Please share your immediate response to the image before reading the photographer’s intent (obscured text below) or other comments. The photographer seeks a genuinely unbiased first impression.
Questions to guide your feedback
What do you feel when you first look at this image?
Other Information
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Image Description
While traveling on a boat to Antarctica, my first trip ever, I spent hours photographing this remote and vast landscape, continuously searching for compositions in the amazing light and weather conditions.
Technical Details
ISO 1250 F/8.0 200 mm 1/16000 sec
Specific Feedback
composition
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Hi @Debbie_McCulliss - nice to see you here on NPN =)
Isn’t Antarctica a magical place!?
This image certainly takes me back!
My initial reaction is that this image does a great job of conveying scale with those icebergs in the foreground contrasted against the huge vast snowy field and mountain peaks.
I’d like to see a bit more interest in the sky with those wispy clouds, maybe try to find a way to make those stand out a tiny bit more.
The mountain peak on the left middle edge pulls me over there visually, you might try cropping that out in some way - I think the main areas of interest are in the center, so perhaps a 4x5 crop of that area could work?
Excellent capture and presentation from Antarctica. I’ve never been, but it’s clear to me that you’ve captured the unbridled landscape quite well.
While agree with Matt that possibly you could enhance the clouds (more contrast?), think this is composed wonderfully. Even the vast open middle of the landscpe - has shadows dancing on the landscape. Then there is the sea and scattered iceburgs.
I wouldn’t say scale is an issue, but really the scale is only relative here - meaning, we have no idea how big the iceburgs are and thus more difficult to scale to the landscape. Not sure if that makes sense. It’s a minor point anyway.
I could see a slight increase in contrast overall, but not much. One trick I use is to add a blank or unedited Levels or Curves layer and set the blending mode to “soft light” and lower opacity to taste.
Excellent image and I’m glad you got to experience Antarctica!
Initial reaction is that the image gives a great sense of scale and vastness of the ice sheet over the mountains.
In my opinion, there is a bit of an imbalance with the ice sheet and that dark peak not having something to balance it on the left of the image. I’d be tempted to try cropping the image so that the top of the ice sheet is more central. This might balance things better (I’ve cropped to make the left hand mound act as a counter to the right hand peak). I agree with the other commentors about a little extra contrast too. I hope you don’t mind my suggestion. What an amazing place to visit!! Awe inspiring! (p.s. my edit changes the way the image is read and may not be what you wanted to acheive - in which case ignore the crop although I think the increase in contrast is still useful)
