Please share your first response before reading the hidden notes below. The photographer is looking for an unbiased initial impression.
Feedback Focus: Artistic / Expressive
Questions for Viewers
Perhaps like many of you, I play with projects or at the very least, multi-image expressions. In my mind, multiple images may express concepts or moods that a single image may struggle to convey.
In this case, I’d like feedback on where these three images presented as a triptych bring you? Do you recognize that you’re at a marsh without explicit marsh imagery? How much time do you spend in consideration of the relationships between the three?
About This Image
This marsh sits at the base of the Lyon Mountain range in the Northern Adirondacks of New York State. I have been accessing this area by foot, bike and ski for well over a decade. In this case, I threw my leg over my bikepacking bike and headed out with my gear strapped to my back. For those interested in hauling camera gear into the backcountry by bike, I strongly recommend carrying it on your body; off-road mountain biking is just too jarring to sensitive equipment stored on the bike.
Technical Details
Shot handheld with a Nikon Z8 and Nikkor Z 100-400 glass. Edited in PS with curves adjustments and Nik 8
The triptych is very strong and particularly well balanced.
Yes the marsh setting is clear, and your choice of the outer ones looking down as reflections and the middle one I believe looking up into a dead tree??
The darker more solid outside pieces also balance each other and contrast the lighter airy feel of the middle one, but the mono holds everything together. You have even got some of the light tones flowing from the bottom of the middle up into the LLC and middle of the 3rd one ; and the dark tones of LRC of the first flowing up into the middle left side of the middle piece.
Gorgeously designed and executed
No suggestions - unless you can find some slightly darker tones just to the Right of the tree in the middle one as this LRC is a little lighter than expected by the rest of the triptych.
Excellent triptych! The b&w processing is top notch and the triptych is beautifully presented. I don’t know the protocol or guidelines, but personally I ould add more canvas on the sides? I guess it all depends if this is going to hang on a wall or a gallery (and would be worthy!)
Honestly, it could be a meadow, a pond, a lake or overflow on a river and sure could be a marsh area for sure. But to answer the question, the image set doesn’t speak “marsh” to me (and not that it has too?)
Agree with Huw that the order of presentation works beautifully with the lighter and different viewpoint image in the center. The two outer images are similar with the OOF floating debri, focusing on the reflected tree trunks.
Interesting, the center image of the snag with the nest and the upward look towards the sky, has the least impression of a marsh than the other two. But that snag has great character and somehow just works beautifully in the triptych.
Bob: I really like the concept and the execution and processing are very well done. One thing my brain is having a hard time with is the first image. Did you flip it vertically? The reflections on the right image seem to be oriented correctly as a reflection while the image on the left looks upright. Perhaps my conventional mind thinking too much. The middle image is a great anchor. >=))>
Each of the images is an intriguing black and white, and together they do tell a tale of wood around water. I agree with some of the above that this doesn’t specifically say marsh at first viewing, but knowing that it is from a marsh it all settles in nicely.
There’s an OCD part of me that would love to see the central image as a reflection, but that’s personal preference and I respect the artistic choice to use it as contrast. Speaking of OCD, I could see flipping the image on the right vertically so that it matched the other two; that would also keep the shadows to the outside.
This is a nice triptych. I like the sharper tree bookended by the softer reflected trees. I would have thought “marsh” if the photos were of the trunks entering the water and then reflected in the water. That said, marsh or not, I still like it.
