Repost:
Original:
Critique Style Requested: Initial Reaction
Please share your immediate response to the image before reading the photographer’s intent (obscured text below) or other comments. The photographer seeks a genuinely unbiased first impression.
Questions to guide your feedback
Does this image have any merit? I was excited by it on the day I shot it, but now as I process it, it’s beginning to feel reminiscent of Seinfeld - “a picture about nothing”.
Other Information
Please leave your feedback before viewing the blurred information below, once you have replied, click to reveal the text and see if your assessment aligns with the photographer. Remember, this if for their benefit to learn what your unbiased reaction is.
Image Description
This was shot while exploring a slot canyon in the mountains back in February. A I was exploring, I noticed these blotches of colour on the canyon wall that reminded me of an abstract oil painting. It’s impossible to tell from the image but this scene was about 4-6 feet across.
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Tom, yes the image has merit. The color combination in particular with the yellows and blues work quite well. I like how you framed up the composition with a strong diagonal line in that blue band going from left to right. To me, this image is about color, texture, and shapes. It doesn’t have to have a strong meaning behind it but it is still engaging due to those qualities I mentioned.
I’d like to suggest a few recommendations.
- The upper left corner appears a bit more washed out compared to the right. Perhaps increased the contrast there.
- The yellow in the upper half seems lighter than the colors in the bottom. You could either increase color saturation up top or reduce saturation in the bottom to unify both halves.
- A square crop may help balance out the image a bit more. Might be interesting to see how that looks.
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Oh, this is lovely! The composition is great, with that diagonal blue area running between the yellow bits.
As far as whether it’s about nothing (or something), we need to define “something”. Sure, if something is a dramatic tree or compelling face, this isn’t about something. If something is about a mood or emotion, however, this is about something. I like Alfredo’s suggestion of a square crop. Cropped to a square one gets the impression of division - that’s something it could be “about”:
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I agree with all of this. I think this image has merit for sure. I think it would be nice to see a bit more balance, and I think you’re almost there.
Thank you @Alfredo_Mora , @Bonnie_Lampley and @Matt_Payne for your feedback and comments!
I had a chance to play around with the image a little bit more today - the repost is at the top. The biggest change I made was the crop (thanks for the suggestion) and rotating it 180°. To me it now looks like the yellow in the over-crowded top is attempting to cross over the blue divide to get to the other, emptier (less saturated) side. Or something like that… In any case I’m starting to like it more. 
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Good work Tom! I like your revised image. Much stronger composition in my view.
I like this very much Tom. Those jet black splotches on the yellow are riveting.
