The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
It was taken from the boat on Doubtful Sound, New Zealand. It was a cold, foggy day, and I was not sure that I could make anything beautiful that I would want to share. I had paid for the photo workshop and traveled halfway around the world. So, of course, I had to take pictures.
Specific Feedback
I did not have any strong point of interest in the foreground. There was little texture in the greener mountains, so I dealt with shapes. I hope that the shade of greens does not overpower the effect. I like the play of lines and the receding luminosity of the shapes.
Technical Details
Handheld, Sony a7iv, 24-105 lens, ISO 2000, F/7.1, 1/500 sec.
Processed in Lightroom and then Photoshop, Topaz DeNoise, TK8 luminosity masking, and TK actions
Hi, Barbara. If I were in a similar situation as you were seeing this marvelous scene, I believe I would be trying to come up with various compositions. The mountains and various textures are really beautiful in this image. I think it well fits the challenge theme of blues and greens. I love the ocean’s soft green in the FG. The blues in the BG are also nicely highlighted. I only find the greens a bit unnatural. Of course I am not familiar with that landscape. That may as well be the natural green hue in those mountains. Since you brought it up in your description, I would suggest some additional editing in trying to bring back more natural green hues. The entire mountain scene is very powerful with the light and lines leading us to the horizon in the far distance. It’s beautiful.
great image, I love the composition! I see nice transitions from big to small and from colder to warmer. I absolutely envy you for having been in NZ.
I love the layers, which have more light in the back, more haze and less contrast. This gives me an impression of depth and therefore is a very convincing edit for me!
Same as Egidio, I see some unnatural greens on the right mountain. Also, the light situation seems a little bit off. I can only guess, but it seems to me, the light is coming from the far right side. Therefore, in my opinion the lower part of the right mountain should be less bright.
I downloaded the image and made an edit with what I see: The light coming from the back right corner, illuminating the further mountains with some warm light (I upped the color temperature for dodging). The mountains in the front (which I darkened at the bottom) now act more as “masks”, leading the eye to the center. Same for the water: it’s less important to me, therefore darker.
I hope you like my proposals. Anyway, that’s a great image, Barbara!
I absolutely love Doubtful Sound, and you’ve caught it at its best. (The cruise captains always apologize if the weather is bright and sunny.) I like your use of shapes, it gives it almost an abstract feel. That feeling might be emphasized if it were made even more two-dimensional by flattening the colours on the hills. But that might not be your style, so if it’s not the way you want to go, please ignore the suggestion.
The other suggestion I have would be that it looks as though you’ve tried to dehaze the mountains. My choice would be to emphasize the moodiness and the fog and maybe darkening the highlights in the sky more.
The image brings me right back to Fiordland. Beautiful!
@Madeleine_Lenagh . I was disappointed that we had such a gray day, but now I am rethinking that. You are so very right about the dehaze and I agree that I need to emphasize the strength of the moodiness. Thans for giving me the gift of celebrating the fog!
First, I am just learning how to respond to all of you. Forgive my fumbling. @Egidio Leitao. @Markus Albert. You both have responded to my efforts to somehow recapture some of the green that was in the RAW file. I do think it needs toning down. Markus what you have done with the light on the water and the mountains really does say what I want to convey. Whenever anyone is drawn to my picture enough to download it and make creative changes, I am honored. I did not know how to use the water in the pictures I took that day as a way to strengthen my composition. Using luminance and light answers that for me. @Madeleine Lanagh You are so very right about using the dehaze on the mountains. I thank you for helping me celebrate the gift of the fog and how to capture the moodiness. I am looking forward to reworking this picture with all of you strong observations. Thank you.
