The variation in the vibrancy of fall color as the direction of sunlight changes is interesting to me. This is an image taken around 1 p.m., a time of day I rarely photograph, but the sun was catching this color from the side and a little behind (our sun gets pretty low in the darker months here in the Pacific Northwest) and I liked the “pop” it added.
I’m way behind on processing and posting images. This is another shot from the trip to Rainier with @Steve_Kennedy and Don White in October.
Specific Feedback Requested
I struggled when composing this whether to include, and if so how much, the water. In the end I decided it was more interesting with some included, but didn’t include more because it wasn’t near as colorful as the vegetation. Do you think the image is better with it, or should I crop it out? All other feedback/critique is welcome as well.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
FUJIFILM X-T30
FUJIFILM XF 55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS at 156.1 mm (234 mm equivalent)
1/100 sec. at f/10 and ISO 160 (multiple images blended for DOF)
I content-aware filled in a dark shadow in the upper left corner that was distracting.
John, this is really nice, I like the way you took advantage of the mid-day light. In effect this becomes a bonus image, given that it was 1 pm. The colors are vibrant, and do not look washed out, great job on processing this mid-day light. I like including the amount of water that you did. I think one of the stronger aspects of this image are the contrasting bands of yellow, red, and green just above the pond. To include the green grass, you kind of have to include some water, and I like how you kept just enough to define the shape of the green grasses.
My only suggestion would be a bit tighter crop from the left. The cutoff tree in the ULC bothers me slightly, I’d at least eliminate its trunk.
I like the water for this format. However, I prefer a less narrow vertical and for that I would crop it to the bottom of the lowest red. Kudos for having to courage to shoot in mid day. That usually results in washed out colors but looks just fine.
John, my first reaction was about those colors. After viewing your image properly and reading your story I began to like it more and more. It is proving that making images in the middle of the day, that I often do, can be very rewarding. No nits from me !
I would not have even had my camera out considering what time of day it was, John. I am glad you did not follow conventional rules as this turned out lovely. This makes me wonder what I might have missed in the past with that thought process. I would definitely keep the band of water as it adds an additional layer to the scene with the added benefit of some complimentary colors. My only suggestion would be to add a little canvas to the left side; if possible; as the tree toward the ULC is a little tight. Either way this is gorgeous.
