I took this image a couple of weeks ago at a fairly popular location in western Iceland. The ferocity of the river as it rushed through the narrows was an impressive sight, complemented by the dramatic clouds. However, there is something that bothers me about this particular composition. I’d be very interested in your opinion on what that might be. Perhaps I should have placed the “source” of the river closer to the right edge of the frame…
What technical feedback would you like if any?
I appreciate all feedback. I’m especially interested in composition.
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
All feedback appreciated.
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
An exposure blend of two images.
Post-processing was otherwise limited to selective contrast adjustments, dodging and burning.
I used a white balance filter to set a custom white balance.
Technical details on the foreground image:
1/6 sec at f/11, ISO 100
20mm (Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8)
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Tripod.
No flash. No filters.
Welcome to NPN! And wow! what a fantastic first post. Looks like you had some favorable conditions - that sky is killer; it compliments the scene perfectly without taking away from the raging river and rocks.
I think the composition is excellent. Not sure what would be bothering you about it. The amount of space on the right, seems well, just right. If anything, perhaps the left side above the water. The rock is pretty dark (understandably so,) but perhaps that seems like some empty space?
The star for me is the feathery texture of the water. what a wonderful shutter speed for the conditions and motion of the water.
Beautiful work! We hope to see more and encourage you to comment and participate when ready.
Wow!! This is a phenomenal shot. You have really made a splash with your first image in NPN. This is beautiful just as it is. I tried cropping it a little and lightening up the rocks in the mid ground on the left. What do you think? To me the cropped version puts you a little closer to the water and makes it a little more dramatic. Great great work. [190516_Geita_5|690x460]
Atli, welocme to NPN, this is an outstanding first post !!! The light in the sky here is amazing and I really like your processing of the sky.
I agree with @Lon_Overacker, the composition looks great to me, and I like how much of the rocks you have included on the right side of the image. I think you need that much rock on the right to achieve a balanced composition. I also think the source of the water is in the “right” place.
While I think the composition is excellent as presented, there is one thing in the upper right corner (URC) that might be an issue if you got very nitpicky. The small white cloud above the right side mountain is very bright and pulls my eye away from the center of the image. Burning this cloud down doesn’t really work for me, I instead would clone it away, which I did pretty crudely in a rework, to give you a sense of what I mean (to do it well would require more time and effort). In this rework I also lifted the dark tones in the rocks a bit. But this is a very subjective opinion, that white cloud is the only thing that potentially bothers me about the right side, otherwise this is a gorgeous image.
Thank you! Lightening up the rocks definitely improved the photo. Your crop is great as well. I tried something similar, but I feel like the balance between the sky and the river water is slightly off. On my next visit to this location, I’ll try out other compositions.
I greatly appreciate your comment and rework, Ed. And I believe you solved my problem. Without realizing it, the bright cloud above the mountain was drawing my eye away from the center. I need to pay more attention to highlights in the future.
I like the overall composition very much. I think @Ed_McGuirk hit on something important with the cloud. I also looked at the image with not only slight brighter rocks, but a bit warmer as well as you have warm light from the clouds and lower light angle. See if you like this thought.
That’s a definite improvement, @Keith_Bauer. Thanks for taking the time to comment and rework the photo. I really like how you have emphasized the golden glow on the rocks. Maybe it even helps create a more balanced image. I’ll try to achieve a similar effect when I rework it.
