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 think the composition and exposure are ok, but I still think it lacks of a strong subject
Creative direction
I have no particular style or approach direction toward this image, but I wanted to show how this type of landscape can look dead or still, but contains nonetheless incredible amount of life and power. The partially snow covered trees and the animal foot-tracks should lead to this conclusion (hopefully)
Specific Feedback
How could I transmit better the message I wanted to share? Compositionally, technically and emotionally wise.
Technical Details
ISO: 125
Shutter speed: 1/500
Aperture: f/7.1
Description
I took the picture at around 2 pm, with the sun quite high producing quite strong light. I overexposed to avoid highlight clipping. The raw file resulted quite flat but decently exposed and I focused on bringing back contrasts mainly.
Hell, Dario. I think I would make the tree on the right with the animal tracks on both sides, the main subject and still tell your story. I am confused as to your statement that you overexposed to avoid highlight clipping. Normally, you would overexpose to keep the snow white. More
I Michael, that was an error from my side, I meant I underexposed the picture to avoid clipping on the sky. Thank you for the composition feedback, I see what you mean, and I like that the tracks kind of frame the tree even better (from the crop you provided).
Hi Dario,
I think there are two ways a viewer interprets the subject (well, actually hundreds, but bear with me): one is a strong visual subject that dominates the scene in some way (emphasis, mass, interest, color, etc) and the other is the symbolism of what’s there, even if it is scattered throughout the scene and perhaps not the most dominant in a visual sense (color, texture, etc).
To me, this has a strong subject. I think the sky is a little less important, relative to its color and how impressive it is. To me, the subject is the tracks. I assumed it was a human and rabbit/hare, but perhaps the prints on the left are coyote or ungulate? And then there’s the smaller ones, mouse, bird, other rabbits. Regardless, the image tells a story: everyone out after heavy snow looking for what they need, which in some cases might be the other as food. All creatures, great and small, fighting for life and shelter. And despite the chase or the slog or the potential risk, it’s beautiful.
I like Michael’s crop. I might be inclined to go 16:9. It’s an acquired taste, but I like the icy trees along the left and I do think the sky competes with the signs of animal life.
Hi Dario,
I see this is your first post, so welcome to NPN. I think you will enjoy the company of like minded individuals. I think you are pretty close to your goal of the message you wanted to share. IMO I the suggested reworks by @Michael_Lowe and @Marylynne_Diggs have taken it a step closer as a greater emphasis is placed on those wonderful snow covered trees and those tracks leading into the scene. I am not trying to muddy the waters for you, but I see another crop here if you are so inclined. I hope you don’t mind, but here is a another rework with what I was thinking. Just my opinion of course. The sky is quite bright so I eliminated about half of it as well as trying to tone down what was left. This looks like a winter wonderland. I hope you were able to capture some images of just those lovely FG grouping of trees as I think that would work as well. I hope to see more of your images as well as your commenting on other’s work.
@Marylynne_Diggs@Ed_Lowe Thank you very much for the feedbacks. I love to see this many reinterpretation of the picture I took and I find them extremely helpful. I can see how the sky takes too much space in the frame.
I like what you saw here and I can see why you wanted to capture it! There’s not much to be done to the sky here. The suggested crops do help hide the overexposure issue. Maybe I’ll just suggest an idea for “next time”. I find that short of a graduated filter, it works best to expose for the sky while making sure you don’t clip the darks on the other side. It’s usually easier to bring out details by lightening shadows than trying to save clipped highlights. The frosty bushes are very nice and the critter tracks add a nice touch.
Welcome to NPN. I hope you do not mind that I also tried my hand at reinterpreting your photograph based on what you were intending to convey - a landscape apparently dead and still yet still containing life and power..
First, I commend your effort in exposing this single frame. I think you did as best as you could. Digital cameras, even with their expanded dynamic range still cannot capture the full dynamic range that the human eye can and in the past days with film I would have used a graduated neutral density filter to hold back the sky, and that could also have been used here. But nonetheless, I do not think the sky is crucial in this photograph to convey what you want. I have been more generous with my crop as I took away almost all of the sky. The only thing in the sky that is really of any importance, at lease to me is the brightest part where the sun resides, and it was close to the horizon and it is what is sending the light onto the snow and so I went with a full 3:1 panoramic crop.
Second, I made some edits to the photo. First I duplicated the image and applied a Screen to the new layer which brightened it even more. Then to this screened layer I applied a generous Gaussian Blur of 40 pixels, since it was only a small JPEG, I would have used more for the full resolution. Then I change the layer’s Mode to Multiply and this darkened the image giving it a more saturated and intense coldness. Then I added a curve layer and added to curve points, one at input 5o output 114 and a second at input 76 output 169 and also setting its layer mode to Multiply and this further added density to both the foreground and what was left of the sky. Next I added another curve layer with a gradient mask to only reveal the sky and added one point at input 148 and output 93 to darken the sky. Finally I used a TK Lights 3 mask and a curve layer where I added warmth to the light areas by adjusting the red channel with a point input 132 output 143, the green channel with a point input 130 output 133 and the blue channel input 133 output 110, as this helped balance the color against the blues in the snow.. The result is below
I think this rendition accentuates the cold frozen environment while also suggesting that the warmth of the sun can still encourage life to continue to exist with the foot prints, especially those in the brightly lit foreground area, as proof of that.
Sometimes what the camera captures is just the blank canvas that we work with to bring out what our vision had in mind.
@Paul_Holdorf thank you for the comment. I was thinking on purchasing a graduated filter in the near future. It seems a valid tool especially in the type of the environment and the conditions I frequently shot. @Youssef_Ismail I like the panoramic idea and also the dramatic look of the darkened shadows, and I see how they contribute to convey the message I was thinking. I usually do not post process so much the pictures, but it is also interesting to see valid alternatives to what I usually do.
