A few weeks ago, I enjoyed a wonderful walk through a nearby forest. The snow and fog transformed the landscape and created a mystical atmosphere. I loved the hoarfrost that accentuated the individual branches.
I had a lot of fun because everything seemed to be photogenic.
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.
Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
Is there anything I could improve in terms of the composition? I created many different images in landscape and portrait formats with different focal lengths but I liked this capture the most.
In postprocessing, I tried to maintain the soft mood that I experienced in the field. I am happy about any kind of suggestions for improvement.
This is very cool (pun intended).
I love the mood you create here, and love those icicles.
I agree with @Igor_Doncov Igor concerning the cropping on the bottom.
Jens, this is a lovely winter scene. I love the softness in this image. I could see myself walking through these woods and being very happy. I too, must agree with @Igor_Doncov that the B need a little cropping. Nicely seen.
ooooh, this is wonderful! The light is sublime and there is such a cool, crisp and fresh feeling to this. Obviously snow on the ground, but the trees look more like frost covered - NOt sure in your neck of the woods, but referred to here as hoar frost. No matter the name, it’s beautiful!
I would agree about a crop - mostly because I don’t like the tall format (my own issue…) But I will say that having the foreground as it is, I do also get the sense of “walk in the woods” - and a very frosty one at that!
I almost hate to suggest this because the trees and frost are so beautiful… but I’m wondering if the mood would still be as impactful with also a crop from the top. I decided to see what it might look like. I cropped both top and just a bit off the bottom, more towards a 4;5 format. I also bumped up vibrance for the tree trunks - which are also quite beautiful. Bumped the brightness and dropped dehaze a little too to maintain the foggy atmosphere.
I don’t think this version is better, but might give you some ideas. Such a gorgeous scene - most certainly worth tweaking it .
You nailed this one. This is what I think of when visualizing a winter scene. The mood is tremendous with that foggy haze in the background and I think the white balance is perfect. I also agree that the bottom feels a little heavy/large compared to the rest of the scene but I also much prefer a 4x3 or even a 4x5 format ratio so that could well be just my issue.
I also really love what @Lon_Overacker did to his rework. I think it makes the image more balanced.
What a beautiful capture of a frosty winter scene! I particularly like the even spacing between the main 6 trees and the tangle of frosty branches between them. I like the 3:2 vertical aspect because it conveys the height of the trees and reveals more of the frosty branches above. Well done!
I wanted to add a further comment. These fog scenes usually result in flat light and you get flat shapes of trees and branches. But here the light isn’t entirely flat and that makes a big difference in my opinion. The tree trunks are not flat but have volume. The snow is not an even white but has faint shadows. I believe that that is what makes this scene so magical.
I take my earlier suggestion back. The composition is perfect.
Processing and composition are spot on. I especially like how the two outer trees frame the inner ones. The monochromatic presentation is quite lovely, too. Not a darn thing I’d change about this one.
This is absolutely gorgeous, Jens! The soft lighting is sublime and imparts a delicate feel to this winter wonderland. I do like the crop that @Lon_Overacker came up with. It tightens up the scene perfectly IMO and elevates an already beautiful image another notch.
Really well done - especially the repost crop - Personally i dont think there is enough at the bottom to draw interest.
Have you tried how this ight look in black and white ?
If I’m honest, I almost never do black-and-white conversions. That being said, I am inspired by many black-and-white images here in the community. They look fantastic. I will probably spend more time on this topic in the future.
If you were to convert this image to black and white, how would you adjust the contrast? Would you bump it up or would you try to maintain the soft mood?
What a great winter image, you really feel like you are there while looking at it. I think your rework is really great, the light is just even better after your adjustments.
You will have to try both Jens - usually black n whites do better with contrast but I think you may lose some of the mood if you did that. Just make sure you have proper black and white on both ends and not make it too contrasty in the middle
