The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
While walking down the trail to an overlook of Blackwater Falls; in Blackwater Fall SP in WV; I spotted this large boulder face covered with these lovely green mosses and ferns begging for some attention. I also liked the fissures in the boulder and tried to incorporate them in the image as well. My first impulse was to tidy up the scene and remove the brown dead ferns, but then decided that they complimented the lush greens surrounding them.
Specific Feedback
Do the ferns seem to centered in the composition? Do the corners feel empty to you? Anything thing else you notice please feel free to mention it.
Technical Details
Nikon Z 7, Nikon 24-200 @ 34 mm, F 11 @ 2 sec, ISO 400, Kase Magnetic CPL, cable release & tripod.
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
I’m often attracted to just such scenes. The colors are wonderful here. And I think I like the textures even more. You can almost feel the subject tactifully with your eyes. I can feel the wetness just by looking. The light is great in that there are no shadows to create chaos.
I think the composition though isn’t very inviting. It’s a bit predictable and doesn’t invite the eye to explore. Adam Gibbs talks about it here on what he terms as Flow.
Quite appealing Ed. I will dissent from Igor’s opinion. An image like this is basically a flat plane, almost 2 dimensional. It’s not like a landscape that has more depth with a FG, MG and BG that allows for compositional techniques that allow you to move through the image. Imho there is a nice flow through the image. My eyes explore the fissures, the mosses and the ferns which you’ve composed in a circular motion. My only small nit is the bottom fern. Don’t know if it’s a dof issue or motion, but there’s some blurriness there.
I like this one too, Ed. I like the threesome groupings of ferns. And the moss covered rocks do a nice job of framing them and setting them off. I like these intimate scenes. Thanks for sharing.
Ed, I too like this a lot. The greens are lovely and inviting. It speaks well of the damp Eastern Forests. The clumps of ferns keep my eyes moving around the frame. I do think that cropping off the overhang at the top improves the eye movement, but that would make printing a size/shape problem. As I thought more about the printing, I decided to try some subtle mods. Here’s the result. I do think it avoids the attention along the top. I did some edge burning along the top, some mid-tone dodging of the ferns near the top, and a local desat. of the bright bit just to the left of top center.
I love these little gardens one finds while wandering around. There is a flow to this image as my eye moves around the triangle created by the ferns. I like Mark’s tweaks.
-P
