It’s been a while since I’ve been able to post or comment due to my busy schedule lately. It’s letting up a little bit but I’m committed to being more regular here. Sorry for the absence. This is one more image from my Fall colors trip last year. I was hiking in a wash and came across this sand/mud formation that was almost burnt looking. I thought it provided an interesting contrast in layers with the top portion being baked and cracked and looking still while the mid section and bottom section almost appear to be swiftly moving. You could tell there was some swift water running through here and then the upper portion dried into cracked and baked mud patterns.
Does this image tell a story to you.? I’m providing two version. The original and a flipped version. Which one works better aesthetically ?
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
I like the original version best. The flipped one is a mind bender
I certainly get a sense of place here. I can see coming across this on a hike and pondering the events that took place to form the geology. For me I get more of a scientific curiosity. Not sure if that’s an emotion though. Anyway I like it. And welcome back. We all get busy with life now and then so no worries.
There is a lot to see here, David. Love the colors, textures and the movement created by the lines in the sand (?) and the dried mud. I do prefer the first version because the diagonal lines seem to be pulling me into the scene. It feels a bit intense, but in a good way. Great shot and nicely seen.
It always amazes me how much an image can change just by flipping it around (or over). In the first one I see waves against a rocky shore and in the other I see a starry sky above some mountains. Both are really cool though!
Ah man, welcome back.
I’m so jealous of your find here - I am always on the lookout for mud like this.
I prefer the top version. I love how you really don’t know what you’re looking at here unless you’ve seen something similar before. I dig it man!
Beautiful! To be contrarian, I’m going to place my vote for the flipped version #2. In “reading” the image from left to right, I like the way the structure of the sediments lead me up and into the center area of “bubbles”. The top half then provides a nice bit of textural contrast, and perhaps a bit of relief from the visual tension, and I like arriving there after following the lines in from the lower left.
Very cool find, and framing. I prefer the bottom one, with the mud cracks on the bottom. It’s almost like a little landscape, with the mud cracks as mountains and the flow lines as streaky clouds in the sky.
Good to have you back, David. This is quiet the find. I love it. I had to look at both for a while to determine which one I preferred. It’s a hard judgement to make, but I’m tending to go with the flipped version. I think the small trail the water left in the middle has more depth to it and I like how that oval light grey area in the LM looks like a small basin. I think each is a winner no matter how you look at it.
David, I can see how this looks more like a science experiment. Thanks for the welcome back. I’ve missed you guys! 1 for the original.
Linda, Yep, it’s sand…and dried mud. Interesting combo, right? I find in river bottoms where there has been a big flow that the silt separates from the heavier sand and forms it’s own pockets where it cracks when dried. Thanks for your vote.
Eva, That’s the one thing that bothers me about the flipped version. Top heavy. Thanks Eva!
Tom, I just love the way you describe the two different perspectives here. Thanks for your input, Tom. I love those descriptions.
Matt, Good to be back, Bud! Yeah, unless you’ve seen stuff like this before, you really don’t know what you’re looking at. Glad you like it man!
Jeff, Eva hit on the one thing that bothers me about the flipped version but you’ve hit on the one reason I like the flipped version. Thanks for your comment!
Bonnie, You’re thinking like @Tom_Nevesely . I just love it. I didn’t see it before and now I can’t un-see it. That’s great because I love it. Glad you like it.
Donna, Good to be back. Yeah, each has a positive and a negative and it’s interesting to see that there is no clear winner here. Thanks for your comment, Donna.
James, Glad you like this as an abstract…and your vote for the original. Much appreciated.
I’ve looked at this several times now. What I find is that whichever version I see first is the one I prefer. The second one always seems ‘wrong’. I’m not sure why that occurs. I really don’t understand why we change our minds. It happens frequently with prints I put on my walls.
I had issues at first with the 50/50 look. The top half seems to dominate. I like the swirl in the bottom right corner as it helps balance things. I think this appeals most at a graphic (forms) level rather than at a conceptual level. Trying to interpret this as rocks or a horizon doesn’t really work that well. But the shapes of those round blobs and their tonal values is very appealing.
Overall, I like this very much. There is much for the eye to explore. It’s not an uninteresting image. It’s a pretty sophisticated image, in my opinion. It takes an investment of time to really get the most out of it.
What is really impressing me initially are the steely tones, almost metallic and the hint of warm/cool contrast. The processing is outstanding. Textures, patterns, this has it all. This is such a great find and capture.
From there, I’m really having a hard time finding a comfortable orientation. And no one has mentioned the other orientation - turning this vertical! With the long flow in the sandy part, that is calling vertical to me. But alas, turning this vertical creates the same odd tension feeling that something is creating an imbalance? I can’t even describe. I tried some square crops, rotating, flipping and each time it doesn’t look right for me. Igor mention the 50/50. It’s like one half has a gentle flow, radiating patterns in the lower corner (1st image, flipped?) The other half a mix of mosaic patterns with scattered pebbles. But I’m thinking to myself, there is something here that can gel, I just can’t see it.
I don’t know if this is it or not, but it’s certainly a different, alternate approach. I can’t even say why this seems more cohesive. I’m all over the map.
In addition to the obvious crop, I ended up warping the UR corner to get rid of the partial remains of the other mosaic mud tiles Having two sets of the cracked mud PLUS the flowing sand maybe was too much for me to grasp.
Hey David,
First off thanks for the welcome back and the kind words as I have missed participating. My personal preference is for the original as it just seems more balanced and the lines seem to have a better flow; at least to me; in this miniature landscape. The mud cracks have more weight and I think it looks more natural with them at the bottom.
I have to say that I am enjoying the steely gray tones and textures here. Great eye to spot this lovely scene!
Thanks for you thoughts @Igor_Doncov , @Ed_Lowe , @Steve_Layman , @Lon_Overacker .
This really is a mind bender which is why I posted it. I’ve had so many second thoughts on which one I prefer and I keep changing my mind. It exactly as Igor says. Which ever one I’m looking at is my favorite and then the other one seems wrong, unbalanced or incorrect. Then I come back to it and I t like the wrong one better. Maybe it’s the complexity of the scene or the 50/50 split that is throwing me off. Lon, You’ve got my head spinning with your comp. I actually love it. Maybe more than the original two posts. Thanks for sharing that. Ed, SO great to have you back and commenting and posting. I can’t wait to see some of your new work. And, thanks for the comment. I appreciate it.
Welcome back, David. The silvery grey tones are beautiful. Well spotted. Love the processing. Difficult choice, but as they are, I prefer the top one. I find the 50/50 split doesn’t work for me. I think this because the part with the flakes of mud is the more interesting part of the image. I would crop off the bottom of the first image, just up to where it gets darker.
I think the flipped version could also work, but I would try brightening the top part and cropping some of it. I’m not sure what this would look like, maybe subconsciously I want it to feel more like the sky. Great job making mud marvellous.
Thanks for your input, Andre and thanks for the welcome back. It’s been hard the last 4 months or so as I have not taken a single Landscape image. I’m back but still plenty busy. This image is a tough one to compose and get right. I may try your suggestion and see what I come up with. Thanks for your thoughts.
