Critique Style Requested: In-depth
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
The texture, the mess and still the order in the chaos pulled me towards this composition. I am not really sure of what can be improved. Any and all ideas are welcome.
Creative direction
Just want to show the organised chaos of German Old Growth Forests and how textured and gnarly they turn during winter.
Specific Feedback
Technical and Aesthetic. Any suggestion that can be provided is welcome as always.
Technical Details
ISO 100. f/11, 0.5s SS at 55mm
Description
Love this forest and location quite a lot, but it is quite messy if there is no fog. There was fog forecasted on the day and I had decided to visit this area. But as luck may have it, the fog did not reach the higher altitudes where all the interesting trees were. So I was roaming around looking for newer compositions which I can return to under better conditions, when it suddenly started raining and I noticed this young tree with marcessence leaves still clinging to it. I took the image, but at the time I was not sure about it. After about two months growing through my catalog, I found this and realised that I liked it quite a lot and it reminded me of the forest and the day.
1 Like
Hello Subhasish! These old growth forests are very intricate and can be quite busy. There is a lot of good stuff here, and the trick, I guess, is to isolate and simplify the scene to bring out the good stuff and to minimize the not so good stuff. I’ve attached my version of your picture. I began by cropping, then created a vignette (radial mask in the masking tool in LR). Then, I lightened the center about 1/2 stop, saturated the colors individually, and toned down the marsescent tree (for those who do not know, marsescent trees retain their leaves your round) finally, adding contrast. These places are absolute magic in fog and a bit more challenging otherwise, but you did a good job isolating the color as much as possible. See the attached interpretation of your picture…
2 Likes
I love forest scene, and this one expresses a lovely mood, Subhasish. I wonder about putting the marsescent tree in the middle, however. Sometimes that works, but in this case, the right side of the frame has less interest, not as much as the left side. I took the liberty of cropping it to describe my idea, and I added a tiny curve to the image, to make it pop a bit. I feel like the branches on the left are now interacting a bit more with that colorful tree. I like Tony’s processing ideas, too, it was mainly the composition that I wanted to address here. Keep seeking out those wonderful forest scenes!
1 Like
