The photographer has shared comprehensive information about their intent and creative vision for this image. Please examine the details and offer feedback on how they can most effectively realize their vision.
Self Critique
I like the strong foreground ice shapes and that the eye is carried to the middle ground ice block and then up to the mountains. The blue gives a good impression of winter cold. The ice shapes in front have nice clarity.
The colors are soft, but the light in the sky seems perhaps, too dull. There is a lot going on in the image and may be a bit too busy. I could probably back off on the dehaze through the whole image and reduce the clarity in the background too.
I think the deciduous trees had more sunglow on them as well.
Creative direction
I was trying to capture the interesting ice shapes and the evening winter mood.
Specific Feedback
Is the image too busy with such strong elements in fore, middle, and backgrounds?
Does the dehaze need to be reduced throughout parts of the image, some areas seem to crispy?
Is the lighting ok, or should it be a bit more dramatic?
Technical Details
OM System OM-1, 40-150mm shot at 40mm, ISO 80, f/16, 1/6 sec
Processed in LR
Basic edits:
Reduced contrast, highlights, and shadows
Increased whites and blacks and dehaze, and vibrance slightly
Used Topaz DeNoise and Sharpen
Description
The interesting ice formations caught my eye and my goal was to get a nice shot with those as the main subject but with the background compressed to make the middle ground ice mound and mountains in the back seem large.
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Irene, this is such an interesting image! I can see why you might be concerned the image is too busy, but actually I love how it forces my brain and eye to look and then to look again. There might be many other ways to do the post processing, but this image really works for me, just the way it is.
Hi Irene - what an interesting scene! The strong bluish tones really give me the feeling of cold and I love the way you layered the scene.
I don’t feel it’s inherently too busy. The layers of interest from from to back do work. Perhaps the emphasis could be adjusted, though. Even though all those layers are quite interesting, that foreground ice is the star of the show (for me, anyway). You mention the dull sky - I don’t think that’s a detraction if the main subject is the ice in the front. Did you put a vignette on this? The tops of the mountains feel unnaturally dark, as does the top of the sky.
Maybe it’s just my taste, but the dehaze does feel overdone. Especially in the midground; that feels almost like a drawing (but maybe that’s what you intended).
I think it could be more dramatic, but with selective emphasis. Perhaps more drama for the foreground ice, less for the mountain background.
At any rate, this is nicely seen and composed. It would be interesting to see the unprocessed image.
Thank you, Russell! I truly appreciate your feedback and am happy to know you like the image just as it is. It’s always so helpful to have more eyes on an image.
Thanks so much, Bonnie! I think you are seeing what I’m questioning in my image. I’m going to go back and play with the processing a bit more. I probably did put a linear gradiant on the sky and over the mountains. I’ll take a look at that. I also agree about the midground being a bit drawing like, I’m going to smooth that out a bit and use a bit more contrast for dramatic lighting to really put the emphasis on the foreground. Great suggestions!
Dear Irene Calder, thanks for sharing this image. I fully understand your fascination of the scene. I have two questions. First, are the tonalities (around Z3-5) suitable for the scene? Zone 3-5 are muted midtones, but do they support the optical uniqueness of the ice sculptures with their exceptional luminosities? Second, is the subject, the ice sculptures, served by the photographic choices? If the main subject is the ice sculptures, then perhaps a different position and/or perspective would have been useful: As the image stands, there is little separation of the ice sculptures from the background. Moreover, the ice sculptures have unique shapes (upright and rounded), but these figures are competing with very strong horizontal or slightly diagonal lines behind them, meaning that the ice sculptures get less attention than they merit. Lastly, there is a stronger contrast in the upper part of the image below and above the forest, meaning that my eyes are pulled up there, away from the ice sculptures. Just a suggestion: The round figures of the ice sculptures are echoed by the boulders behind them: Would it make sense to crop the image so that the ice sculptures and the boulders were the central elements? Again, thank you so much for sharing this image.
Hi Irene
Fantastic image of an amazing scene. As presented I feel it is a record image, beautiful as it is. If the “star” are the ice structures then how do you support them without a crop. There is little colour so the only alternative is to soften and reduce contrast in the mid and background, perhaps even a vignette leaving the FG as bright, rest darker.
It must have been a magic scene to view
Irene, the details in the foreground ice, with that series of water worn shapes are indeed wonderful. While they are the main subject, the rest of the scene fits very well and tells a complete story, with the rugged mountains contrasting well with the rounded, sculped ice shapes. I also like the hint of light along the tops of the deciduous trees. I think you could brighten the view overall, but especially the mountains and sky. I think that can retain the drama and the mood, but make the viewing a bit more friendly.
What a gorgeous location and subject to photograph. I don’t think anyone could have walked upon this scene and not taken an image of it. The clear star of the show is the ice formations in the foreground. They are unique and intriguing and the color palette works well to give this scene the cold feeling that it deserves.
The midground is the least interesting and maybe most cluttered portion of the image but it fits well within the scene. The background mountains and forest are a visual delight. You appeared to have good light with some cloud cover to soften things up nicely and your exposure looks good. I’m finding that the forest up to the mountain peaks and into the sky are quite dark…darker that they should appear to be. I would definitely raise the exposure quite a bit in that upper portion of the image. I also find that everything appears to be very tight in the frame. There is not much breathing room so if you have it, I would add more canvas to the top and possibly the sides of the image to give it more breathing room. Here is a quick redo with the top of the image brightened quite a lot.
Dear Leo, those are very good questions for me to ponder! I was trying to line the two ice sculptures up with the mountains (compressed) but I do see what you pointed out about the straight on perspective and tonalities not necessarily showcasing any of the ice formations. It could have certainly been two different shots specifically showcasing each ice sculpture, which I did capture, but found to be less interesting. At this point, I’ll try playing around with the tonalities and contrasts, and see if that helps reduce the competition between the rounded and diagonal lines.
Your feedback is so helpful. I will utilize your questions as I edit other images moving forward.
Thank you!
Hi Mark,
What a great idea to reduce the contrast in the mid and background. I can add a vignette too. I think those things could really draw the eyes to the ice formations.
Thanks for your helpful feedback.
It really was a “magic scene” to try to capture!
Hi Mark,
Your feedback tells me that you really see what I was trying to capture! Thank you!!
I will definitely play with brightening the image, especially the mountains and sky, and hopefully come up with a “more friendly” image to view - I like that thought!
Hi David,
I really love the edits you did! Thanks so much for taking the time to play with my image!!
Adding more canvas and brightening it overall really has softened it and takes my eye right to the interesting ice formations. It is really what was needed.
I’ll play with it and try to get the same results. Thanks again, hugely helpful!
This is a very interesting shot with lots of things for the eyes to explore. I like it a lot and I like the edits that David made as they made the image pop. I do kind of wish there was a bit more space above the mountains. They just feel a bit too crowded.
Compositionally, this is incredibly strong. It’s a beautiful scene and a lovely image. I agree with you re: the sky and find David’s re-work to be the magic that was missing. What a fantastic find, and you photographed it quite well.
Hi Tom,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this image! I agree that the edits from David definitely make the image pop more. I can see your point too, about adding more space above the mountains. Now that it has been pointed out, I do feel more space will add a more open feeling.
Thanks so much, Bret! It was a lucky find! Things changed day by day in that area, so finding nice ice formations was great fun to play with. You are so right about David’s edits! It was real helpful seeing exactly what others were suggesting. I now have to go back and try to recreate what he had done.
Cheers!
