In mid-September this year, I took a week long trip to Banff NP in the Canadian Rockies. My first morning there I planned to do a sunrise shoot, with visions of towering mountains reflecting in the turquoise waters of Bow Lake. However, when I arrived at Bow Lake it was completely socked in with thick fog. My pre-conceived notion of images was out the window. But I instead found myself intrigued by the autumn colors of the ground cover in the meadows near the lake. I happily spent several hours shooting these more intimate scenes in the fog.
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Any comments or critique are welcome
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
Canon 5D MKIV, Canon 16-35mm f4 lens, at 35mm, ISO 100, 1.0 sec at f16
Ed,
The fog certainly sets the mood for me in this lovely scene as I love the various shapes of the trees as they recede into the BG. It really adds a nice air of mystery to the surroundings. Of course the ground cover decked out in all it’s autumn splendor is just gorgeous and provides a lovely FG. I only have one suggestion; more of a personal preference and not a critique; but this has a better feel to it for me with about 1/3 of the FG cropped off. I think that makes the fog an equal partner and not secondary to the colorful FG. I hope that makes sense. BTW, welcome back.
That’s what I love about the Canadian Rockies which are fast becoming my favourite place to shoot. There’s always something to shoot.
I think the high texture in the foreground to the foggy background works well in this image. I almost wish those two green trees weren’t in the mid ground but it’s great as is.
Ed, I appreciate your suggestion on the alternate crop. In the past I have been strongly biased to a 3:2 aspect ratio (learned to shoot / see on 35mm slide film). Do you prefer a crop from the bottom to place the horizon 1/3 from the top, or do you think there is just too much of the orange vegetation, or both? Either way here is a rework reflecting the crop. I’m still a bit on the fence about it, but would be curious to hear other’s reactions. To me the cropped version just doesn’t have the same feeling, I think the original conveys more of a sense of mystery by having the fog further in the distance.
Mike, I did take a number of horizontals here as well, but I preferred the verticals. For some reason the horizontals seemed to make the foggy trees less prominent. And the horizontals introduced too much sky into the shot given that the tree line was uneven with varying heights, by going vertical I could select a narrower section where the tree height was more uniform, and the sky could be better controlled.
I agree that the orange overpowers the softness of the upper section particularly in combination with the jet black. The two parts are at odds with one another in feeling. Perhaps that was the intention. Below is what I’m thinking but it is a very different image so it’s likely too great a departure from what you had in mind.
Thanks for taking the time to do a rework, Ed. The crop works better for me, but that is the beauty of the critiques on NPN. It would be dull if everyone liked the same exact thing and there would be no creativity in our photography. It is funny that you mention that the fog has more of an air of mystery to it for you in the original post while that is the exact same mood the cropped version does for me. Anyway you slice it this is a lovely image.
Actually I like your rework a lot @Igor_Doncov. I in fact took some other horizontal images similar to this rework, which placed more emphasis on the yellow willows than the orange. This rework has a softer feeling overall, whereas my original goes for the sharp/soft contrast look. I think both have a place.
The backdrop of fading trees in the fog is just awesome - just wondering if you happened to bush-whack your way through and shoot just the fog and trees?
Probably not and so you had to settle for the gorgeous autumn conditions - combining for a beautiful capture.
I’m not sure if this would improve things or not, but I’m wondering if cropping may 10% or so off the bottom might work. Love the color throughout, but almost thing the orange/red vegetation at the bottom is too much? Not sure, but a thought none the less.
Lon
Edit: Just say Igor’s suggestion… There ya go, that works beautifully for me.
Ed,
A bit late but wanted to offer my thoughts. I do prefer the bottom crop in your rework and also Igor’s version. I see your point about the original and the sense of mystery created by the fog in the distance, but I feel the contrast and darkness in the bottom is not quite as pleasing to my eye as the other choices. The background is so nice that a less bold foreground allows my eye to flow easily into the fog and explore the trees.
I am looking forward to more of your posts from the Canadian Rockies!
Ed, the colors are astonishing and having them fade into the foggy distance works well. I like your crop, because I was thinking that the orange leaves overwhelmed the foggy feeling. Cropping about half of the orange, reduces that emphasis and lets the trees in the fog play a stronger role.
Great conversation and obviously multiple messages can be conveyed with this scene. @Ed_McGuirk, I think that you and I were having this conversation on one of my recent images and I do find the crop conversation to be helpful. With all that said, I agree that the cropped version stands a little stronger to my eye. The orange and higher contrast foreground takes up almost 50% of the original image suggesting this is a primary subject. In the end, I think the cropped version balances out the image better and actually draws me more in to the image That said, I think I like @Igor_Doncov’s crop most. Transcendent.
