Critique Waterfalls, abandoned Castles and the Beach

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Never really done a lot of landscape type photography but have had a few days recently where I had some time and my camera so thought id post some photos for critique.

1) The Linn Falls in Aberlour. This is just down from my parents and I've been meaning to go down for ages and take some long exposure shots. This was the first time I have used my ND filter to take a photo like this.
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2) Linn Falls. I really like the look of this photo bar the reflection of the wide angle lens on the filter. Any ideas on how to stop this happening?
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3 Linn Falls. Last one from this location. A slightly different view of the falls.
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4) Inchdrewer Castle. This is somewhere I had never been to even though it was only 5 minutes from my house. This shot I got when walking up to it as the sun burst through the cloud.
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5) This was the shot I had in my head when i thought about going up to the castle. Yes it is very HDR but I quite liked the effect with it.
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Upon doing some reading about the castle afterwards it seems its apparently haunted with one of the previous owners who was murdered inside having been spotted on numerous occasions as well as a large white dog.....glad I hadn't read it before I went!

6) Banff Links. On heading back home the sun appeared from behind the clouds in a wonderful colour so I changed my path and headed to the Links and got this photo looking into the sun.
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As it says in the title critique is welcome. I know I definitely need to clean my ND filter.
 
A very nice set, but the vast halo around the castle in #5 kills that one for me.
 
I like the compositions on the waterfall ones, 1&2 the processing on the reds looks a little heavy, perhaps adjust the colour balance?

Number 3 would be the best one if it wasn't for the distracting branch and the blurred leaves upper centre from the effect of long exposure. Should also say maybe crop the child out top left as well.
 
I would think its the ND filter that is causing colour issues.
 
Yes, seriously.
The girls union II take it.
Don't get me wrong, I'm no great shakes at this photo milarkey and all for a little positivity but blatently building someone up like this just doesn't seem right.
#1 Nice subject and composition OK for a vertical panorama but the shadows are a bit dark top right and blow out on bottom right
#2 Again a nice subject and the water effect with the ND fine but all that green flare and exposure
#3 subject, spot on, more flare, blur in the branch etc and did that poor kid survive?
#4 probably the pick for me but very flat, where's the sunshine that's mentioned, if it had those things I might ignore the verticals
#5 I love the angle and there has to be a fantastic shot there but the halo, the green sky and a few spots
#6 Nice pink colour but is it camera shake giving the blurring, the LE, is a ND even required? the blow out!!

It gives me no satisfaction writing that but saying they are lovely is a bit off, perhaps I'm 100% off base.
If I am then sorry Daisy, I'd think someone watermarking their photos as a photographer might have seen that.
 
The girls union II take it.
Don't get me wrong, I'm no great shakes at this photo milarkey and all for a little positivity but blatently building someone up like this just doesn't seem right.
#1 Nice subject and composition OK for a vertical panorama but the shadows are a bit dark top right and blow out on bottom right
#2 Again a nice subject and the water effect with the ND fine but all that green flare and exposure
#3 subject, spot on, more flare, blur in the branch etc and did that poor kid survive?
#4 probably the pick for me but very flat, where's the sunshine that's mentioned, if it had those things I might ignore the verticals
#5 I love the angle and there has to be a fantastic shot there but the halo, the green sky and a few spots
#6 Nice pink colour but is it camera shake giving the blurring, the LE, is a ND even required? the blow out!!

It gives me no satisfaction writing that but saying they are lovely is a bit off, perhaps I'm 100% off base.
If I am then sorry Daisy, I'd think someone watermarking their photos as a photographer might have seen that.

Christ, you really do love it up on that huffy high horse if yours,don't you?
Gives you no satisfaction? I can see the smug glow from here.
I posted that I generally like the set because I do. That's not building someone up, it's stating a fact; so please don't presume to be telling me what I should and shouldn't be posting, and please don't attempt to read something into a statement when you're clearly not qualified to do so.
 
it also has Critique in front of your tittle, so if you cannot take critique why ask you can only learn and get better hopefully
 



In my book, there is potential in this set but it is
far from being accomplished and this is normal
given the wide spectrum of technical approaches
and difficulties met in this set.

WB overtones, flares, slanted horizons, halos and
other tweaks mean there is still some work to do…

Offering a critique should be done in a gentle way
I think.
 
it also has Critique in front of your tittle, so if you cannot take critique why ask you can only learn and get better hopefully

The person who posted the images hasn't complained about any critique, Paul.
 
Christ, you really do love it up on that huffy high horse if yours,don't you?
Gives you no satisfaction? I can see the smug glow from here.
I posted that I generally like the set because I do. That's not building someone up, it's stating a fact; so please don't presume to be telling me what I should and shouldn't be posting, and please don't attempt to read something into a statement when you're clearly not qualified to do so.
I can assure you there is no horse or smug grin here, a sore head from banging it against a wall yes!
You are right, if you think it "a very nice set" then that's your opinion, my apologies for presuming it might be based on some technical merit.
 
In light of the above, I'd add that it looks like you've got some good ideas in terms of composition, but there are a few technical issues that would need addressing, if you're going to maximise the potential of these locations.
If I was to offer advice, firstly, on the waterfall shots, I would take the ND Filter off, and stop right down to get the shutter speed around 1-2 seconds. The cast created by the filter is pretty evident, and spoils the shots.
Make sure that you're covering the viewfinder if you do use an ND filter, or the light that enters in from the back of the camera can make the cast worse.
I always find that an overcast, or moody day without any direct sunlight can work better for waterfalls shots, especially if you're going for longer exposures.
There's a good shot to be had at that castle, but I'm not sure your compositions are making the best of it yet. The second would be a much better shot with a more sympathetic touch in PP.
Keep practicing, and keep trying new things, but I think that making sure you understand the control of your camera would be more important at this stage than trying to judge long exposures!
 
Right I've had a look at some and tried to right some of my previous issues. The HDR castle I have left with the merging verticals as I like it however I have tried to lesser the halo effect. The second one I have changed the crop and sorted the verticals. On the waterfalls I have tried to sort the shadows on the first one as well as the colour cast. the second one I changed the crop to lose the person in the upper left and the branch on the lower right.

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