The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Seeing as we got another foot of snow the other day, you won’t be seeing anything green from me for a while!
This time a bit of a hill and a different sense of what might be coming. The tracks you see aren’t mine, and are probably from the morning or the day before. I had so much fun while I was out, marveling at the patterns in the snow and how little was still visible in the undergrowth. It was warm enough for the top layer to start melting and that added some more interest for me.
Specific Feedback
This time the trees have a lot more presence in the scene. How does this strike you as opposed to a more open image with smaller trees or ones that are further back?
Lr for all processing including a lot of lens correction & transform to get the geometry right - especially necessary for wide angles and trees so close. Boosted exposure slightly and raised the shadows quite a bit. Calibration panel to boost colors a bit. Lowered highlights globally and with a mask in the center footprints. Used a total of 4 masks to even luminosity and put clarity and contrast where I wanted it. A bit of distraction removal here and there.
Kris, I see a great image. I wil follow that path along shadows that look like stair steps . Trees as protectors. All waiting for some more snow ?? What a winterplace to live in !
Ben
Wonderful shapes and textures in the snow, and I want to follow the path to see what more lies ahead. I did some screen scrolling and taking about 1/4 off the top suited my simple tastes – leaving just enough to see where the trail disappears. That removes almost all the sky. The trail gives all the depth I need, and I love how the trunks become so crowded in the left half that they almost merge. I love the snow so much I don’t want to be distracted by the distant forest.
That’s undoubtedly not your vision, but I think you have a twofer here.
Thanks @Ben_van_der_Sande & @Diane_Miller - glad it engages your imaginations. I love paddling windy rivers for the same reason - that suspense as you approach a bend you can’t see though. What’s over there? What wondrous thing might I see? Keeps me hiking and kayaking for longer than I probably should, but it’s fun.
I think I have a version with less sky…let me check. It’s so hard choosing sometimes!
For me, the choice between the trees here and your last image is a toss up; I really don’t have a preference. I would say, though, that I like the serpentine aspect of the trail a little better in the prior image.
Thanks for chiming in, @John_Williams - since I spend a fair amount of time in winter woods, the sometimes subtle permutations of forest have started to be more important to me. I agree that bendy trails work best to engage with our sense of exploration and whimsey in a way that this one doesn’t quite do, instead it seems a trifle more formidable.
Kris, I feel that this one has some symmetry and order that invites me into the scene. I think I prefer it over the other one. Well done and well seen.
I think I’m with @Diane_Miller about cropping some off the top. For me, this all about the trail and mystery of where it’s going and what’s around the corner. Cropping off the top eliminates some of the sky distraction and also focuses your attention more on the trail and mystery that lies in wait. I really don’t have a preference for one image over the other as they are different but I do think I like the trail in the first one being more curved and interesting than this trail. Glad you have a terrific time scouting around and playing with the snow. Call me weird, but I love winter and the weather that it brings.
This is a lovely wintertime scene for sure, Kris. It’s been several years since we have had any snow where I live in the northeast corner of MD. I love all the lines in this image, both vertical with the trees and diagonal with their shadows. It also has an air of mystery with the graceful curved trail that leads the viewer to ? I like the way you handled the trees as they are spaced out nicely within the frame. Beautifully done!
You need to fix that! LOL Oh, how much joy has come into my life since I bought a kayak. But you can get some of that on land with a bendy trail. Thanks for picking up on the small tree going out of frame. Funny how I hadn’t.
Thanks @Ed_Lowe - no shortage of snow here. We got another foot over the weekend and although most of that is melted now, they got 2 feet in the same storm about 40 minutes north. We’re going to have a hell of a melt soon and so I need to find my river and waterfall spot. If the roads are plowed enough to get me there. Some of the more remote falls are on roads not maintained in winter. Joy.
But yeah, curvy trails in winter can be especially nice because those curves and elevation changes are more apparent with the undergrowth hidden.
