Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
From a walk around a lake on a recent camping trip. I had been thinking I might find some reflections of trees at this spot, or perhaps do some ICM. Instead I noticed these moving types of reflections.
I know I’ve seen a lot of images like this on Instagram. I haven’t ever experimented with them, I’d never before seen how these reflections worked, so I was delighted to “get it.” It was really mesmerizing to watch, and even if I’m just copying someone else’s idea, it was fun to spend some time seeing it.
I know it’s not original. So the the title might be “Etude,” studies to practice technique and musical skills.
Specific Feedback
With this type of image, how important is front to back focus, and if it’s important, any tips on how to better achieve it? Is there an angle that works better? (I admit to being a little lazy, I’ve got sort of an injured ankle so I was sitting on the shore…)
I was thinking that more DOF would be better, but now I’m thinking higher shutter speed might have been more appropriate.
Thank you!
Technical Details
Nikon Z8+100-400 @400mm
ISO 400, f18, 1/250
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Julie, I’d say you did a very good job, particularly if this was your first attempt at an image like this.
How important is focus throughout? It’s a matter of taste. My answer is “not very.” It’s also difficult to achieve. I’d suggest picking a small aperture that gives you a large depth of field and focusing on the reflections nearest you.
Your shutter speed looks fine to me.
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Very lovely!! I’d say that was a successful practice session! I love the swirly lines and the colors and you found a very engaging composition. One trick I will sometimes use for a water surface is to make a quick mask with a graduated filter, one from the bottom to about halfway and one from the top, then darken the bottom and lighten the top, very subtly. Just adds a bit of dimension and works with the focus falloff.
You obviously can’t do a focus stack with movement like this and it looks like you’ve gotten about as close as you can to sharpness across the frame with the small aperture and a high enough SS, and deal with the noise later. But I agree with @Don_Peters that you don’t need sharpness across the frame for this sort of artistic image. If you want to pursue it further, a tilt-shift lens is the only option, and it’s perfect for laying the focus plane across the water surface with a tilt. But they are pricey and a bit frustrating to use.
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Well, I didn’t notice a depth of field or a shutter speed issue until I read your description, Julie, so both are OK with me. I would say dof might be more important, but I don’t think you need to make that a tradeoff this the available iso these days. My one real experiment with this kind of image was on part at a location with a good view down, fairly high above the water (maybe 8 feet), so getting sufficient dof wasn’t too difficult.
As for copying someone else’s idea, the ripples and reflections are always going to be different. It’s no different than going on a safari-everyone’s shooting the same subjects, but not all images are going to be the same.
I think the slightly blue sky reflections mixed with the golds really works well in this image and I love the patterns.
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Julie,
I love these kinds of abstract reflections and am always on the lookout for them. Yes, they’ve been done before, but who cares? These are very inviting scenes that deserve to be photographed!
I also agree with others that full top to bottom sharpness isn’t really necessary with these, although it often helps in deciding where to crop! ha ha. Speaking of which, I’m not sure how much you had already cropped, or this is the original framing. And rather than sharpness, with your image here, the flatter, warmer LLC is less consistent with the rest of the frame. Not a big deal though.
Not sure if it’s possible, but for my own taste would like to see more “blue”. Maybe the sky was overcast?
The beauty of these natural abstracts is that you’re free, as the artist, to crop, modify, enhance to create whatever you like! This one is a wonderfual abstract as presented and any alternates are purely subjective. Keep looking!
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I think this is molten golden goodness! It is muted and beautiful and I like the contrast of the blue tones against the gold. F18 seems perfect….congrats!
@Don_Peters Thank you very much for your thoughts! I’m glad front to back focus isn’t crucial, because I seriously, other than looking straight down, couldn’t figure it out. I think I could experiment further with camera angle, for sure. But I just liked finding the patterns. 
@Diane_Miller , thank you, that’s an excellent suggestion for the masking. I didn’t do a ton of editing on this, just sort of get rid of the floaties and adjust the color to taste, which wasn’t much tbh. And you’re right, I’m probably not going to go for a tilt shift lens, just one more thing to carry? Ugh I don’t think so. 
@Dennis_Plank Thank you for your thoughts on originality, you’re probably right about that, it’s just hard to know these days if I’ve accidentally copied or jumped on a bandwagon unintentionally…And yes, I figured if I was looking straight down I’d have a better chance at more DOF…but then I’d have been wet up to my knees! Haha! Just kidding next time I’ll do my part for my art.
@Lon, thank you, I see what you’re saying about the LLC, I’ll take a look at that, or see if I have one that’s more balanced, good insight. I didn’t crop this at all, actually, so there might be some room to re-balance. I took hundreds of these so I need to keep culling and looking more closely at those things, too, rather than just Ooooo I love this pattern.
Thank you, everyone!
~Julie
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