The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
One Autumn several years ago, I found this Sedge meadow on Rock Creek in the Little Lakes Valley area of the Sierra.
The textures, varied color of the sedges and the rock and old branch was hard to pass by without trying to capture it.
Specific Feedback
I am mainly concerned about the color of the sedge. It was very bright and brilliant, so I wanted to realize that without it looking washed out.
Any other thoughts you may have will be welcomed.
-P
Technical Details
Tachihara 4x5
Nikkor M 300 mm
Fujichrome Astia 100 ISO 100
Exposure Not Recorded
1,800 dpi scan re-processed in PSCC 2025.
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Vision and Purpose:
Conceptual:
Emotional Impact and Mood:
Composition:
Balance and Visual Weight:
Depth and Dimension:
Color:
Lighting:
Processing:
Technical:
The mix of yellow and green in the sedge grass is captivating, and I think you’ve handled it very well. What really attracts me is the rock with the tree. I’m guessing it wasn’t possible to walk out closer? I’d love to see that as a larger, and less on the edge, anchor for the scene.
Preston: I see @John_Williams point about wanting a closer look at that rock but this comp works really well for me. I wonder how many folks would look at this scene and just keep on going. I like the way my eye travels from the FG branch to the rock and the even texture of the grasses surrounding them. Well seen and presented IMO. >=))>
Hi Preston,
Great eye to realize the potential in this scene; I would probably have walked on by and not noticed it. This is one of those images that needs to be viewed large to appreciate all of the fine details captured here with the sedge, the fallen branch and the BG rock with tree. I didn’t notice the tree clinging to the top of until I opened the large version so that was a treat. The greens and yellows of the grass look perfect to me. Very nicely done.
Preston, as always the Astia treats the greens & yellows better than other films overall. I’m with @John_Williams on the composition. That little tree poking out of the rock top looks like an excellent subject. As he stated, maybe no way to get out closer on that subject. Regardless, fine open meadow scene.
Astia magic on the greens and yellows is coming through very nicely and you’ve handled the exposure perfectly, what ever it happened to be.
For me the composition brings a lot of tension and a sense of being boxed in due to the minimal space around the rock and to the right of the FG branch. Not a bad thing, at all, when a photograph can illicit an emotion. Nice work as always.
This is very nice! Simple scene, apparently just one more spot of grass, but… you saw it and rendered it in a captivating view. I like it a lot. I also like the rock in the BG, I see the point of having it closer but this way is fine with me - maybe, maybe you could crop a bit the lower edge, bringing the edge of the branch closer to the lower boundary of the image, to get a more diagonally symmetrical balance with the rock in the upper left corner? In any case, very nice!
PS It is great that you use the large format. I did in the past and stopped some years ago, but still thinking of getting back to it sooner or later…
Thanks for your comments and observations, everyone!
@Antonello_Provenzale. I haven’t used my 4x5 in quite some time. Film is horrendously expensive, and processing (not including shipping) is too. Digital is much easier in terms of not have to scan the film and post processing. I did always like the slow, methodical process of using a view camera, though.
I have often thought of selling my LF kit, but I always say to myself, “Not yet”.
-P
I rather like this image as well. It’s sort of a minimalist image. The colors are wonderful. In fact you could argue that the grass overwhelms the stick and rock. I like the composition as is with the rock close to the edge but a bit more space might work as well. The big thing is to not lose its significance in all that grass. Nice work.
