The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
On a hike that started out cloudy and ended sunny, the magic of fall comes through with that light change. As I headed back to the car around 4pm, the sun came through the trees and lit this hemlock bough with its collection of fallen leaves and I just had to stop. It can only really happen in one season and it’s something I’ve tried from time to time, but not with much success. I even filmed it moving in the wind. Quite magical.
This is an example of what I might miss if I used the same lens throughout my woodland walks. On the way in I have one lens on the camera and on the way back a different one. It keeps me from taking the same kinds of photos for the outing. Of course I can always switch if it’s necessary, but I find the technique helpful as it changes the way I see subjects knowing the focal length to hand.
Specific Feedback
Curious as to impressions and reactions.
Technical Details
Handheld
Lr processed for the initial work to even out some of the tonalities while retaining the backlit glow. Cropped for emphasis of the geometry. Some sharpening and a touch of texture. Photoshop for some distraction removal and edge clean up to simplify things a bit.
I love scenes like this. That branch with the red leaves is perfect. Although the backlit glow of the background is lovely, it does compete with that foreground branch a bit, to my eye.
It’s better, but I think what isn’t working for me may be the similarity in color/tonality between the backlit background and the foreground branch. Don’t know how you’d change that without fundamentally altering the tonalities, which I presume you’d rather not do. Here’s how I “see” it - a different mood than yours:
Looking at the thumbnail, I first thought this was a reflection shot. My humble opinion is that the highlights of the lit branches compete too much with the BG. The composition is nice.
Even with just the two of you weighing in, this has been a really interesting exercise about the effect of being in a scene can make on the intent of a final photo, and how different one is from the other. For me the time in the woods when the sun broke through the clouds I’d had early on was magical, to employ an overused expression. While I am fine with flatter, more even light, to me it doesn’t convey why walking the woods in fall is so special. The interplay of direct sunlight and fall foliage is just so much more acceptable to me than it is with green foliage. I can’t put my finger on why, it just is. Maybe those jewel tones have a more important place in our brains and imaginations than ubiquitous green.
So in terms of bringing that to a final product, it seems that the experience doesn’t factor as much as I might like it to. Also the idea of trying to replicate how our eyes work versus how the camera works; meaning that if you’d seen this with your eyes, the background wouldn’t be as dark as in Bonnie’s photo, but because cameras and software can create this kind of image, we sort of expect it.
I’m not running you down, Bon, really. Your work is outstanding whether it’s your own or another’s and I’m happy that you took the time to work the picture - it illustrates things so well. Creating a more pleasing photo is what we’re here to do and your insight and editing have made me think more about how to integrate those two ideas and goals. To show what I saw, tell the Story of the Place and to create a final product that is pleasing and artistic. This will be on my mind for a while until I work through some things and maybe have a more consistent output.
