Standing on the bank of the upper Sacramento River, near Castle Crags (northern California), I looked down at my feet and spied this tiny scene. It was the contrast of the submerged needles with the milky reflection of clouds and the interesting look of the surface tension around the needles that caught my attention.
Specific Feedback Requested
Any comments welcome. I cloned out quite a few “bits”, but left some as I felt they added compositional interest. Some pre-shutter-release “gardening” to remove really ugly leaves also was involved. I do like a weathered leaf, but these were waaaay past.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
a7r3, 116mm, f/16, 0.4s, ISO 100.
So much going on here – nicely seen! Above water with reflections to submerged with little surface tension pools, and a very nice gradient from blue-gray to white. I wonder about cloning out the rock…
Bonnie,
There are a lot of really good things going on in this one. The only distraction for me is the LLC. I would have liked some edge separation from the bottom and left side of the frame to the branch, or a crop from the bottom and left side to remove some emphasis from the LLC. As presented I feel it grabs too much attention from the rest of this really wonderful small scene.
Lovely, Bonnie. The green pine needles that are poking up from the water look like small jewels sparkling in the light. The rock doesn’t bother me, as I see it, it is a nice contrast to the pine needles. Also like the curves of the rock vs the poking needles. Composition also works for me, as the pine needle stem brings my eyes in and the rock helps me to keep returning to the image. Very nicely seen and captured.
Diane, I thought about cloning out the small rocks (is that what you meant?), but I thought that the implied line between the two small rocks made for an interesting compositional element with the opposing line of the branches. As far as the big rock, I didn’t contemplate getting rid of that at all. It feels integral to the scene to me.
Alan, I hear you on the LLC. I figured that it would be balanced by the larger rock and the rest of the scene, and added some context. I have other frames that don’t include the “bottom” end of the branches that I’ll add, although I don’t know whether I like it as much.
Bonnie,
I get your point regarding context. I have say though, your second post is my preference. I almost always prefer less than more, and in this case the unique composition really works well for me. The unreal milky reflection and very real colors and textures from the rock and spruce are very striking.
I think this is a valiant attempt at something new and different and in fact it is new and different. It doesn’t work for me for reasons that have been mentioned. One thing about reflective light in water. I’ve always felt it should have a fair amount of tonal variation by either using clouds or the subsurface peeking through. That’s just how I search for such composition. A solid white, especially in the rework, I try to avoid. What I like most about this image is how the two arms curve and come together as in a wreath.
Wonderful scene. Your ability to see and to convey is really a treasure to NPN.
I tried to see how it would look in BW, and did not think much of the result; that hid too many of the details. But enroute to BW, I accentuated some aspects, including some contrast in the milky white, and this is a product.
Thanks @Igor_Doncov and @Dick_Knudson! I like the extra bit of contrast in the water, Dick - it’s not too much. One of the things that I like about the milky water look is how surreal it is. Perhaps the trick is to make the composition totally surreal. Will have to cogitate on that idea.
Yes, for me that was a lot of the charm of this scene. I think that’s why my other version doesn’t work so well for me - you lose the wreath-look.
Hi Bonnie - I was wicked busy yesterday, but wanted to make sure I chimed in on what a treat this image is. So unusual and graphically arresting. I see what you like about the wreath-look and I think that’s the strongest element so here’s my take on your fantastic image -
Ps to remove the smaller rocks, crop a bit, slight dodging here and there in the lovely water, played with hue/saturation a bit and did some work with an exposure adjustment - tweaked offset & gamma just a little bit. Hope it’s ok and again, it’s a stand-out shot.
@Kris_Smith, thanks for taking the time to give it a whirl. I do like your crop - it makes the detail in the LLC not so eye-catching. And if one goes with that crop, the rocks have to go, too.
Bonnie, this seems like a really unique composition and immediately caught my eye. Reminds me of a minimalist traditional Japanese print. I love the two simple elements of the leaves and the rock, and I also love the surface tension and the two tones of water. Good catch seeing this little scene!
