Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
A Walk in the Park
Take a little walk with me through the evergreen forest. It is a cool, foggy September morning. Everywhere you look, there is evidence of the nourishing rain that had fallen the night before. The delicate fronds of ferns hold droplets of water like crystals on the ends of a living chandelier. They shimmer in the gentle breeze as wisps of fog drift by. Occasionally a ray of sunshine will pierce the fog and send warm shafts of light waltzing through the forest. Its like someone’s child is playing with the light switch. As the rays of life sustaining brilliance cross paths with the ferns, every single drop of water lights up and gives back a little ray of its own light. Far overhead, adding to the dramatic effect of the light, are towering Cedar Trees.
The sunlight has begun to heat up the ground. The aroma of the trees themselves is more pleasant than you can imagine, but even the decaying remains of trees, branches, needles, and plants provides a rich experience as we push on through to our goal. Every once in a while, there is a large boulder left behind by the great rivers of ice that once pushed through here. Occasionally the seed of a tree will find purchase in a fracture line in the rock and begin its resilient life there. As the tree ages its roots grow around the outside of the rock and finally find the rich soil they are looking for. It is as if a gardener passed the time one day by braiding the roots of the tree and carefully pulled them down to the ground.
Now we begin to hear the gentle roar of our destination. Eons of melting snow have patiently created a masterpiece in solid stone as a canyon of unbelievable beauty opens up before us. The creek causes an opening in the forest canopy and the view it exposes is stunning. Water cascades through this canyon alternating between deep calm turquoise pools and towers of raging white waterfalls. As if daring the elements to harm it, a young Cedar tree perches on the edge of the canyon. It is not alone, as mosses cover the ledge is sits on. More shades of green than you thought possible flood your field of view. Let’s just sit here for a minute and feel the mist blow against our faces. Become mesmerized by the flow of the water as we watch its ceaseless flow. Breathe deeply of the forest scented air that is both cool and warm at the same time. Listen to the sounds around you. Only in places like this, can your ears be filled concurrently with both sound and silence. Take your time. I don’t know about you, but there’s no place I’d rather be right now.
Glacier National Park, Avalanche Gorge, September 2014
Specific Feedback
This is a pretty old image. I shot it in 2012 with an old Nikon D5100. I don’t think I even had a filter on it back then, but I just don’t remember! I know I didn’t have a polarizer on because I had to remove quite a few bright highlights on the wet rocks. I’ve cropped it a bit tight at the top because there was a distracting fallen tree up there. I had to take a lot of shots until I got one where the tree hadn’t been moving. Of 20 or so shots, only in this one was the tree sharp.
Technical Details
Nikon D5100
Nikon 18-70 f3.5-4.5
ISO 100, f/9, 1/2 second, 70mm
I used a number of masks in Lightroom to change the exposure on the mosses, and reduce highlights in areas on the wet rocks. I’ve selectively sharpened the little tree and slid a few of the HSL sliders this way and that.
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