It was an amazing sunset. I went out to photograph and thought what would i find in a nearby field, the dead grass had its own beauty when it was lit by the reflected glow from the clouds and I found these interesting flower like dandelions.
What technical feedback would you like if any?
Any Feedback is welcome as usual
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
any
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
this was a focus stack exposure blend for dynamic range.
Aref: One MUST view this large to appreciate the wonderful FG details. I would be tempted to crop some of the sky to push the horizon line a bit higher and to keep most of the viewer’s attention on the FG grass and seed heads. This was a great find and a superb image. >=))>
Aref, this is a very inviting scene. Your foreground element looks like some kind of thistle, with the white heads standing out well from the surrounding grasses. I like the blend of colors in the grass and sky, especially when the top most blue removed. The valley and distant ridges add some extra interest along the far horizon.
I guess I’ll be “that guy” and offer a bit of dissent, in the spirit of hopefully being helpful!
My favorite parts of this image are the nice textures in the foreground, the little poofballs being lit iup, and the colorful sky.
However, my main critique has to do with composition. The horizon is a very strong horizontal line that essentially divides the image in two - it looks like two different images stacked right on top of each other and the horizon blocks any kind of visual flow between the two parts. I’m not feeling a connection between the strongest elements of the image. Also, having the poofballs right in the horizontal center of the frame kind of locks my eyes there and I’m not exploring the details around it without putting in some effort (if that makes sense). These days people may shutter at the phrase “rule of thirds”, but taking a step to the left so that the poof balls are more to the right and having them point to the sky could be an improvement.
It’s hard to say what to do better without actually being there in the moment, but for my taste I would have likely made an image entirely out of the texture in the foreground that didn’t include the sky at all. Perhaps being lower to the ground and looking for a pattern in the grass that led the eye through the frame toward the sky would have worked, too.
(as a side note I am open to critique on how I write critique, I really don’t want to come across as gruff or mean)
@Brent_Clark thanks a lot for your feedback. I don’t think it is mean, in fact i am here to hear this. I think I have a lot a head of me to learn how create photographs that have visual balance and flow. Believe me, I personally want to hear from the people that don’t like the photo more than the ones that do like it. I do appreciate the comments about how people find the photo pleasing and that it works because the elements that they mention maybe things that just happened to be there and not something I actively thought about so that helps me be more active in composing the next time.
Now coming to the photo, I actually considered getting rid of the sky completely before posting (not because I thought there was no flow, I was just experimenting). I chose to keep it in for two reasons:
The color was crazy, this grass is usually yellow and these amazing colors were coming from the sky and getting rid of it just looked like i added some crazy color and saturation.
This is probably the wrong reason…but my motivation to take the photo was first the sky and the beautiful sunset. I then saw these flowers (i will call them flowers) and looked like life in the middle of death so i combined both
I do like your point regarding the placement of the flowers to the right, i put them in the middle to get that wide angle exaggeration as they were just small plants in this vast field.
I went back to photoshop and the only way to implement this would be to create extra canvas and content aware fill (which i try to avoid)
but i will keep this in mind
if you have time please see the other images i have posted and give me more of this solid feedback
Ok, good to hear! It sounds like you were really attracted to the colors of the sunset, which is understandable because they are glorious. Well, I have a bit more tough love if that’s ok. This advice doesn’t get thrown around much here but it was so game-changing for me to realize, personally:
You can’t always make a great image out of great conditions and that’s ok
Blazing sunsets, majestic mountains, pretty snowstorms, etc are amazing and I get excited every time I see one. I understand the urge to photograph it no matter what, and I follow that urge. However, many times I am just not able to make a great image.
Try to think of an analogy for a situation where you fail more often than not - I think about the sports of baseball and mountain climbing, for example. In baseball, you are an amazing hitter if you can hit the ball one third of the time. My buddy who is a serious climber says that he is successful (on serious mountains that take days on end to summit) about 1/4 to 1/3 of the time. I think in photography, assuming you will fail more often than not is a healthy mindset. You just get used to “showing up at the plate” over and over despite regular failure.
The important thing is remember that you will see another blazing sunset again, and although you should try as hard as possible in the field to make a nice photo, when you’re at home reviewing images you shouldn’t force an image if it’s just not working. I don’t see that advice given very much here and we often focus on “how can I make this exact frame better with postprocessing.” If this were my image and I were completely honest and ruthless with myself, I would not use it and I would keep it in my archives as a nice memory and a photographic lesson.
Again, I hope that’s not too harsh - it certainly doesn’t mean that you’re a bad photographer or anything. I’ll check out your other images to see if any thoughts come to mind.
@Brent_Clark
Thanks a lot for your feedback it is not harsh at all
I do agree with all that you have said.
Like i said, i tried NPN , and i am pretty much going to join and subscribe soon, to hear and get feedback about my images before i share them in order to learn (this was retrospective as i already shared it) and hands down i already abandon many images i take, some maybe harder but hoping to hear feedback here that will make me realize that sorry mate no matter what you do this scene just isn’t working.
All of that while realizing that eventually this an art and many times there maybe differences in opinions and that is alright too.
Cheers man and hoping to hear what you have to say about other images as i love an honest feedback
