Any feedback would be appreciated, I have done no post processing on this image at all.
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
ISO 400 135mm f22
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To me that kind of says it all, this image is in many ways raw material waiting to be transformed.
I’ll start by asking if your intent was to document this scene, or whether you wanted to do more and try to tell a story. To me, the story here is about is about the massive size of the glacier and the surrounding mountains. While including the ship adds a sense of scale, for me it’s inclusion actually distracts from the story. It’s placement in the lower left corner pulls the viewers eyes away from the center of the image (where the story is). The large amount of real estate devoted to the ocean also diminishes the majestic size of the glacier/mountain, because it makes the glacier smaller in the frame. A crop from the bottom would help the viewer concentrate more on the glacier.
From a technical standpoint, nearly all images require some processing to have a better impact. This image is too cool in White Balance, the greens and whites have a strong blue cast. The image is also relatively flat looking and would benefit from some more mid-tone contrast. There is a large dust spot near the shoreline in the right half of the image that should be cloned away. Some basic tweaks like these would add value to the unprocessed file. Here is a rework reflecting my comments. To me the crop makes the glacier more impressive looking, even without having the ship for scale.
That is one impressive looking glacier, Trevor. @Ed_McGuirk hit the nail on the head when he said “this image is in many ways raw material waiting to be transformed”. I will have to echo his thoughts in the direction he was going with his tweaks. Most images do need some tweaking to bring out their true potential unless you were going for a specific look. Wonderful light on the glacier BTW.
I like the ship just not where it was. That said I firmly believe that every photograph needs post processing. Here mostly for contrast and color balance ( and maybe to move the ship so its sailing into the frame and not out)
