After a sprinkle along the trail to Wolf Lake, the Adirondacks, NY. Just enough CPL to tone down the highlights but let them remain almost as bright as they actually were.
Canon 80D, 1/20 s, f/8, ISO 200, EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5 @ 13 mm, CPL.
Raw file processed in LRClassicCC. TK resize/sharpening for web.
Seeking any and all advice and comments. Thanks in advance.
I like the composition of the image, very simple. But it is the light that makes the image. If it were not for the light shining on the ferns it would be a dull image. Well seen and photographed.
Ronald, shooting in a forest with this kind of light can be very challenging. But you did very well, I agree with Richard that the way you emphasized the light here really makes this shot work. The strong vignetting you have around the frame edges draws my eye to the spotlit ferns. Nicely seen and nicely processed. I don’t see much to do to improve this, other than a small crop off the bottom, maybe about halfway thru the log. But that crop is a matter of personal taste, and I think this image works very well as presented.
Ronald, been there and done that with the image between text on my first posting try. I can delete a post by going to the post and clicking on the wrench in the upper right (above the scroll bar). However that may be because I have administrator privileges. You can also get editing capabilities by clicking on the three dots (…) that show up below your post. At this point, since you’ve got replies (hopefully) the system won’t let you delete so I’d suggest that you make a new post and try from an immediate delete. Let me know how things work.
As to your image, I think it looks very good. You’ve captured and used the lighting very well. The collection of ferns is good also. My one thought is to dodge the lower right a bit. To my eye, that adds a bit more interest there, which lets the entire frame play a bigger role and helps balance the viewing.
I’m afraid I’m going to offer a bit different critique on this. I do like the composition, but wonder what it would look like from a different angle as well, specifically if you were standing to the right of this vantage point 90 degrees (making the fern bed a clock, moving from 6:00 to 3:00). That is not a criticism at all there, just a “wonder”. The reflected light is where I veer from the others. To me, the bright reflection is somewhat of a distraction of the main subject matter and doesn’t allow me to actually see much of it. Mind you, I’m not saying I could do better, but I have to wonder what it would look like using the CPL to defuse much more of the reflection than you did and then choose some creative burning and dodging to showcase the ferns better. Again, not trying to be critical of the image because you may have tried that or it may not have been possible, but I wonder.
