Great White

Image Critiques Landscape Critiques
1

DSC_6606 end npn.jpg
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20240202 White Whale delete.jpg
20240202 White Whale delete.jpg960×960 269 KB

Original image.

DSC_6606 npn.jpg
DSC_6606 npn.jpg1440×960 87.8 KB

For reference, here’s the original jpg the camera took.

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

This is a second run at an image I posted in February. I’ve been kicking around the idea of entering the Natural Landscape Photography Awards, and have been poring through my images reassessing them with that idea in mind. That led me to look at this image again, and I decided to take it in a different direction.

(I’m not sure yet that I actually will submit. There’s nothing like looking at images chosen in prior years to make you feel like any success so far has been “pulling a Homer.” I now realize that I’m probably the Don Quixote of the photography world; just so much tilting at windmills. But I digress…)

Specific Feedback

I’d love your thoughts on both the composition and processing, new vs. the old. I used lens correction to straighten the trees, and then cropped 2:3 instead of square. For processing, I went brighter overall to emphasize the “snowiness” of the scene, and also darkened the sky a bit more to try to help the mountain stand out a bit. Thanks for any thoughts between the two versions!

Technical Details

NIKON Z 7II
NIKKOR Z 24-200 f/4-6.3 VR at 24.0 mm
1/100 sec. at f/10.0 and ISO 64
Handheld

2 Likes
2

John, as a landscape photographer I usually almost always go with horizontal view. But I’m really liking the image as the vertical you’ve posted as the #2 here. I do also like the super bright snow look. The challenge in getting super bright is keeping the Gamma under control, and that is not any issue that I see in the images. Very nice indeed… :+1:

btw: I saw you listed that you’re a small animal veterinarian. Thank you for your dedication to all of our small animal friends… :cowboy_hat_face:

3

I might prefer the vertical as well but it’s a tough call. The vertical simplifies things. It also gets to the heart of the matter as the far right feels like it’s additional. But I like the whiter whites in the first image.

NLPA is now huge with over 10,000 images submitted.

4

These are both beautiful. My fav is the verticle for the way in which it leads the eye through the image. Nicely done!

5

Both are excellent. The processing looks great to me. Both have their strong points over the other. The vertical emphasises that great FG with the leading lines and the horizontal has that sweeping landscape look. I think I prefer it.
BTW i notice quite a bit of magenta in the original camera jpg.

6

John,
Hard to choose as both are quite lovely. I usually prefer horizontals, but I am going to go with the vertical scene this time as I love the way the clouds fan out across the sky. Your new direction in processing looks fine IMO. I guess the bottom line is you can’t go wrong with either version.

8

Thanks for the feedback @Paul_Breitkreuz , @Igor_Doncov , @DJLeland , @Michael_Lowe , and @Ed_Lowe ! It sounds like the general consensus is for the brighter processing with the square crop; I’ll work on a version that combines.

Thank you Paul! It’s been a very rewarding career. I feel I am very blessed to enjoy my day job :slightly_smiling_face:

I’ve noticed that. It’s on the raw too, and I’ve seen it in other snow images. I wonder if it is all z7iis, or just mine??

1 Like
9

Hi John! I’ll give another nod to the vertical. Both are beautiful but I really like “the way the clouds fan out across the sky” as Ed says. To me they somewhat reflect the contours of the landscape. I also think it shows off the mist at the base of the peak better.

Both the comp and the processing look spot on to me.