I shot this image from inside through the window. The marks that may look like dust spots are really falling snowflakes. I got rid of a large number of them. Do you think they are too distracting? Does this simple scene appeal?
What technical feedback would you like if any?
Any/All
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Any/All
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
Nikon D750, 70-200mm lens, at 70mm, 1/160 sec, f9.0, ISO 125
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
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Larry,
Iām so glad you uploaded a large original because the thumb, and even the screen-adjusted size donāt do this one justice. Click on the image for the biggest size reveals two things. The first, the incredible detail throughout almost the entire frame is pretty amazing. And second, all the falling snow - hence your title. So to answer your question, no, the falling snow flakes are not distracting - but then youāve removed the larger ones so hard to say - but what you have left I see no distractions.
As I mentioned, really enjoying the detail of the larger version. I do think though, given the almost monochromatic nature of this that youāve included quite a bit and those tiny details get lost. There are a few potential crops that get in to some of the details - all of which I would likely include the āballā of snow and leaves. But again, the detail is great and so I think a closer crop would improve things. And if doing so, potentially look in to brightening things up a bit - even though it appears itās a āsnow-grayā day outsideā¦ 
Lon
Lon, Thanks for the input. I have the .dng file, so the snowflake marks are not lost. I donāt see how cropping this would help as Iām fine with the leaves and think the snow ball on the left is key to the image. Iām happy to have you show me the crop you have in mind. Thanks. Larry
Thanks for the response Larry. Maybe I should clarify a little bit. Iām not really thinking thereās a better crop, and what I meant when I said the " those tiny details get lost" is that given the original 4,000x6,000 image file, the condensed web versions just arenāt allowing the small details and even the snow flakes to be visible. I have to click in to the 100% view to enjoy the details and discover the snow flakes. So in a sense, the biggest issue is having to view these types of images on the WEB, on monitors (Iām on 27", but even stillā¦) Hence, by suggesting a crop one gets closer to the details. Not sure if Iām making sense.
Having said that, my crop is not really what Iām after, but getting better detail in the falling snow and the snowball and leaf clutter. So, I started with a crop to get closer (not happy with edges, but thatās not my goal here.) I used TKās Darks 4 and Midtones 3 Levels adjust layers to raise the luminosity of the scene in general and raise the shadow detail a little bit. Also used a Selective Color layer on the whites to neutralize the color a bit to more white.
The biggest effect was using Tony Kuyperās Light and Dark Triple Play Luminosity layers. These are a bit dated now and Iām not sure if still available - but great tools to have in the bag when one wants to increase detail in shadow and very bright areas. With these I was able to bring out the contrast and expose the falling snow flakes, as well as increasing shadow detail without introducing too much muddy hazeā¦
Also, a couple other layers to boost the yellow and reds for the leaves and stalks.
Again, not cropping for a better composition or anything - just a closer look for better revealing of all that wonderful little detail in the leaves and snow (including snow ball.)
Hope this helps.
ps. Since your original was 6,000px on the long side, I was able to save/upload a much larger version that normal. Click on the image for the NPN, āmonitory sizedā view. Then click image again to get to the full sized image. I think many folks miss this feature, just settling for the monitor sized image
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