The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
At about 750m asl in northern South Island, NZ, there is an upland area with entrances into deep and extensive limestone and marble caves (e.g. Ngarua Caves). The surface of this area comprises a large plateau of marble that has been eroded with high rainfall into wonderful ridged and furrowed shapes and many sinkholes. This is South Island karst country where, during our various campervan holidays, we have often enjoyed some photographic time whilst taking great care to avoid the small hidden sinkholes that are often very deep and contain bones of unfortunate Moa that have fallen into these ātomoā in earlier times.
This image is an illustration of the marble weathering by rainwater, creating surface channelling that is mostly filled with leaves from the native shrubs, bushes, and trees among the rocks. The small Hebes (with some lichen) probably grew from seed that a bird has dropped into an adjoining channel.
Specific Feedback
I always welcome all feedback as I endeavour to improve my images. Thankyou.
I think this is pretty cool. It has such an element of the unexpected - especially with the green plants in the upper left. Those are so weird and seem out of place, but arenāt. The fallen leaves are a surreal waterfall in this alien landscape. The angle of it and the plant are at odds and add a lot of ā¦ I donāt know what ā¦ tension? drama? quirkiness? ā¦ to the image. Itās fun and unsettling at the same time. Maybe thatās the effect the angles have as well as the square crop. What a great find.
Phil, another New Zealand jewel. I studied the picture for some time, trying to figure out where the marble was. I couldnāt come up with an answer. The curves and angles helped to keep my eye in the picture, and I kept returning to the surprising green plant. I wonder if gentle vignetting would strengthen the overall composition and keep the lines pointing at the corners from competing for attention. After reading the description, the name makes sense.
I look forward to seeing more of New Zealand through your eyes.
Oh, I love this! And what an interesting environment. Thereās no karst around here (northern California), so its always seemed quite exotic to me. The colors and shapes in this are perfect (IMO).
I get a nice feeling of puzzlement from this photo. The shape and texture of the leafy debris is what intrigues me most. I played with it a bit, and found that I wanted to add texture to the upper rocks, as they were a bit soft; also darkened the rocks (especially their bright areas) to make them be a supporting element to the leaf debris shape. Darkened the lower debris a tad. Then wondered what a flip would do, and it seemed to make the downward flow of the debris go to the right, which feels more energetic to me.
@Dick_Knudson , I love the flip. It really works well. So does the darkening of the rock so itās not so high contrast. What a great find, Phil. The textures and lines really draw me in and the smooth bending and curving nature of the fallen debris seem at odds with the sharp, and square edged rock angles. What a great story about an Area of New Zealand that most of us donāt know anything about.
Thankyou @Kris_Smith, @Barbara_Djordjevic, @Bonnie_Lampley for your comments and encouragement. As Christen commented, it is a weird and seemingly alien landscape, and I usually find it quite difficult to make sense of photographically. I did try a vignette as Barbara suggests but thought that it made the image a bit unnatural compared to what I know of the site. The area is usually very hot and very bright.
I often struggle with thisā¦do I adjust a photo just enough to maintain an original view or vision, or change it to result in an improved image that, to me, doesnāt reflect reality. In this case I stuck mostly with the former because the site has such a strong feeling to it, especially when I imagine moas and kiwi roaming around and sometimes falling into the many tomo.
These days there are guided tours of the Ngarua caves marketed as āwalk around NZās bones and know that this rock is millions of years old. There are real bones too: the remains of a moa from 25,000 years ago, ancient kiwi skeletons, more recent possums, all of them the victims of unseen deep tomo, down which they fell into the pitch darkā.
Thanks for your comments. Cheers.
Thankyou @Dick_Knudson and @David_Haynes for looking at this one and for your comments.
Dick, your rendition is excellent and a huge improvement. The flip makes total sense of the image that previously felt somewhat awkward. Why didnāt I think of that?
Yes the rocks were a bit softā¦because I softened them a wee bit . After a long period of weathering, some of the marble, as in this case, has a very granular surface appearance. I was sure that this would probably be seen as āoversharpeningā because in most minds marble is smooth and shiny, thus I softened it a bit. Your sharpening returns the look of the rock to reality, thankyou.
I agree that the darkening of the rocks help with the image but, as I noted in an earlier reply to Kristen, Barbara, and Bonnie, it takes away some of the original feel (hot and very bright) of the place for me.
Obviously I need to try more to consider seeing my images as others might, before making adjustments. I still have this seemingly automatic urge to represent a ātidied upā reality, in my images of locations that I have a strong attachment to.
Cheers.
Thanks for giving it a try. I appreciate your response and what you want the image to say. I do vignette almost all of my pictures, but I doubt you could tell. Iām not fond of it when it is obvious.
. After a long period of weathering, some of the marble, as in this case, has a very granular surface appearance. I was sure that this would probably be seen as āoversharpeningā because in most minds marble is smooth and shiny, thus I softened it a bit. Your sharpening returns the look of the rock to reality, thankyou.