This nature trail in the little town of Jean Lafitte, LA is a really nice quiet swampy environment, not far from the national park, that wanders through the cypress swamp. Oddly enough though on the several occasions I’ve visited it’s been all but deserted. It’s an excellent alternative to the NP for the Iris blooms in the spring. Obviously summer mornings in this region are warm and can be uncomfortably humid like a jungle, but in early fall it’s delightful. And so I have made the 200 mile drive there mornings the past two weeks while the tropics haven’t been a threat.
What technical feedback would you like if any?
Mainly how exposure is handled, but all input appreciated
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
For me the main interest was the moss. I liked the relatively small proportions of color in the scene, and so I additionally minimized the boardwalk in a effort to emphasize the backlighted moss. I tried a B&W version that looks good, but I’m no expert with that like others I know here.
Any pertinent technical details:
EM-1 Mk II, ZD 50-200 @60 on tripod, ISO 200, 2 sec. delay, 1/60 f16 -1/3EV, full frame
You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
Bill, I think the exposure is well handled here, there is some detail in the trunks of the tree, and the backlit moss looks good. I also like that you included the boardwalk but deliberately kept it as a smaller element in the scene. The moss in the trees creates an abstract pattern, but the inclusion of the boardwalk creates an nice anchoring element to the composition. There are two bright hot spots that I would like to see burned down, which are the railing in the lower left corner, and the piece of moss in the upper left corner. These hot spots keep pulling my eye to the corners, and away from the center of the image. But overall I like the image very much.
Bill, the curtain of glowing moss is a great look. Your emphasis on the moss with the boardwalk for an anchor works well. This strikes me as “not your usual view”, which makes it a lot of fun to view.
Thanks for the input, guys. After your comments I began to notice the bright triangular drape of moss at top LHC, which I can easily burn down a bit, and I can burn some of the spots on the railing as well. I have other frames where the bright railing is even more noticeable. I’ll probably post others from that area the next few days. In the mean time, attached is the B&W I did. And needless to say I would invite comments on this as well.
The b&w is so much better. I was going to write that this was shot with very harsh light conditions but the b&w saved it. It looks the shadows have been raised as well. The repost works well for me. It fact, it’s wonderful.
Great job on capturing the moss and the light. You’ve got enough of the boardwalk to tell the viewer you included it on purpose, and as mentioned, it creates a good anchor, context and scale.
As I mentioned, great job on the exposure and handling the tough light. The only suggestion I have might be to warm up that light and mosses a little. I can tell a little from the angle, the blue sky, etc., that this was probably taken closer to early afternoon, late morning rather than much later in the day when the light might be warmer. No biggie, but if you stick with the color, you might think about warming it up. Of course a personal choice and subjective.
The b&w works very well also really bringing attention to the patterns and very much emphasizing the moss.
