Trying to step in Mario’s big shoes. This is a grove of aspens with a trail running through it that I can never resist photographing no matter how many times I visit. It’s a 2 minute drive from my house, so that’s pretty often. It’s actually part of the Ice Age Trail which is a National Scenic Trail contained fully in Wisconsin and runs some 1300 miles.
Anyway, this time it was the shadows that got me so I dropped the horizon down low and positioned so the shadows radiated towards me in an arc. It’s one of my favorites from my day out today. It was in the 40s! Literally 60+ degrees warmer than it has been for weeks this month. For a while it was no hat, no gloves, no coat. Joy!!!
Specific Feedback Requested
So I did a little playful processing here with a Lr preset. Just because. Does it work or would you rather see reality or a straight up b&w? How’s the composition, etc. Have at it.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Lumix DC-G9
Lumix G Vario 12-35mm f2.8 @ 14mm (28mm equiv.)
f/14 | 1/200 sec | ISO 200 | +1 ev for snowy whiteness
Handheld nearly up to my knees in that wonderful snow - with snowshoes!!
Processed in Lr w/Modern preset, managed overall highlights and shadows with some texture and reduced clarity so it wouldn’t be too crunchy. Ps to remove some twigs in the path.
Thanks Vanessa. I’ve put one up for comparison. It’s just a basic conversion w/no slider adjustment, etc. I did play with it, but felt it was a safe approach. Maybe it’s the right one.
Basically it dials down the blues and ups the reds. Adobe presets just get applied without any change to your settings which is weird, but there it is. You can increase or decrease the effect of the preset which I did slightly (upped). I put a version up without it in the original post so you can see.
Thanks. I liked all the geometry, too. B&W is up for comparison.
Kristen
Great shot. I really like how you cropped the trees. I also like how my eye is taken down the path to the dense cluster of trees at the end. I would try and bring out more of the subtitles in the shadows on the snow though. There are gradients of tones that I find I can bring out in processing even though they are very subtle to the eye at the scene. Just my experience so far shooting these scenes. I did a rework with how I would try to do this but by no means am I an expert in processing. See what you think. Also did a slight increase exposure and highlights in a radial filter on the tree cluster.
Hi Kristen, Thank you for sharing this photo. This particular section (below) seems to contain more of the dynamic in Mario’s big shoes…
I like your image. I also like the element you have where the trunks of the trees are lit.
The difference for me though is that his image has less detail and works better in its simplicity, where your image includes a much larger scene with lots of tight details.
Also I wonder how to shift the tree shadows into the darker range and how to smooth the scene out. - oh I just saw that Mario read my mind above
Hi Kristen! I really like the black and white and I like what Mario did. I was thinking of suggesting to somehow make the shadows stand out more. Also if there’s any way the trees could stand out more… Aren’t they birch? Just a thought. But it’s really nice.
@Kris_Smith , for some reason when I download and open the black and white you posted Photoshop says it has an invalid color profile. I downloaded it to brighten the snow and birch, to see what that looked like, but when it opens in Photoshop it already looks brighter, and better to my eye, then how it looks on NPN.
Coming in late here. I prefer color over B&W (I like blue shadows on snow). I like the second image “same processing without preset” the best, to me it has more of a winter feel. Just personal taste I guess. I think in the B&W images, as you increase the contrast, it becomes too graphic and harsh for my taste. I think the level of contrast in the second color image is more appealing.
Thanks Ed. I prefer the softer look and feel in the shadows as well, but too much blue on snow just looks out of place to me, like having blue waterfalls. But, as I just edited the B&W image a little bit, here it is -
