The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This image was taken from my college roommates’ boat, as we toured along the upper Columbia River in SE Washington.
This is one of the many river walls, hundreds of feet high, made up of flood basalt flows as a part of the Columbia River Basalt Group. Columnar basalt curves within the interior of this flow, which trapped the tree trunk seen in this image.
This was an amazing trip with my roommate, his wife, and their dog, showing me all the sites along the river. This was one of their favorites. They still wonder how the tree trunk was trapped there, without burning up? Any geologists out there that can explain that?
Specific Feedback
Exposure adjustments. Any dodging/burning ideas are welcome.
Technical Details
Nikon D850, 70-200 mm lens, 150mm, f/4, 1/2500 sec.
Hand-held from the boat along the shaded west bank of the river.
Processed in LR, uncropped, with exposure adjustments
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
I love these basalt formations in the Columbia Gorge. My initial thought is that the image is rather flat and doesn’t do justice to these formations. I’m not the best at editing software so won’t try to give specific advice, but I would guess that brightening the image and adding contrast would help to bring out the definition in the rocks. Personally, I would crop in from the left to eliminate the rather blank area and bring focus to the curving lines of the basalt. Sounds like a great trip.
@Chris_Baird
, Thank you for reviewing this image. The trip really was fun and what an amazing experience to see these massive walls of rocks, the image captures only about one fifth of the height of the wall. I agree that it doesn’t do the scene justice and it probably doesn’t it the challenge as well as other images that do close in on the patterns of the basalt. I think I got caught up in the question of that tree trunk within this massive wall and got my “subject” confused.
In this edited version, I tried to incorporate your suggestions. Probably will keep trying to refine this and work on editing technique.
