Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
We had a wildfire in our area on September 6, 2020 that was stopped across the road from our property. It was red flag weather with high winds and took about 20 minutes to burn 400 acres. Through luck and the fire departments, only one home was lost, though numerous outbuildings. This image was taken six days later at what was a brushy corner up the main road a couple of hundred feet. The shape of the burned post fascinated me.
Specific Feedback
I removed some branches crossing the post but left the ones above it. I’m still not sure whether I like them there or not.
Technical Details
Canon 5DIII, EF 70-200 f/4 at 70 mm, hand held, f/6.3, 1/1600, iso 1000, manual exposure. Processed in LR & PS CC from a vertical original. Cropped to 3726x4881.
A familiar scene these days. I love those branches poking in from the ULC. Burned scenes are inherently disturbing and it’s been my thought that it’s counterproductive, in a sense, to try to make them aesthetically “perfect”. I’d even like to see the original with the branches crossing that post.
Dennis, the shape of that post is an eyecatcher. I like the rest of your comp. as well, with the negative space and hazy ridge in the distance. The clutter of branches add well to the “your are here” view.
This captures the sense of devastation very well. The composition is disjointed and that works so well with the message. For example - the charred branches don’t stand out from their background and that emphasizes the despair of the situation. Marvelous work.
I am impressed with the photograph showing that both man-made things and nature are affected by fires. What you did there will become an increasingly important part of nature photography. To document what happens to nature and us as part of nature when the climate keeps developing the way it is. I would like to see this in black and white as there is so little color in this image that I feel one could abandon it. Very well done.
