This was such an incredible and unique morning to experience. This is in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park just weeks before the huge eruption a few months ago. My wife and I hiked down into this crater before dawn, which was full of fog at the time. It was super spooky and as the sun slowly rose to the rim the fog lit up and it felt like a movie set on another planet or something. It was surprisingly difficult to find a good composition but this is the best I have. I like how the foreground shape somewhat mirrors the shape of the rim, and that there are many leading lines into the central tree. I’m just not sure if it is as impactful as I remember the experience and I would like to hear what you think!
What technical feedback would you like if any?
Any feedback at all.
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Any feedback at all. How’s the composition? Is this image impactful? How is the processing?
Any pertinent technical details:
16mm, f/14, 1/8 sec, ISO 100
You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
I love the mood and the light however I feel like it lacks a main subject.
Brent, this sounds like a very cool experience. I do like the mood and certain elements of the image such as the texture and detail of the foreground as well as the the plants struggling in the volcanic rock. My issue is the rim is very bright and prominent and I am struggling with a sense of place. Without your description of the rim I would have suggested cropping it or composing a more intimate scene around the rock, low lying fog and plants. I can definitely see how this would be a very challenging composition. I often have been frustrated when my image does not do the feeling of a location justice. I usually blame the camera 
. I am very curious what others will have to say.
The creepy mood is great and really comes across. I am finding the sky pulls me up and out of the frame a bit, though. Cropping it out works for me, but not sure how you would feel about it since it also eliminates the rim and feeling of being in the crater. Cropped, it still retains an otherworldy feel and mystery. Great light and otherwise, the comp works well for me.
Thanks all for the feedback, it sounds like we’re about on the same page. I see what you mean @Harley_Goldman about cropping. I might even go as far to say that a crop makes the composition better, but I am at odds with losing the crater feel. This’ll go in my Hawai’i album of course, and with that collection I am trying to show just how different and unique of a place it is (above and beyond sandy beaches and palm trees). Thanks for giving me something to think about!
Brent,
Other-worldly for sure. The scattered vegetation on the lava playa in the fog creates a great atmosphere. And I do see the foreground shape mimics the open patch of sky. Speaking of which, as with some other comments, it’s a bit, well, almost overwhelming. BUT… even before reading the comments I did get a reaction of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind…” an Alien experience. So with that, I wouldn’t crop it all, but maybe just less than 1/2 of the bright half circle up top? Either way, you’ve captured and created something a bit unique and very cool.
Lon
I like this image very much. The opening up top makes this image as you realize what you are seeing. I felt that the green bushes on the left hurt this image a bit. So I cropped out one of my favorite parts of the image, the circular foreground earth. The resulting panorama added the mystery of the hole and made the place look more expansive. It also placed emphasis on the cactus in the center from which all life emanates.
I look at the hole similarly to the diving images looking upwards towards sunlight. They add so much to their composition.
Very spooky! The light in this is wonderful especially the transitional zone between the areas of clarity in the areas of fog. The silhouetted plants could be imagined as almost anything. I was there in January 2018 at the time when the park was closed as a result of another government shutdown and was only allowed into the park on the last afternoon of the three days I spent there.
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I was there in February 2018 just after the shutdown! I was afraid it would ruin my trip. (The current one ruined a trip to the Badlands this weekend!)
