On a wintery morning I was walking through my local forrest which has suffered under the bark beetle a lot during the last few years. Even though it is visible that the trees were damaged during these years, the symmetry of the trunks as well as the frosty branches and the contrast caused by the sidelight caught my eye.
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.
Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
My goal was to capture the fragility of the nature surrounding us. A forrest I took for granted all those years suddenly took a hit. But even as damaged as it might be, it still remains beautiful and mysterious. The trees are holding on even in harsh wintery conditions.
I am not sure, if there is too much going on in the picture and if it lacks a clear focus point. Also I am not sure if the image itself really conveys the story. Would be very grateful for your feedback.
Technical Details
1/125sec, f11, ISO 100 at 75mm on Sony A7 IV, processed in LR & PS
Ronja, this really caught my eye. The tree in the middle being lit like that is amazing. That itâs also the tree that shows the most obvious damage is a bonus (as it relates to your story, not because the damage itself is a bonus! I trust you get my intention!).
You ask if thereâs too much going on - I personally donât think so. True that there are a lot of branches, but theyâre delicate, and the spacing of the trunks is almost orderly, anchoring the relative chaos. Thereâs also variation in midtones that give it depth and a peaceful mood. Considering the story, Iâd add thereâs a bittersweetness to it, too.
Whether it really conveys the story, I think it certainly tells a piece of it. My curiosity is about how âconfrontationalâ you want the message to be. Your stated goal makes it an environmental issue (to my reading), and does this image as-is communicate the urgency you feel about it? Do you want us to feel sad about losing beauty (which is my response), or hopeful because the forestâs resilience, or motivated to learn more, or do something to advocate for better eradication/containment of invasive species, orâŚ?
Itâs a lovely image even without any of those intentions, but since you have a story, my thought is to start with the response you hope to inspire in the viewer and work backwards from there in determining if itâs effective.
For your consideration, take/leave/adapt as you see fit! Awesome image
Hi Ronja, I do like the repeating patterns of the tree trunks and that most of them have some separation, which is often difficult to find in a forest. My eyes are drawn to the highlighted tree because itâs brightest and centered, so I think your image may have had more impact without it. Iâm guessing these are coniferous trees that have dropped all their needles due to the beetle? Perhaps a closer view of 2-3 trees using portrait orientation would make for a stronger statement, showing of the damage and frosted branches better. Overall a very interesting photograph.
Hi Ronja. That is a very nice photo. I enjoy the way the branches of the tree seem to almost glow in the light. I agree with @Jim_Lockhart about the central tree, but instead of removing it altogether i wonder if moving it to the 3rds line either to the left or right might make for an interesting composition.
Hi Ronja,
the condition of these trees looks familiar to me. I often see the effects of the bark beetle in my region as well.
But you created a beautiful image of it. I agree with the others that you have successfully brought order to chaos through your chosen alignment.
If I had to change something about the image it would be two small things:
It looks to me like the image has a slight magenta cast to it
The bright branches coming into the frame on the right side distract my eye a bit. I would try to darken them slightly.
But these are only minor details. The picture is also good as it is.
This is visually striking and the thumbnail got my attention. I love the strong and nicely spaced trunks offset by the delicate horizontal/angled branches. It makes me sad to see this situation for the forest and you have made me look more closely by getting my attention with the strong composition.
First, this is a beautiful photo. Your processing/treatment is gorgeous. The luminous tiny branches against the dark blue shadows are wonderful. My emotional reaction is a feeling of delicate, but fading strength. The sturdy verticals of the trunks speak to strength, while the tiny branches are so delicate. The fading part for me is the lack of needles on the branches.
In this part of the world (northern California), this scene would convey death because we have no deciduous conifers; ours hold their needles year round. When they look like this, theyâre dead. I bring this up because itâs interesting that sometimes interpretation of a photo really relies on our knowledge of the context.
Wonderful imagery. Yes, this most certainly conveys a story - and much more. From a pure aesthics perspective this is a great example of âcreating order from chaos.â So to your question if thereâs too much going on? Absolutely not - this is a case where the âwhole is great than the partsâ itâs the whole scene that tells the story; anything less (a crop) would make it more about trees - than the forest (in peril?)
The lighting catching and emphasizing the central tree works beautifully; you could even enhance that effect maybe? My is drawn directly to the light patch where the bark is lost. Iâm undecided if this helps, or not. Certainly it emphasizes the story of the forest - and itâs health, so on balance I think itâs important.
This is beautiful as presented. the only small suggestion would be to mitigate the brigher branch inthe URC coming in from the edge. Should be easy enough to burn down maybe, or some other method.
Lovely texture, soft light, and warm/cool color contrast here. I donât know if I am crazy about how centered the middle tree is, but at the same time I wouldnât say that it doesnât work, it just might be personal preference. While I donât mind centered subjects by any means, when it comes to straight lines (like trees) I do like them to be slightly off centered, otherwise it can feel like they are splitting the scene right in half. Also, the branches on the right edge are a bit bright, pulling my eye away from the center, so a crop like this could work nicely. (I cropped a little off the left side to keep the same amount of space between the last trees and the edge of the frame on either side)
Hi Ronja, sorry for delays - there were a few more photos submitted than I thought but I want to get through them allâŚ
I really like this image because itâs a subject that tends to get ignored. The bare branches and damaged bark really tell a story and the frost is a great visual âenhancerâ which is is complemented by the cooler shadow treatment here.
Definitely not too much going on but my first reaction is that the trunk on the right and branches on the right edge are a little prominent to act as support for the main star. Iâve used a bit of a curves adjustment to knock these back a little.
The distribution of trunks is perfect in my opinion - thereâs nothing wrong with a centrally placed object as long as itâs really obvious that it should be central. Effecivtely, a centrally placed item calls out that âthis is what I didâ as a photographer - it decalres the photograph as âcomposedâ (well it does in my mind) whereas offset to one side or the other could be a âthis was what I sawâ and allows the composition to remain more ânaturalâ. For some people, a centrally placed object can be quite jarring so bear that in mind.
But for this - I think the focal point is really clear and it works well.
p.s. A while back I was experimenting with compositional ideas to see if they worked and split one of my scenes in half to see if the composition worked or not⌠I have a feeling it almost does ⌠It was fun try weird things occasionally
Dear Beth, Thank you so much for your kind words and your very interesting approach to work backwards from the intention to the edit! Your response made me really think about the image again and I think I want to lean more towards a âstill standing tallâ approach and to emphasize the resilience of the forrest. I will definitely keep that in mind when reediting the image. Thank you again for your very helpful comment, I really appreciate it!
Dear Jim, Thank you very much for sharing your suggestions with me. I really appreciate it and will try to compose another maybe closer up angle from this image as well!
Thank you Jens, yes the destruction the bark beetle has left everywhere around over the last couple of years is really sad. Thank you for your kind words and your great suggestions. I will definitely check the color balance again as this is something that happens still far too often to me and I absolutely agree about the branches on the right side. Thank you very much for your input, I really appreciate it!
Dear Lon, Thank you very much for your kind words and suggestions! I really appreciate your input! I am glad the image conveys a story since often times I still struggle with this. Good point on the light patch on the broken part of the tree, I will give it another thought, thank you for bringing it to my attention! I will definitely work on the bright branches in the URC, thank you for this! all the best, Ronja
Thank you Eric, for your input and suggestions! I really appreciate it and think the same amount of space between the last trees to the edges of the frame makes a huge difference! Thank you very much for pointing me into this direction!
Dear Tim, thank you very much for your kind words and for sharing your thoughts and suggestions with me. I really appreciate it.
I myself was not a 100% sure about putting the tree in the middle or slightly off centered. In the end I went for the middle position to maybe emphasize a kind of âstill standing tallâ-effect of that broken tree.
I really like your curves adjustment in the right edge of the frame, I will definitely adjust this edge in my image as well as I agree that it makes a huge difference.
Thank you for sending me your input! All the best, Ronja
I trust you get my intention!).
