An Ice Maze + redos

Image Critiques Macro/Close-up Critiques
1

An Ice Maze
An Ice Maze1600×1067 814 KB

Going from fire to ice… Here’s a look at some ice on my backyard pond, where there was a fine collection of long straight crystals. When I downloaded the image and saw the two tiny insects (1-2 mm), the sense of them trying to navigate the maze of crystals was good for a big grin. The colors are from stones and debris on the bottom of the pond.

(7D2, 180 mm macro L, 1/6 s, f16, iso 400, tripod and cable release)

Burned and desaturate on the orange, plus mid-tone dodging in darker areas

An Ice Maze v2
An Ice Maze v21600×1067 839 KB

Cropped to 8.5 x 11 (I really like keeping both insects in the frame…they’re my buddies. :open_mouth:)

An Ice Maze v2b
An Ice Maze v2b1600×1236 943 KB

2

Mark: A-maze-ing shot! The bright ULC draws me away from the subtle colors of the rest of the image but still works well for me. Top notch! :+1: :+1:>=))>

3

Wow, Mark, this is quite a amazing shot. The long straight crystals look like brush strokes. The 2 insects are pretty tough critters to hang out on the ice in a pond. Love the colors of light from below. Well done! :+1: :+1:

4

I really like this a lot. I played around with it some in PS and came up with a crop I like, but as always, YMMV. I find the OOF LRC pulls me and the crop seems to bring more attention to the light for my eye.

Mark---Delete
Mark---Delete906×676 716 KB

5

There is a lot to explore here. Wonderful colors textures, and forms.

6

Mark: I really like what you did with the bright ULC on both reposts. I like your little party crashers too. >=))>

7

Nice colours and light and the little critters are a great detail. I personally wouldn’t crop it at all, I don’t see the need for it.
Grt, Ingrid.