Campsite with a View - 2 views

Image Critiques Landscape Critiques
1

I’m an opportunist. My eyes are constantly seeking photo opportunities; I can’t help it, I must be addicted, even after decades of shooting. This summer during a few camping trips I managed to make some images right from camp. (Saves me from some grueling hikes and dangerous situations…) :roll_eyes::grin:

Right from our campsite on Sonora Pass, I found this juniper and it’s surrounds to be attractive, especially in the late afternoon light. This was most certainly a case where I was more excited at the time of what I was photographing - than what I discovered days later when viewing on the PC. I was quite bummed actually; the RAW was quite harsh and nothing like I had envisioned in my mind at the time of capture. And so the images sat, while I processed and worked on others more worthy.

Well, just maybe it’s true that time heals all wounds. I decided to see what I could do with the RAW captures. Can’t say this is great, but I’m at least a little bit happy that I was able to restore a little of what I experienced that evening in camp. The second version was captured just less than an hour later after the sun retreated behind the mountain. Of course a much cooler rendition, but I like as well.

As always, your critiques, honest comments and suggestions welcome. Thanks!

49D2600V_1500
49D2600V_15001053×1500 697 KB

49D263VFB2CR_1500
49D263VFB2CR_15001119×1500 910 KB

You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.

What technical feedback would you like if any?

Most certainly processing. I was getting to the point of over processing.

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

A bit unsure of the bottom of the image and where best to crop, if at all. The two images were shot at 170mm and 98mm respectively from different distances, so perspective just slightly different.

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)

Both images Nikon D800E, 28-300mm

#1. @170mm, f/16 1/5th, iso100
#2. @98mm, 2-image focus stack f/14 1s iso 200

2

I like them both Lon, I’m glad you decided to process them and share with us. It must have been at least somewhat grueling to have to put your mug of coffee down to take the shots :grinning:

What I like in both images is the stalks of vegetation at the base of the trees, they re-inforce a sense of “vertical-ness”, and elevate these shots above an everyday tree portrait. I think you pretty much have chosen a good place to crop the bottom, i like having the patch of brown ground in the LLC. If I was to crop it at all, it would be in-between the two lines of your watermark.

If I had to pick just one of these, it would be the second shaded one. While the light is sweet in the first (and shows those stalks better), the trunks of the trees have a lot of character in their colors and textures, which comes through better in the second image. But both of these are pleasing to me, just in different ways.

3

Lon , this proves that we don’t have to go far making good images. I like the top one most. The improvements if there are any, I leave to the experts. Or maybe I should let out the bottom soil part.

4

Hi Lon, I am definitely in favor of the top image. The light adds a lot more texture, depth, and interest for me. My suggestion would be to crop the bottom a little bit to remove some of the dirt in the LLC (and those words someone printed in the grass :stuck_out_tongue:). I’d also burn the top left corner, not so much that it kills the light, but a moderate amount so that the eye focuses more on the trunk.

For the bottom image, I would consider a similar crop and a vignette all around.

5

Lon, the top image is my favorite; I prefer both the light and the color. Very nice shot.

6

My vote is for the warmer, sunlit version. The light is very pleasing, and I like the sage. I think the frame is fine as it is. You might consider pulling back on the saturation of the green bush on left.

As usual, I was being lazy camp bum sipping coffee in the late afternoon. :wink:

Very nice job on both images, sir!
-P

7

I like both, Lon, but do prefer the second. I think it’s the beauty of the red of the trunk against all the greens - this comes out less well in the first, where the yellows of the plants in the sunlight bring quite another hue into play. The two trunks anchor the image nicely.

8

@Preston_Birdwell, @Matt_Gordon, @Ian_Wolfenden, @Ed_McGuirk, @Brent_Clark and @Ben_van_der_Sande -

thank you all for your comments and suggestions. Looks like a toss up between the two, which I think just means it all depends on one’s mood at the time… :roll_eyes: :woozy_face:

9

A vote for the second one as well. I find all those scattered sunny areas to be a bit distracting. They overwhelm the tree trunk, making it less important.

10

Lon,
While both images are lovely I am partial to the cooler version as I just love the red bark of the juniper. I think it contrasts rather nicely with the green surroundings. The vegetation; not sure what it is; does provide a nice anchor to the scene. You can not really go wrong with either one IMO as it is just a matter of personal preference and what kind of mood you are in.

11

Thanks Igor. I can’t disagree and a valid observation. I think this goes to illustrate something - How being in the moment does not always translate through to a finished image. While at camp and making the two images less than an hour apart - I was more enchanted by the warm, late light and how it makes a landscape glow… yet once that light went away, it was the subjects themselves, no the light, that came through - but just not as exciting… I hope that makes sense.

@Ed_Lowe - thanks for chiming in!

12

Sure it makes sense. We choose to make pictures based on how we feel about the subject. But the camera knows nothing about our feelings and just records what’s there.

13

Lon, I think both are nice but the warmth and texture in number one is more striking. The emphasis on the sage in number one is also very pleasing. Thanks for sharing these camp photos!

14

It’s hard for me to choose the one I like best, but I think it might be the second one, which does really make the tree trunk stand out. I’m less keen on the patch of ground in the lower left corner than some others. I know that obsessive feeling of constantly looking and seeing. Sometimes I wish I could just turn it off. It used to be that I would stop at dark, but now I do night photography. You do have a great eye for intimate landscapes, though.

1 Like
15

I also like both images although I prefer the warmer first one a bit more. A very pleasing composition and I don’t think I would change the crop in anyway.

16

Lon,

I like the sunlit version as well. I particularly like how the foreground grasses standout. Further, the shadowed background trees on the left really give the sunlit version a 3D quality.