The photographer has shared comprehensive information about their intent and creative vision for this image. Please examine the details and offer feedback on how they can most effectively realize their vision.
Self Critique
The image is a 3 image panorama and I am pleased with the composition but struggled with balancing the colors and tonal range.
Creative direction
I was fixated on the complex vegetation and it’s relationship with the setting.
Specific Feedback
The balance of tonal range and color saturation
Technical Details
Canon 5D 24-105 f/4 lens @ f/11 1/100 sec
Description
Being from the SE section of PA. this sight really caught me and I wanted to preserve it as best I could.
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Vision and Purpose:
Conceptual:
Emotional Impact and Mood:
Composition:
Balance and Visual Weight:
Depth and Dimension:
Color:
Lighting:
Processing:
Technical:
This is such a beautiful location and this makes me want to return. I like the panoramic composition as it fits this location well. You were dealing with difficult lighting in this image and unfortunately there isn’t much you can do about that. It was a good choice to minimize the sky. It does feel like the web version is a bit oversharpened and the contrast is a bit harsh.
This looks like an exhilarating scene but the image itself looks busy, even though it has a layered composition. I think that’s largely due to the harsh light.
I agree with the others, I think the light is too harsh and that makes it difficult, if not impossible, to get the color balance and texture seem right.
Things I like. Your minimizing the sky, the pano format, the subject and the composition. Things I think are hurting the image, I agree with @Igor_Doncov about the scene seeming busy. And it’s because of the light, which you obviously had no control over. Still a nice shot to preserve the memory.
James, I think you created a beautiful scene. Dallas Divide is one of my favorite spots to photograph as well and Mt. Sneffels stands so majestically.
With the abundance of color in the image, there is a wide array of tonality between the light, shade, hues and saturation. I feel that if the foreground light was brought down a little more, the harsh light would blend into the overall scene, thus allowing the mountains and the blue sky to pop a bit more. Still, beautifully done!
You did very well with the scene as you found it. The composition is, as you say, pleasing… very pleasing. I think you might possibly experiment with a bit of burning and dodging in the middle and lower third of the image. Perhaps a slight vignette of some sort might aid in centering attention. To me, the large area of bright foliage in the lower foreground is slightly dominant. It could either be cropped away or darkened slightly to move the eye more upward into the more colorfully varied middle ground and on to the lovely green areas just in front of the wonderful mountains. I have presumed to include a sample of possible treatment. If this offends you, I can remove it.
Dallas Divide has given me fits in the past as it always has so much potential and has so seldom cooperated fully. You did very well I think.
