I stumbled on this by accident when I showed up before sunrise a day early for a three-hour workshop. I was about to leave after sunup when I noticed visitors using tripods to photography this scene. I was able to move about gathering various compositions.
Specific Feedback Requested
I tried to have a leading line snaking from the bottom of the photograph to the mid-point, following a trail through the water. Did that work? I made a version where the lower left and lower right were very dark to accentuate the line. I lightened a patch of rapidly disappearing fog, thanks to the sun, that was in the middle of the picture. I lost the look that came from the sun hitting only the yellow tree due to processing. It may have hit the left side of the red tree. The way I processed it, it looks all the same. I tried to darken the soil under the red tree and between the yellow and orange tree because it looked too bright.
Technical Details
ISO 1600, Canon R5, RF 24-105mmm lens, f/9, 1/125 sec.
Great to see you! For me the most important part of any photograph is its message–what is the subject? This is something I consider more than anything else, since a great photograph cannot be made without it. For me this scene is lacking a strong sense of subject. Do you want me to look at the reflection? Or the trees up above? Which tree do you want me to look at? I don’t feel there is a very strong focal point here, despite the scenery being undeniably beautiful and eye pleasing. The closest thing to a subject here is the tree in the top left third that has some structure to it, unlike all the rest. But its placement doesn’t make it feel very significant. The center of the scene feels empty to me, like the shoreline leads me to nothing. I think it comes down to making the scene either about the reflection, by cropping some off the top and doing things to accentuate it more, or about the trees, by possibly cropping off some of the bottom. I hope this helps with this image as well as going forward and making more images in the future. We always need to consider not just what we are making a photograph of, but what we are making a photograph about.
