Devine

Image Critiques Landscape Critiques
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Edit:

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53D2283V2-npn1719×2298 1.36 MB

Original:

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53D2283V-npn.jpg1719×2298 1.45 MB

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

… as in “Divining Rod”… which was my impression with the way the fir and the black oak are leaning, creating a “V”. Maybe not the best title, but what the heck.

Captured mid-day on this mostly rainy autumn trip to Yosemite. Fortunately the cloud cover provided the opportunity to shoot all day long! Which I never complain about.

What I wanted to express here is how much El Capitan has helped shaped and grow my impressions of Yosemite over the years. Yes, as my good friend Preston always called it, it’s a “BFR”… And if I say “Big … Rock” I think you can fill in the other part. :wink: Yes, it’s one of, if not one of the biggest rocks in the world… but it’s so much more than that for me.

El Capitan is of course one of the big attractions of Yosemite and photographed a gazillion times from Tunnel View and other many locations. But it’s also a giant reflector. It’s a canvas, a backstop, a catcher of light, a deflector. A host to waterfalls and firefalls. It’s a playground for the daring climber. And it’s a widow maker… I’ve witnessed the scars of rockfall leaving no mercy in it’s wake. It’s enlightning, it’s sheer power. Just so many things, that provide so many different opportunities for a photographer, if one just takes a moment to let it talk to you.

Anyway, guess I’m getting pretty sappy like I’m talking about an old friend.

Specific Feedback

Your comments, feedback and suggestions always welcome. Mostly curious as always about processing. I don’t know what it is, but my RAW files even though I should mostly with Auto WB, always seem to be too warm, so I did drop the color temp from the RAW.

Of course will appreciate your impressions of the image as a whole.

I always zoom in any any image I have that includes a closeup of the wall of El Cap - looking for climbers. But alas, none captured in this view.

What do you think about the other trees surround the two that make up the “V”?

Thanks for taking a look and leaving a comment

Technical Details

Nikon D800E, 28-300mm @100mm, f/16 1/10s iso 100. Single frame

1 Like
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Lon, a very elegant image, a perfect saturation and El Capitan splendid for sharpness and muted cold colors. In short a splendid photo. I like all the trees and branches because they are for me the foreground, the decoration of the real subject, the cold rock. Beautiful photo.

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Lon: I really envy your proximity to Yosemite and your intimate relationship with it shows in your images. This is marvelous with just the right amount of trees and leaves and of course the BG is pretty special as well. Superbly crafted image. :+1: :+1:>=))>

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For a subject that is photographed as much as this one, you have done well to create something unique. The color temperature feels right to me–cooling a bit brings out some blue in the rock face that contrasts nicely with the warm colors in the trees. I think the surrounding trees provide a nice framing for the “V” trees, and overall it feels well composed.

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Lon, this is an excellent abstract look at the trees and the “big rock” behind them. The vertical, straight(ish) lines in the stone and the tilted fractal trees set off each other well. I find it particularly enjoyable that this is an often photographed rock, that you’ve made unrecognizable. As a minor nit, I wonder about dodging the darker bit of rock along the lower right side…just to increase the feeling that this is an abstraction.

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Two words come to mind when I look at this: simple elegance! I like how you positioned the trees in the frame - they’ve all got their place and they all work so well together. The white balance feels right for this image. It’s on the warmer side (at least it is on this monitor) but it really suits the scene.

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Thank you @Giuseppe_Guadagno , @Bill_Fach , @DeanRoyer , @Mark_Seaver and @Tom_Nevesely for taking the time to comment and you kind words. I’m happy to know that there are different ways we can photograph iconic/common subjects and still come up with something different. I think too may people avoid subjects like this because of that paradigm they subject themselves to.

Mark, excellent catch and observation. I actually thought about that one area and was wondering if anyone would mention - And so thank you so much. It was a pretty easy fix. I combined not only some basic dodging, but I also often use an empty layer and paint with a very low opacity some color picked from the frame. Works for very subtle color/luminosity changes, but you must be careful because you can paint out the detail as well. Thanks again for the suggestion! I think it makes a big difference!

Thank you again!

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Lon, As @Bill_Fach says. Superbly crafted image. Those were the words I was looking for . :heart_eyes:

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I knew this was yours before I even clicked on it. Everything about it screamed “Lon Overacker”! Your work has a certain quality and aesthetic about it that makes it easily identified as yours, and I think that’s a very good thing. This image is just gorgeous. I am partial to the re-processed version as it feels like the leaves have a bit better separation from the rock, and appear to be a little more saturated.

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I really like the way the rock backs this up. You have angled lines on each side, and the center is more vertical lines. It gives the feel of a rock waterfall, and greatly enhances the overall image. I really like the repost, because it subtly lets the eye center on that vertical portion. The way the trees interplay in the foreground is wonderful.

Bret said it better than I could.