Forest scenes are challenging for me. I find it hard to compose the chaos with depth and interest, even though being there in person is fantastically beautiful. Still, one soldiers on and I’d love your thoughts on whether this one “works” or not.
Lunaria annua adds splashes of color to the Columbia River Gorge in April. This was a roadside scene from the scenic highway as it winds past the waterfalls. (Although beautiful, Lunaria is unfortunately an invasive species.)
Nikon D7100
Nikon 12.0-24.0 mm f/4.0 at 12 mm (18mm equiv.)
1/8 at f/16 and ISO 100
Blend of two images for DOF
You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
My brother beat me. The lighting here is spectacular, especially in the BG, John. The greens in the moss and the leaves just have this lovely glow which brings the whole scene to life and those purple flowers contrast nicely with the greens. Take this with a grain of salt because Mike always tells me my monitor is to bright, but the leaves in the middle top look just a little bright. Anyway this is gorgeous and what I like to call organized chaos.
It’s a beautiful shot! It is pretty busy and I tend to agree with @Ed_Lowe that the leaves in the background look a touch too bright. I think toning those down could help declutter the overall feel.
John, this is beautiful. The depth of field is perfect and I really like the pink and green combination. The light is amazing, too. The light “shaft” in the upper frame right on the center of the image is a cherry on top. Very well done!
I will be the outlier here and say the comp confounds me a bit. I love the flowers and fore light but every time I try to linger there, the dark horizontal branches top left pull me there. I can’t come up with any suggestions though, other than lighten the branches some?
I really like the radiating form of the composition, the arrangement of the flowers and of course the branches. I don’t mind the brightness in the top middle section as it draws the eye through the scene, although I might add some diffusion to that area.
John, for me I think this really well composed. I like the anchor of flowers at the bottom and as @Kah-Kit_Yoong stated “the radiating form” of this scene. Well done!
Beautiful, and beautifully processed. Love the greens, yellow/greens throughout and I think you’ve presented quite naturally. I love that you’ve filled the foreground with the beautiful plant and the color, yet left enough of the background which provides depth and context.
Regarding the branches. Initially I thought the same as Harley, but in the end, what makes them ok is that if I look at them as a whole, rather than single branches, they become just another element in a chaotic forest scene and their presence works. On top of that is the fact that there’s a subtle diagonal at the edge of the flowering plant that is perpendicular to the flow of the mossy branches; I think they connect well enough together.
John, what a wonderful profusion of color, and I love the radial appearance of the composition. The rim lighting on the mossy branches is really nice. The erspective makes It feels like I am right there in this forest. My only nit is the horizontal branch that is nearly merging with the top of the frame, it is a minor distraction. I would crop just enough from the top to eliminate this branch, and this will still leave most of the backlit branches.
The lighting here is spectacular, especially in the BG, John. The greens in the moss and the leaves just have this lovely glow which brings the whole scene to life and those purple flowers contrast nicely with the greens. Take this with a grain of salt because Mike always tells me my monitor is to bright, but the leaves in the middle top look just a little bright. Anyway this is gorgeous and what I like to call organized chaos.