Revised Edition
A Few Minutes Later
![CadesCoveMorning.jpg]
Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
We got to Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountain NP just after sunrise while the patchy mist was just starting to clear up a bit.
Specific Feedback
Your thoughts and suggestions are appreciated. I used a panoramic crop to reduce the ho hum bottom grass and scrub, and the upper clouds that had little to no color in them. I lifted the shadows and the blacks some, increased highlights and whites. I’m wondering if this is now a little too light and lacking in shadows.
Technical Details
Canon r5, f5, 1/200s, iso 100, 24-105 at 58 mm. Cropped top and bottom.
Critique Template
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- Vision and Purpose:
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I love this Ed. It seems so painterly, with a rich contrast of mostly warm color offset just right by cool. The way the diagonal funnels the eye to the brighter half of the image and those two offset trees works very well for me.
My personal vote is to keep the blacks and deepest shadows as are, but to kick up the contrast in the midtones and highlight some (and I would take them in opposite directions, reducing luminosity in the sky and increasing it in the trees). Here’ a rough idea in that direction (I increased the saturation just a bit too, cause that’s how I, often inappropriately, tend to roll):
2 Likes
Wow! @John_Williams, nice rendition of this one. I love your edits. I will see if I can replicate it to some degree. Thanks for taking the time to think through the best way to emphasize different parts of this image, and I don’t think it is oversaturated at all.
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The first image appeals to me more. The highlight in the middle trees adds to the mood. You have a nice understated pink to orange color in the sky. Without reducing the mood from the mist, you might try adding a bit more of that orange color in the sky. I’d try this with either or both add color or clone color in the TK9 plugin for PS in the TK actions panel. Just an idea if you want to tinker a bit more.
Thank you very much @Larry_Greenbaum. I will play with it a bit more and see what comes of it.
