The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I found this ghost forest in Yosemite Valley one Autumn day. It was the result of a control burn in some prior year. The charred pines clashed with the dried fern and the more recent tree growth.
Specific Feedback
I am looking for general thoughts on the composition and color.
This was an 1800 dpi scan of a 4x5 color negative converted to positive.
Technical Details
Chamonix 4x5
Schneider 210 mm
Kodak Portra ISO 160
F 32 @ 2s
PSCC 2024
TK Mids luminosity mask
Some dodge and burn
TK Saturation Painting action at low opacity
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
The yellowed fern make a nice foreground to set off the charred trunks, and I like the way you set up the composition of the trunks; it all comes together nicely. I also enjoy that the image tells a story.
Hi Preston,
I love the color palette in this scene. The golden color of the ferns compliments the blacks of the charred tree trunks beautifully as well as the green of the young evergreens in the BG. I also like the way the trees are laid out around this woodland scene. I also quite like the textures and details in those FG burnt tree trunks. No suggestions from me; very nicely done.
What a lovely scene to come upon in the forest. The colors really pop and go well together, especially the greens and the golden ferns. If I wanted to be super picky, I don’t know how you feel about altering your images, but I would clone out the dark patch about quarter of the way up along the right edge.
Very cool image and composition. I like how you were able to find an angle were there were a few other trees over at an angle, like the one in the foreground. I do love the ferns and the colors they add. Just a thought, a small crop from the bottom would show a little less of them, and draw the eye up to the white, wispy branches at the top. Though, the crop you have, is also a nice counter balance. Just a thought. So nicely done.
Nice composition. I particularly like how the trees on the left are leaning on each other, and to have those two tree in the BG right, leaning on each other as well. Creates a nice balance. For some reason, I feel like the shadows have a slight hint of green in them, maybe even overall.
Stunningly beautiful image. Perhaps stunning is the wrong word. Hauntingly beautiful image. No, it’s both stunning and haunting. Who was that 18th century philosopher that stated that there is a type of beauty that has an element of fear in it. This image has that quality about it.
For me it’s mostly about the jet black shapes against those somber greenish blues. But as you stated the blacks become more black due to the yellows below. I agree with the suggestion of a very very small crop off the bottom. What’s marvelous about charred wood is how much it reflects light. That adds so much.
