Drama

Critique Style Requested: Initial Reaction

Please share your immediate response to the image before reading the photographer’s intent (obscured text below) or other comments. The photographer seeks a genuinely unbiased first impression.

Questions to guide your feedback

What was your initial sensation when you first saw the image?

Other Information

Please leave your feedback before viewing the blurred information below, once you have replied, click to reveal the text and see if your assessment aligns with the photographer. Remember, this if for their benefit to learn what your unbiased reaction is.

Image Description

Tuff hoodoos, similar in form to sandstone hoodoos but lacking their variations in color, stand as testimonials to the geologic history of the region. On this day they are doing their best imitations of Easter Island’s Moai, greeting monsoonal clouds as they streak across the sky above Plaza Blanca, near Abiquiu, New Mexico.

Technical Details

Canon EOS 5DII, EF 16-35mm @ 17mm, f/16 @ 1/50 sec, -1 EV, ISO 100

Specific Feedback

Whatever you think.

Bob, it’s so good to see your work again. I’ve been missing your fine images. And this is no exception. I love the sky, that makes the drama in the scene. Being a B&W fan, this works for me quite nicely. I feel like this is a memorable moment in the unique architecture of earth. Well done.

Cheers,
David

Thank you, David. I have been lurking around, sight unseen for a while now. I became visible again after an article I submitted about “personal projects” was published on the site. My “payment “ was a one year membership plus the magazine. I have additional articles in development.

1 Like

Now this is just my opinion and yours counts more than mine. If it were my image I would make it a true black and white, getting rid of the blue patches. Then I would crop it tighter as I think there is too much sky in relationship to the foreground. I also think the foreground could use a little more emphasis by adding some contrast and sharpening. Kind of like this:


Gary: Thank you for you comments and suggestions.
I cannot perceive any blue “patches” you refer to. All humans have anomalous color vision. My personal color perception is within the top 2% of the population. Perhaps you are even more gifted in that regard.
This image was processed to be a monochrome image simulating the effect of using a Deep Blue filter at capture, which renders blue as white. I don’t know what you mean by “true black and white.” The description you refer to on this site is basically what I use.
I agree with a smaller crop, removing a bit from the left to distribute the towers more evenly across the field of view. To maintain the original 3:2 aspect ratio some of the sky was coincidently removed. Some localized contrast was applied to the foreground.

On my monitor the dark patches in the sky on the left side appear a a dark blue, even two one the new crop right at the edge. I’ve seen this effect before on some images over the internet, I don’t know what causes it though. I like your new crop and the enhancements you have done. I just looked back at the image I posted up and see that the area that was blue is white in that image. ???