The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
After Zalman Wainhaus’s webinar on using a long lens for landscapes I gave it a try yesterday. I liked how the trees framed the waterfall here.
Specific Feedback
I could have gone the other way and focused on the waterfall, but this appeared more interesting. I seldom venture into landscapes, so have at me!
Technical Details
D500 + 150-600mm (@150mm). 1/640 f11 ISO 7200
In LR, as well as the usual adjustments to Blacks and Whites, used the graduated filter to lighten the trunks and cave. Denoise, then added contrast in PS, as the weather was overcast.
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
I love the vivid color of the maples and the framing was a nice idea. However, the out of focus background is just not working for me. I can’t make out if the water is flowing towards us or from the right to left. This might have been a good candidate for a focus blend. There does not seem to be much in the way of a middle ground, so two frames, one for the maples and one for the water could have worked.
This is a great idea, to frame the river with the trees. I want the river to be in focus, though, since it’s framed by the trees. It feels like it should be the subject. Even if it were way more OOF, I don’t think it would work, because you’d have a blank space in the middle. Like Youssef said, a focus blend, one of the trees and one of the river would probably work better.
Keep trying those landscapes with the long lens! It’s fun!
Thank you @Youssef_Ismail and @Bonnie_Lampley. Only now do I see that the river could indeed be seen as flowing from L to R (though it was in reality R to L). A focus blend would have been good, as you both suggest. Thanks for your replies - I usually love the photos both of you contribute.
The way this bends my mind is pretty fun. The way the composition shows the waterfall as the star, but the focus shows the leaves. I agree it is tough to tell which way the water is flowing; if the camera was above the waterfall or looking across at it.
While I appreciate it, I too think I would prefer the waterfall in focus.
Mike, I agree with John that this is an intriguing “play” on standard framing, with the frame sharp and the “subject???” soft rather than the opposite. The middle does feel somewhat empty, leaving me to wonder how it would feel if you had tried this with only the rocks as the “background”.
I think this was a worthy exercise to try out and the leaves look absolutely gorgeous but I can’t help but fixate on the OOF waterfall in the back. It’s definitely framed nicely and the frame suggests to the viewer that they should be looking at what is inside the frame but here we just get something that is too out of focus.
Thanks very much for adding your views @Mark_Seaver and @Tom_Nevesely. Ideally, I’d like to have had a bird flying precisely across that space (perhaps instead of the water)! If only…
