Fireweed Fall Color- repost

Here’s a version with a less blue background. Just a cautionary tale about that warm/cool contrast that can go overboard. Thanks for the feedback. Kathy

What technical feedback would you like if any?

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

This is a single image of a patch of Fireweed in the Sierra Nevadas near Lake Tahoe that I spent a fair amount of time with. With the low light of evening, the leaves became quite brilliant. Also the flower stems are quite whimsical with lots of curls and fluffy seedpods ready to fly away. It’s a pretty busy scene, but I was hoping the tree trunks might anchor it. I would love any suggestions for improvement, or is it hopeless to try to capture this much busy-ness in a single image?

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

Sony A6500, ISO 1000 (HH), f/16, 1/320 sec.
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)

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Wonderful rainbow effect. . .with just a bit of abstract feel Kathy, at least for me. Nice capture.

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This image caught my eye right away, and I clicked to see the larger image. I think it’s beautiful with the various fall colors, including the blue and green. To me it says abstract, and I love the lines and the flow. I wouldn’t change anything, but the experts might have more to add.

Hi Kathy,

It is a busy scene but the combination of the texture from the foliage and the form of the trunks helps the viewers eye.

I personally would reduce the amount of magenta that you’ve rendered in the white balance and the trunks that are at the top of frame a quiet blue. Neutralising the cast in this part of the frame should help the viewer focus on the foreground and mid-ground.

Masterful job on pulling together such a busy scene. Those trunks are beautiful in that mix of chaotic vegetation. Personal preference, but I too would drop the blue at the top a tad; the color contrast seems a little too strong.

Great eye here Kathy, I love the interplay of colors and the relationship of the trees to the shrubs around them. I am naturally drawn to busy scenes like this. This one is definitely not ‘hopeless’ in my opinion!

If you feel compelled to simplify…the one thing that pops out to me as the biggest distraction is the spotty green elements in the bottom 25% of the frame. I don’t dislike them per se, but there are too few in my opinion so they stand out from the overall tapestry of color. Have you considered cropping those out to focus a bit more on the trunks amid the transition from fiery orange autumn colors at the bottom to the cool blues and greens in the top of the frame?

I’d also agree with Nathan above about the magenta cast. I notice it most in the white tops of the fireweed. I think if this was toned down a bit, perhaps with a bit less overall saturation in the warm colors, it might help tie the image together better.

I love fireweed, I think it is a plant with so much photographic potential. Well seen!