Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
There’s snow outside this morning; this is our first truly winter weather of the year. I still have images from last year that I eventually hope to post for critique, but in the spirit of our current cold spell here is an image from a backpacking trip to Mt. St. Helens three friends and I took last month. This interesting formation was just outside our campsite, and although it was 3:00 in the afternoon the sun rides so low that time of year there were nice shadows playing with the light.
Specific Feedback
Does the formation intrigue you at all?
I like to use traditional crops, but to get to a 4x5 it’s pretty tight. Does that make you pull your hair out? (Here’s a jpg sidecar image the camera took so you can see what my options were.)
Technical Details
NIKON Z 7II
NIKKOR Z 24-200 f/4-6.3 VR at 44.0 mm
1/125 sec. at f/16 and ISO 64
Three handheld images blended for DOF manually in Photoshop
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
- Vision and Purpose:
- Conceptual:
- Emotional Impact and Mood:
- Composition:
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- Depth and Dimension:
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- Lighting:
- Processing:
- Technical:
Fooling around with a drop shadow again:
The crop is a little tight, but I’m still liking the image. I like your Velvia snow. Lose the dark BG and I see nothing wrong with the OG image. 
Just now noticed thew drop shadow. Looks great. I’ve gone back and forth on my use of the technique. Back on the OG NPN, a couple photographers I highly respected put forth the opinion that the image should stand on it’s own and the DS just detracts and draws attention from it. I’m enjoying printed images more and more and like the look of a matted presentation and now use a drop shadow or plain white mat for my web display.
Thank you @Michael_Lowe! I have a long-term goal of a project of snow patterns of the Cascades, and this one may, or may not, be in it. Those will all be a 2:3 format, and here is that with the background cropped out as you suggest:
@John_Williams I added a comment about the mat also.
Thanks for the thoughts Michael! I too have banged this question around in my mind; and it’s been discussed a lot in the past. If I were to print these days, it would likely be on aluminum, or similar, so I prefer the drop shadow if I frame.
I love the drop shadows as well as framed images. I know there are a few that do not like a white or a dark frame around the image but if you were to print an image and frame it, it will likely have a white matt and if you print in metal, I would think it would have a drop shadow. So, to me, it just seems more like a finished piece of art.
Now, on to the image itself. As @Michael_Lowe puts it, I love the Velvia snow. It’s beautiful and rich and cold. Your framing is really well done and I do like the crop you chose. I like that you get that little sliver of light in the top right corner and you’ve toned it down so it doesn’t grab the eye. Nice and subdued. The swirls in the foreground add so much depth to the image. I love the play of light and shadow here. I also love the texture of the snow. It’s funny but when I first opened this up I immediately saw a sideways face. Two eyes and a nose. All in all, a beautiful image, John.
John,
Wonderful curves, texture and lighting. The crop you chose for the original post is great. The strong FG line and curve bring the eye nicely into the frame. The blue shows really accentuate the cold. If it was mine, I would probably bring the whites in the FG down just a tiny bit as they almost seem blown out, I am sure they are not, but it might help to retain the texture.
With regards to presentation, I have never been satisfied with a digital mockup of the real thing, matted and framed or laminated on metal, the real thing is just a different animal altogether.
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I find the composition to be really good in overall design within the frame. For me the interest lies in the upper half of the image. Perhaps the strong overpowering white in the lower half has something to do with it. It just that the upper part holds my imagination better with it’s subtlety. I took the liberty to show what I mean. Snow is kind of like dunes in a way. What works in Death Valley should work in scenes such as this.
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John, the details in the foreground and the spiral are great. I do find the bit of lit snow at the top interesting, because it tells me that there’s a lot more snow. I would like to have a bit more space in the lower left. I pulled your full frame and tried a 4:5 crop including some extra room in the upper right and in the lower left. I think that works, because the brightness in the upper right turns back into shadow.
I love images of deep snow like this. Love the shadows and curves in this one. I believe the composition looks better with the right side cropped but maintaining the entire original left side. I think it’s important to keep light and dark portion of the structure at the lower left and surround the darker shadow with the sunlit portions. I might not even be important to have the background (upper 25%) in focus. How close was the nearest part of the image? I’d be curious to know if the hyperfocal distance would have allowed the entire image to be in focus.
John,
Love this! The shapes, lines, forms and design allow the eye to flow thru this scene so easily.
I think you have just the right balance of contrast, lights and darks, with the brighter areas still retaining detail.
The processing on your original is spot on. My only critique/suggestion would be the lower left is rather tight. Ahh, but I see from your last post or unedited file than you have more room! Having just that little bit of space on the lower left removes any tension there.
Well done!
Thank you @David_Haynes , @Youssef_Ismail, @Igor_Doncov , @Mark_Seaver , @Paul_Holdorf , and @Lon_Overacker !
I appreciate all the thoughts and will play with your suggestions. I do like the idea of the whites not overpowering. I need to get over the worry about standard crop ratios; I’ll play with more room on the as suggested. Igor, at full-size I really enjoyed the top part of the image. I hadn’t thought of that crop, so I appreciate your suggestion.
Maybe 5 feet??? I think the near limit would have been about 7, and hyperfocal would have been around 14 feet?
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