What changed: I changed the crop to reduce the amount of sky. This automatically eliminated the sesnsor spots, the band on the right side of the image and the brighter clouds on the right side of the image.
Added after receiving feedback from the community.
The photographer is looking for thoughtful feedback on the image as a whole, especially around the areas noted below.
Feedback Focus: Artistic / Expressive
About This Image
This image was taken during an early June visit to the Palouse in eastern Washington state in 2021. It is a blend of 4 images that were bracketed to try to properly expose both the sun and the foreground of the image. It isn’t what I think of as a typical Palouse image taken from Steptoe Butte. I hiked down from the road to to find a somewhat colorful foreground and to get closer to the level of the rolling hills.
Feedback Requested
I would like feedback on the overall mood of the image and any technical suggestions on the processing. I definitely tried to enhance the shadows in the green meadows by dodging and burning. In addition I enhanced the foreground by adding sharpening and saturation. Any feedback on the use of these tools or other things I might consider doing to give the image a better composition or mood would be most appreciated.
Technical Details
Camera: Canon EOS R5 on tripod
Lens: RF15-35mm F2.8 L IS USM
Focal length: 15mm
Shutter speed: 1/50s
Aperture: f/13
ISO: 50
5 bracketed images were taken
I really like this image for the layering of the foreground grasses and then the middle ground of the rolling hills, leading to the sun in the background. It looks like a 16x9 crop, which I also like, but I feel there is a little too much sky at the top. I would suggest further cropping the image from the top to reduce the amount of blank sky, and maybe darkening the topmost edge using a linear gradient. I have added an example of what I was getting at.
Beautiful scenery, calm and relaxing. You captured it very nicely. I like your editing, soft colors and the light&shadow play on the undulating terrain. The rule of thirds is clearly marked. I would consider cropping the sky a little but I don’t find it very excessive as it is now. There is a tiny vertical stripe along the right border probably coming from a decorative framing and too much light on the clouds. Definately, the picture is well done, pleasant to look at.
This is a nice image and I can see the work gone into the post-processing already.
I love the brighter back-lit foreground grasses that pull ones eyes into the picture.
I agree with doing something about the brighter URC and maybe cropping a little from the top - really works as a 16:9 or maybe even more of a letterbox
This is a very nice image! I like a lot how you enhanced the FG emphasizing the structure and the color. You did also a great job with the dodging and burning of the hills in the midground increasing the interest in that are.
I like the image as is but there are some very minor things that for me are a little bit disturbing. My eyes are drawn to the different blue colors in the sky, maybe you used a pol-filter and a wide angle lens? The other minor thiongs are a few bright parts at the lower egde as well as the grey fields in the BG towards the right edge.
Processing: At a first glance it seems a bit over processed to me, too much of an HDR look. I would try to preserve some of the shadows and the contrast.
Photo itself: I think you had the right instinct to find a foreground element with the flowers. I would have shot the image a bit lower to get the flowers more prominent to make them more significant.
Again, these are my personal thoughts, thank you for looking for feedback and ways to improve
Hi Willem,
Practicing for our spring trip, eh? I like this a lot. I don’t often see Palouse images with interesting foreground details like this field of wildflowers. I really makes the image to me. I also think there is a little bit more sky than is strictly necessary. It creates, for me anyway, a lift of my eyes up and away from where the action is. I’m sharing a possible crop that you might play with. It’s easier for me to dial that in by Windows Photo viewer, so I’m not using the tool. Rest assured, I retitle all downloaded images with the photographer’s name and delete monthly.
One of these two might be an improvement? They each maintain some sky, eliminate edge clouds, get rid of the bare-dirt triangle in the upper left and the relative lack of interest on that side. To me, this keeps the attention where I think you want it:
This image definitely falls into the grand landscape niche. I like the fact that you took the time to find a different vantage point for this scene by including those lovely FG grasses and wildflowers. Not that there is anything wrong with those graceful rolling hills of the Palouse. The light is quite nice as is the sunstar along the horizon. I could see shaving a little from the top as well although my personal preference would be to just above those clouds on the left side. I also think that taking care of that lighter area mentioned by @JacekZielinski would make an already outstanding image even better. Looks like a great way to end the day!
This is grand and beautiful - I absolutely love this lanscape from the Palouse. I’ve never been, but we have certainly seen our share of images from this region. And congrats for envisioning a new perspective. The foreground field is wonderful; the grasses feel like they’re blowing in the wind and I love the scattering of color.
I really love this as presented, but upon closer inspection, I do see some of the minor things others have pointed out. The strip on the right is probably just an alignment issue with one of the layers that you didn’t catch. Although I’m really liking the Thirds composition, where the sky is 1/3, the foreground is 1/3 and the land is 1/3. Having said that, I could see shaving a little off the top, and then about 5% or so off the right to mitigate some of the points others have mentioned.
This is a case for me where a few tweaks can really elevate this image. It’s already wonderful, I guess you could just make it outstanding? Thanks for sharing!
Well this makes me eager to go photograph that part of the state next year. I love the expanse you’ve captured, and the layering works very well.
My thoughts align with the above; some great suggestions to play with. My only addition would be to nail those two dust bunnies.
If you’ve never tried it, a good way to check for dust bunnies is to apply high contrast/low radius unsharp masking. (I often duplicate the final image to a new layer to add the sharpening, that way I can toggle it on and off.) This makes them easier to find. Here’s what it looks like applied to your image, and you can see the two pretty easily on the right.
