Still processing some shots from ‘high’ fall, but before we get to stick season here’s a more lush trail shot from the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. It was taken this September on a leisurely stroll through the woods. Over the years I’ve worked on perfecting the Art of the Trail Shot if you know what I mean. Key elements are, of course, the trail, which has to meander and lead one through the image. But you need something of an anchor whether it be in the trail itself like a rock or root, or just off trail like these three birch trees. Although all those things are deliberate with this shot, the light was luck.
Specific Feedback Requested
Too green? It really was crazy lush, but I don’t want it cartoonish.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Tripod with CPL
Lightroom for everything - wb shift, lens correction, added clarity & texture, white and black points and a tiny bit of exposure. Sharpening & nr. No local adjustments were necessary, IMO, but YMMV.
A worthy trail. Not too green at all, for me, as it doesn’t come across as a green cast or an oversaturation. Maybe a subtle lightening of the birch on the right??
You could do it even more on the left side where the birch is on a darker background. Perhaps to the level of the birch far down the trail. Initially I thought a vertical comp would be good, given that the trail is vertical. But I kind of like all those ferns along the trail more than the trail it self. And then I thought - how about a really drastic change where the trail is a smaller part of the story and the vegetation dominates…
