. Yes, two children in fact. I waited for them to wander that way - and for a break in the cloud cover. I thought the orange top would contrast with the greens and they would give a sense of scale. The image needs to be much bigger though for benefit.

To my the taking seems very original. It would only clear the dark angles of the edges.

pixelpixie: Muchos gracias Jose. I kind of like the corners but I would have liked this image not to have them!

Beautiful shot with nothing to do except for what David suggested.
More and more I am convinced that sometimes I will just have to use a tripod.

pixelpixie: Hello Suzanne, thank-you. I do feel it is one of my better efforts. It was a beautiful place and most of the time I had it all to myself, quiet except for nature going about its business.

Leave it, learn from it but don't knock yourself out, nice shmood to this!

pixelpixie: Thank-you David, will do!

That's beautiful José... really good. Nice texture on the stones and the background is fantastic too... menacing clouds... I was wondering... do you try to convert into black and white ? I'm sure it could great as well !!

pixelpixie: Thank-you for visiting Florence and for the lovely comments. I shall try converting it to b&w though I've little experience of channels etc. So good to have you back. I look forward to your blog each day. Jose

It's a wonderful picture and I think the filter doesn't disturb. Maybe it's like the perspective of a water turtle with its had in its tortoise shell.

pixelpixie: That's a lovely analogy Julischka. Thank-you for visiting.

I think it's lovely, and such a pity about the corners. I think that, unless you're really good with photoshop, you risk making any changes obvious because everything is in such sharp focus.

I actually quite like the corners as they are, they're no worse than the old black corner mounts for prints. Could you, perhaps, make a soft black frame along the top, bottom and sides to join them together, put the whole thing onto a black background and make it look quite deliberate?

pixelpixie: Hi Ellie, thanks for visiting. I'm delighted you like it. You've given me an idea to try. You know when you take a polaroid that has a negative, well it has a border that I could photograph and montage on covering the corners, as if it was apart of the picture. I don't know, the nearest I get to a 'Joe Cornish' and I go and fluff it!

Lovely shot.Healing brush on align would definitely do the trick but i say leave the pesky little suckers. You could just lighten them a bit and it is just a vignette then. Love the little mollusc/lipid detail. looks very slippery too

pixelpixie: I've had a go and have managed a fairly decent job but it's made me realise that I quite like the vignetting though not as in your face as here. I nearly chucked these negs as well - so glad I scanned this one in first!

I think you've definitely got to get rid of the corners - the top two at least as they're really intrusive. I'd use the clone brush in PSP7 to do this. After that I'd crop to get the horizon above or below centre. This is such a powerful composition with its hard and soft surfaces and its mix of textures that the stability the centre horizon gives it makes it static rather than fluid. Just a little work will make it perfect.

pixelpixie: Hi Ron, thanks for stopping by. Since posting this, I have had a trial go at removing the corners. I have CS2 so was able to use the patch tool mostly to recreate the 'missing' bits - it was harder to recreate the sky than the boulders! And you're right, the corners have to go. I'd not considered the position of the horizon. I would have to crop out the sky as I'm so proud of the detail on the boulders in the foreground and like their positioning that I have to keep them in. This is why I love Shutterchance so much -to benefit from invaluable help like yours which is very much appreciated. Thanks for your encouragement. Jose

You do not need to irradicate it! Just soften it a little. Mal

I lyke very much, moody image. Like many have said, clone top right and left sides + little brightening and i think you'd have the perfect image. like your work Dude. olayiwola

pixelpixie: Thank-you very much Olayiwola and thank-you for taking time to visit.