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
While we were in Death Valley I couldn’t resist focusing on the geology (it has encouraged me to explore the subject more deeply). I have some images that are broader but for this one I wanted to really get to the details.
What I like about the image is the colors specifically primarily. My concern is that it’s too tight and cut off some bits around the edges that feel abrupt.
My goal is to share a few of the key images here as I work through my catalog so I can nail down the direction in these and use it to help develop the remainder.
Creative direction
I’m, admittedly, not good at this. I m trying to avoid crushing shadows and blowing highlights. Avoiding an unintentionally over saturated look.
Specific Feedback
Open to any and all critiques!
Technical Details
f16 , 10 sec, iso 100
Description
This was shot EARLY in the morning before sunrise at Zabriskie Point in Death Valley. A group of photographers from another forum had organized a meet up so we all gathered at an easily accessible place. I knew I wanted to shoot the bigger scene but was so drawn to the details that the large view became secondary.
The colors are quite nice. I think you did a nice job bringing them out but avoiding an oversaturated/unnatural look. In fact, you might even consider pushing the saturation a bit with the pinks and greens, perhaps by reducing the luminosity a bit. I like the overall composition and don’t find it too tight. To my eye the pink and green section is nicely framed by the brown sections.
My immediate reaction: Neapolitan ice-cream. Possibly clone out the small white part flowing into the frame at the TR to make the border all-brown. But it’s a gorgeous shot!
I like this quite a lot, maybe part of the reason is the wide range of colors that I typically don’t expect to see together in nature, especially layered together with such distinct lines where some of the colors meet.
My thought was ice cream as well but I thought of “Baskin Robbins 31 Flavors” with Lime Sherbet, Cherry, Rocky Road, Mud Tracks (just to name a few ) (And I’m sure thay have a lot more than 31 flavors these days).
I read @DeanRoyer’s comment about enhancing saturation by lowering the luminance, so I had to download your image and give it a try.
I wasn’t totally surprised by the results but it does seem like a great way to enhance the color separation and even the overall textures to a point by removing what I can only describe as “Mild Glare”, I’m not sure if that’s the right term to describe the affect.
It is a wonderful unexpected presentation of colors, shapes and textures.
I’m not sure if this type of feedback is what you are looking for but this is what came to mind for me.
BTW, I find the crop and composition very pleasing as presented, although, I didn’t explore different crops, perhaps that’s because I didn’t feel compelled to?
Anyway, I hope you don’t mind me exploring the luminosity levels as Dean suggested (and sharing the results with you). It’s also a way to advance my own learning.
Hey David, this is a great image, I like your take on this section of the badlands. I would be a little concerned about the brightest areas of the image losing detail. This is a perfect example of using my clipping action to see where you might want to dial things back a bit. The areas in magenta are getting so bright that you’re losing detail, especially if you were to print it. I wouldn’t be so worried about the small shadow areas, but definitely the highlights. Love the colors!
@DeanRoyer Thank you for the positive feedback. I took your advice with pulling the highlights back a bit. I think I was able to do it without ruining the contrast there. I’ve added a new version for comparison above as well. @Merv and @Mike_Friel Ice cream was at the top of mind for me as well! Thanks Merv for taking a crack at it and providing some ideas on direction as well. @David_Kingham Thank you very much! I saw your new action the other day and was away from my computer…it’s downloaded now! Luckily I initially opened the file as a Smart Object so I was able to easily go back to the raw layer and make some adjustments there without having to change all my masks etc.
David,
I have to say that I am loving the pastel colors you captured in this Death Valley abstract and your framing with the ridge lines does a beautiful job of taking the viewer’s eye up to those fantastic colors. I could see just a touch more room on the left side, but that is definitely not a deal breaker for me. I think your tweaks with the highlights as suggested by @Merv and @David_Kingham elevated an already fine image another notch. Beautifully done.
Love the diversity of colors you’ve capture in the single frame, and kudos for looking around other than the classic landscapes that include the Manly Beacon… Great job isolating the colors and yep, the geology. I think you’ve greatly succeeded.
Great job on the edited version as well. I like Merv’s edit and dropping the highlights was a great improvement.
Is it too tight? I don’t think so really. I think the narrower format makes want to think that it’s too tight, but in the end your result is a great balance between the brown/tan and dark earth tones, with the geologic colors of turquoise and pink/magenta. I like how those colors are encapsulated within the frame.
@Ed_Lowe and @Lon_Overacker Thank you for the kind words. We lacked “epic” light in pretty much every sense, which was ok by me as I tend to look for these smaller scenes anyway.
) (And I’m sure thay have a lot more than 31 flavors these days).
