I came across this birch grove and was struck by the pattern and contrast between the reeds, the willow and birch. I positioned the path as a diagonal with the birch trees. I was struck by the banding created by reeds, willow and sky. I shot wider but a closer crop seemed to hang together better. I like the image, it seems to work almost as an abstract.
Specific Feedback Requested
All feedback welcome. Colour? Structure? Should have gone for the tripod shot at f16 for more depth?
An interesting image with nice juxtaposition of grasses and trees. Yes, a tighter aperture would have helped to provide a bit more depth, but I do think the far trees should be OOF for the scene. Some of the near trees are soft though so it’s a tough balance sometimes. The comp is nice with the path crossing against the vertical trees. This might look good in B&W too.
Love this image. It may be a stretch, but what came to my mind was “neapolitan ice cream.” It’s the 3 very distinct layers of colors that make this for me. Plus having all the chaos of the tiny branches and grasses adds great texture to those layers of color.
I think the impact would have been similar with a great depth of field, but I don’t think it would have changed or improved things. The important element - the main birch on the right has sufficent sharpness to carry the scene.
If I was to suggest anything, I would think about cropping or shaving a wee bit off the bottom to bring the weight of the layers closer together. In fact, do you have more of the pale blue up top?
As presented, this is working quite nicely for me. Beautifully seen and photographed.
Thanks @David_Bostock and @Lon_Overacker . I tried B&W but really missed the red band. I like the neapolitan ice cream reference Lon, although not a flavour I like :)! I played around with it a bit this evening and a crop from the bottom can help but there isn’t must room (and no, unfortunately not more sky to add in). As always thanks for the feedback, it helps me see the picture anew.
The color and structure look good to me with the diagonal path providing a lead in to the image. I also think the depth of field works by helping separate the background from the birch trees.
