Hopefully you’re not tired of the dogwood… and I have a couple more.
This one is a bit more straight forward. I was so very fortunate to have such calm conditions. As with previous images, most of the leaves and blossoms are sufficiently sharp, with a few that happened to be moving during the 1/2s exposure.
You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
What technical feedback would you like if any?
Processing, colors, sat, WB - of course. I processed to bring out the clean whites of the dogwoods and to make sure the blossoms and spring green leaves were separated enough from the bg river.
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Comments, suggestions welcome.
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
Single frame
Nikon D800E 28-300mm @72mm, f/16 .5s. iso 71? (what the heck? I just noticed… that must be the L.5 setting for iso, which is the next setting after iso 100… hmmm, never noticed that before.)
Lon, do you have an adjustable dogwood scene set up in your studio?
Seriously though, I do not tire of them and both are beautiful. I do prefer the cool blue tones to the previously posted warmer golden tones. No color, WB or other suggestions or nits from me. I do prefer the vertical to the horizontal for its more uniform river background and the overall diagonal flow of the scene (if that makes sense?).
Seriously Lon, you are the master at these shots, and I for one will not get tired of them. I like seeing a photographer who has such a strong connection with a specific subject, yet still keeps coming up with interesting ways to present it.
To my subjective taste, I strongly prefer the horizontal, the “expansive” feeling it creates is very nice. I like the combination of analogous colors in the blues and greens, they go together very nicely. I think a warmer interpretation of this scene would lose some of the impact created by the colors you have used here. I also like what you did with the dogwood flowers. Where I live, dogwood flowers often have a slight yellow in them (California dogwoods may be different, I don’t know), but I really like the dogwood color you used here, they really pop from the background water.
This is a gorgeous scene as presented. If pressed for suggestions, I might recommend a small crop from the bottom, but that is very nit-picky, I love this as presented.
I prefer the horizontal image quite a bit more than the vertical. I like the lower right quadrant, which is missing in the vertical, and the arc it creates across the bottom. The vertical feels as though it should be sparser. Either blue or gold works as a bg for me.
More outstanding dogwood bloom images, Lon. I somewhat prefer the vertical. To my eyes, the darkness in water behind the right 20% of the original grabs a bit too much attention. (A 4x5 crop might work very well there.)
Fair warning - I may just have another dogwood series to show…
Funny you mention that Alan. Yeas ago, my son put a gift together for me for Father’s. He must have been 5 or 6, so I’m sure he got some help… But basically gave me a briefcase that contained various leaves and things that I could take pictures of - and/or place in a scene…
Thanks for the suggestions. I see at least a couple other crop options.
Another vote for the horizontal version, Lon. For me it just has a more wide open and expressive feel to it. The diagonals with the limbs work beautifully as does the cooler color palette. As with the previous dogwood images this one also has a wonderful delicate mood which I find very inviting. I for one am not tired of your dogwood images because you do them so well. So, I say keep them coming!
What’s exceptional about this image is that the branch hang in the same direction as the flow of water. There is a unity between them as a result of this. Particularly the horizontal.
