Along the McCloud River + Repost #2

REWORK #2:

REWORK #1:

ORIGINAL:

Basalt worn smooth by the McCloud River, up near Mt. Shasta in northern California. I liked the triangle formed by the fractures, with the round basins in the middle.

What technical feedback would you like if any? What artistic feedback would you like if any?

Does this feel compositionally balanced or does that patch of moss on the left + the grasses give too much weight to the left side? I tried to downplay the moss in processing, but there it is. I don’t mind cloning out small bits of distraction, but getting rid of all the moss would be a bridge too far for me.

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

Single frame, a7r3, 100-400@302mm, f/8, 1/100s, ISO 400, hand held

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Hi Bonnie - no critique on the spatial balance - looks fine to me. I was however confused about the “grass” - I thought these were artificial fishing flies which had got caught in the cracks. I have fished the McCloud (Nature Conservancy section below the reservoir) and thought perhaps that you were a fisherperson and that was where you were.

This looks like a mini landscape and it’s very pleasing to see. Yes, I think the round basins are important parts of this image, also because tall three (including the empty one at the bottom) are “filled” with different colors. The tonality is also very gorgeous.

I love how the light shapes the rounded basalt. You could darken the lower left corner, if you find the moss and grass too distracting.

Very nice image, Bonnie, really entertaining light bouncing off the rounded basalt. The moss with its complementary texture is a great element in the image, that squidy looking grass clump just below it looks weird and might be a serious distraction for some, but as you said about the moss…there it is. I would try to burn down the strong highlight just right of the whiskey colored pool .

I’m enjoying this image for it’s lighting and dramatic effect. I can remember similar compositions along I-70 on the Feather River. I feel that left side weighs down the image. I would either change that or crop it off for a more balanced composition.

Bonnie, this is an exquisite scene. I imagine Nature arranging 3 pots of ink, 2 brushes, and a bed of moss to create a fine Sumi painting.
Now my imagination also wishes that the black ink pot did not look like a long dead mouse, but that’s that fault of my imagination.
I tinkered with the moss, trying to highlight its edges, and I think that might make it a more solid player inthe composition. The attachment is a rough stab on my tablet using snapseed.

Thank you, @beautythief, @Adhika_Lie, @Bill_Pelzmann, @Stephen_Stanton, @Igor_Doncov, and @Dick_Knudson for your good comments and suggestions. :+1: I will post a re-work incorporating them.

Greg, this is on the upper McCloud, just above the upper falls.

This is a lovely image, Bonnie, and I prefer your original processing (lower contrast) but I do like your rework of the crop. This has so much to explore with all the nooks and crannies, the shadows, textures, grasses, etc. but it retains a very simple and uncrowded feel. Don’t know how you managed that, but it’s excellent.

I like the original Bonnie for both the contrast and the crop. I don’t think the original crop was left heavy at all.

I have to say I had no idea what this was a picture of looking at the thumbnail but when I opened this up I was very pleasantly surprised. I much prefer the original both for the crop and the softer contrast. I can’t say that the left side feels any heavier than the right side. To my eyes it looks pretty good. I’m just astounded that you found this. Great eyes! I also wish the bottom hole had a little bit of water in it but what the heck, you have a rat taking a nap.

Bonnie, you have gotten a lot of great comments already, but let me start by saying you are the master at finding these intriguing intimate scenes in nature. I like @Dick_Knudson’s interpretation of your image

Here is another opinion weighing in FWIW. I like the composition / crop of the original (the grass does not have too much visual weight for me), but prefer the processing of your rework. My incremental suggestions would be to clone away the dark spot in the URC along the top frame edge, and to slightly decrease the highlight luminosity in the center near the three potholes.

Superb, You have a fantastic eye for the intimate scenes and this one is so nuanced. You have done a marvellous job of capturing the light, texture and tone of what appears to be the world in miniature - so much to delight the eye. And yes, I too, prefer the added contrast of the rework.

@Bill_Chambers, @David_Haynes, @Ed_McGuirk, and @Kerry_Gordon, thank you. :slightly_smiling_face: I do wish I had @Dick_Knudson’s way with words!

I did rework #2, incorporating your additional comments. I was sort of going back and forth on the contrast, so I split the difference and dialed it back just a bit. And I went back to +/- the original crop; got rid of the dark crack at the top.

Thanks for that observation, but I don’t know how I managed it, either. I am of the “Oh Look, There’s a Squirrel!” school of photography. No planning, just wander until I see something that catches my eye.

Thanks again to everyone for their great observations and suggestions.

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Bonnie,
First off, great eye to spot and isolate this intimate landscape. I think your rework # 2 is the ticket and the way to go. The light here is very inviting and truly sublime. This has some wonderful shapes with the triangles and ovals and the delicate grasses contrast beautifully with the rugged rock face. No suggestions from me.

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Love your vision here, Bonnie! No criticisms, just pure joy. Thanks for sharing. Keep it up!

Matt

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