I took this image this morning in a cypress swamp in northwest Tennessee. Channels connect the large basins of the swamp and I took this image as we were passing through one of the channels. I liked the reddish colors of the cypress and reflections as well as the feeling of being closed in by the swamp. I chose a centered composition for the distant opening - what do y’all think of that as well as other compositional elements.
Canon 7D2, 24-105mm L IS
ISO 640, f8, 1/100s, hand held from boat
Any comments appreciated.
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Allen - beautiful image and yes, the colors of the trees leading to the focal point are wonderful. It is a very serene picture of the river; reflections on the water are nice. My only issue, and it might be just my style, is that the contrast between the wonderful trees and the bright center point is a little too much for me. My eye is taken directly to the center point and I have to really work to see the colors you captured. You might use an adjustment brush and take some of the highlights off the center point.
Beautiful colors and soft light. I love the composition, the reflections and the distant opening. It may just be me, but it feels like a slight CCW rotation is needed.
I agree with every thing Terrance said. The image is soft and pleasant to look at . I like the composition and the reflection. But the bright spot just pulls my eye right to it and holds me there. I had a hard time exploring the rest of the image. My personal preference would be to clone it out of the image.
I like really the tunnel of trees effect here. The soft light is perfect for this type of scene. My suggestions would be to crop some off the bottom and right, to place more emphasis on the tunnel of trees. While this is subjective, I would also add some vibrance to the image, to make the trees stand out a little more. Here is a rework reflecting my comments.
@Ed_McGuirk, @Diane_Miller, @Richard_Teller, @Terrance_Alexander
Thank you for the comments and suggestions! I have created two versions of this image. One along the lines of Ed’s rework and one with the bright opening cloned over. Think I have a bit of a lean toward Ed’s redo as I like the effect of the tunnel of trees as he describes. Both versions have their merits though IMO.
Thanks again!
Allen - I think both work but I also like the tunnel of trees. Bringing up the tree highlights also reduces the contrast between that and the bright spot making it easier for the eye to move around. Excellent shot either way.
