Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Getting ready for a hike in one of Southern Utahs canyons, I turned around and saw this amazing scene unfold. Off came the backpack, and I quickly took some images of these unusual clouds. Glad I acted fast, as this pattern dissolved before long.
Any feedback welcomed.
1/800 sec, f/13, 24mm, ISO 400
Nice tree, but it’s the clouds that draw me. Hard to get past those amazing formations to appreciate the tree.
Fritz, it is an amazing cloud formation and going to b&w shows it off very well. The tree acts like a fine counterpoint to the clouds and the hillside. I do wonder about some specific dodging of the tree to give it a bit more visual weight, recognizing that doing so would make this more specific to this challenge but possibly not where you want the viewing to go.
@Mark_Seaver @Chris_Baird , thank you both for the feedback; much appreciated. I had actually chosen another image first, but then I thought of this one., as it is one of my favorite monochromes. But I do agree, the cloud does overwhelm the tree. Mark, I tried a few different approaches, and eventually settled on the one enclosed. It does make the tree stand out a bit more, but is the rest too dark now?
Yes, Fritz, the sky and trees on the slope are too dark, I especially am missing the stuttering, fluffy clouds near the top. The tree and the main cloud are nicely balanced visually. Are you using luminosity masks in your burning/dodging?
I took a crack at this, here’s the result… I dodged the tree through a mid-tones mask, slightly burned in the big cloud and the cloud around the tree through an L2 mask (brightest 1/4 tones), burned in slightly the ground along the bottom through a D2 (darkest 1/4 tones) mask. You may or may not like the result…it’s your image, not mine.
Thank you for taking the time, Mark. Very much like your version. I have been working on some more moody images, and it affected the way I re-worked this image. Also, I have not used mid tones masks much; I need to spend some time playing with that, as I really like the result. Subtle, but effective. Again, thank you!
