I’ve been hanging on to this and another similar scene since May because I haven’t quite been able to put my finger on what’s bugging me about the photo. I’ve gone back to this one and another slightly different composition a few times trying to produce the image I want, but somehow haven’t. This is as close as I can come. At least for now, so I thought I’d put it up in this critique session to get some feedback and ideas.
While on site I moved the tripod position frequently and used several heights to try to balance the ferns, the river and the forest. Putting the far exit of the water off center seems to work best given the sweep of the near bank. I also like the leaning tree that emphasizes that aspect.
Specific Feedback Requested
Did I achieve anything here? I want the image to be dramatic, but still softly spring-like. I want you to be captivated by those ferns, but not so much that you can’t see how they are part of the whole. And yes, if I could have planted them thicker I would have. Alas…
Technical Details
Tripod and CPL
Lr for highlight & shadow recovery, reduced greens and raised blues in Calibration panel, bit of a crop, some clarity & texture & transform for geometry correction. Topaz Sharpen for some details. Photoshop to eliminate a distraction and to use luminosity masking, dodging & burning and clarity to direct the eye and balance tonalities. Phew.
I think your tinkering gave the ferns a bit more separation from the water. I think the comp works well. The angled water off to the right is nicely balanced by the leaning tree as you said. The colors do remind me of spring. I like the ferns in the foreground, but also feel that maybe they’re a barrier visually to the rest of the scene. I did a screen crop to take half of the ferns on the bottom out and it seemed to open the whole scene up for me…just a thought. Looking forward to Alex’s thoughts.
I want to be drawn into and down the creek, but that vertical (a little left leaning, too) tree on upper left keeps taking me away. I like @David_Bostock idea of cropping ferns.
Thanks @David_Bostock & @Jim_Gavin - funny how that tree is polarizing already. I have a composition with the end of the river more centered which might allow me to crop the tree. I might have one where I eliminated it in the field, too, so that might be fun to compare.
The ferns - I cropped some from the bottom, but maybe less is more here. Hm…
I like the feel of the image but it is a little left heavy with that tree and then the bare spot at bottom right. Perhaps a slight drop in from the right will do the trick?
Lovely scene - your forests are so beautiful. I’m with David B. on the proportion of the ferns - I think they take up too much weight at the bottom. Taking some off the bottom and leaving the upward pointy bits would point us into the frame. The left-leaning tree doesn’t bother me, but the strong vertical ones right at the edges of the upper left and upper right frame are really pulling my eye. And I’m thinking that brightening the background trees, especially the leafy deciduous ones, would help draw us in. Took a crack at all of that, FWIW (may have overdone it, as usual, but you get the idea):
@Kris_Smith, I think Bonnie and the others nailed it with the crop suggestions! The ferny bottom was tough to “get past” with how much relative space it took up, and the empty lower right was an issue along with the upper-left tree on the edge. I also like how Bonnie lightened up the area above the river in the middle, hinting at a light source. About wanting the image to be dramatic: I know we all want that for our photos sometimes, but this scene looks so incredibly calming to me that I wouldn’t try to force any drama into it. It just doesn’t seem like a dramatic scene to me, and that’s okay! To me it feels very quiet (aside from the sound of the river) and peaceful.
A couple super minor things you could do to Bonnie’s edit to really bring it home: darken some of the bright fern fronds along the lower edge, and lightly paint some greenish color on a color-blend-mode layer in PS in the lower-right reddish ground area so that it draws less attention. Overall I’d say this is a winner!
Rework looks good! And I finally figured out this must be the Prairie RIVER. Initially I was thinking why did she call this a prairie because it looks like a forest to me (although I probably shouldn’t confess to such mental slowness ).
Oh no it’s not you, @Bonnie_Lampley - it’s me. I just threw that title on it because it’s part of my project, but the world doesn’t know that and it don’t look like no prairie!
Had to chime in because I had the same exact thought as Alex. This is such a peaceful and tranquil scene - no drama to be found or expected. Maybe it’s just a word thing… but really, I just find this scene very quiet and settling.
Sure, some tweaking can elevate this a little - and I do think your last edit works beautifully. BTW, I’m not bothered by the leaning tree, I think it balances the scene pretty darn well against the right hand side of the stream, and trees.
The ferns? I just think it makes for a classic, near-far composition and is the anchor point for what depth is created downstream.
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