The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
A couple of days ago I was in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeast Arizona. It was overcast and cold with occasional snow flurries. There was an evil wind. The Chiricahuas offer a fascinating mix of flora and fauna but they’re probably best known for the hoodoos. These are a sample.
Specific Feedback
Deciding what to include in the frame was the hard part with this one. I’m not sure about the trees in the upper left-hand corner but I’m reluctant to crop anything out. All comments are welcome.
Technical Details
Because of the wind I shot at a high ISO, even though I was using a tripod. ISO 4000, 187mm, f/16, 1/40th sec.
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
What a fascinating scene – very 3D! I like the trees-- they give a sense of scale (even though they might be bonsai). The trees in the UL are balanced by those in the UR. (The bare rock there could probably be cloned over with trees to match the UL but hardly necessary. I wonder about a B/W version? It could be fun to play with a B/W layer in PS and tweak colors underneath it for a start.
Don: I do very little B&W so I would be speculating on the efficacy of it for this image but what I do know is that I like the subtle color palette and the overall comp. One of our sons lives in Scottsdale so when the next time we drive there this tempts me to take a slight detour. Nicely seen and presented. >=))>
Thanks, Bill. You might need more than a slight detour as the Chiricahuas are about a 3.5 hour drive from the Phoenix area. But if you’re driving from Texas on I-10, it’s only a 35-minute drive to the south, and well worth it.
Isn’t nature grand?? What a fascinating place. I really like that you’ve filled up the frame. I suppose you could crop some and remove that blank URC, but pretty minor.
I agree with you on the importance of the subtle colors (not so subtle really…) The lime green - either natural in the stone, or likely lichen?
Interesting that there is no one hoodoo or element that you could call an anchor, or a place for the eye to rest. In this case, this allows the eye to explore all of the scene and formations, which is a good thing, I think.
Hi Don,
Lots for the eye to wander around and savor in this scene. The subdued color palette works quite well as does the myriad of shapes and sizes of the hoodoos. I know you mentioned that you are reluctant to crop, but I think you could crop some from the right and left sides to get rid of those two upper corners in question. You could also try a crop from the top and make this more of a pano. Beautifully done.
I’ve been to the Chiricahuas a couple times and found them beautiful, but very difficult to photograph. I’ve seen many good photos, most of which were in Arizona Highways, but this is likely the best one I’ve seen yet. Your composition is spot on and the soft but still colorful tones are perfectly portrayed here. Bravo!
Dear Don,
This is a fascinating image of hoodoos, so thank you for sharing it. In terms of luminosities, the image concentrates on the lower midtones (around Z2-6), and the contrasts are mostly local, not global. To me, this creates an evenness and almost patterned impression. The dominant shapes in the image are scattered and almost equal-sized vertical lines created by the hoodoos. The two elements — contrast in luminosity and shapes — makes it a bit difficult to me to identify the subject matter in the image. Since I am unfamiliar with the landscape, I asked myself about the physical scale of the hoodoos — much depends on the size of the trees, but since I do not know how big they are, I am clueless. A few suggestions: Would it benefit the image if a gradient filter were deployed to darken the upper part slightly, thus increasing the sense of depth? Would it strengthen the image if it were cropped around hoodoos with more striking features, which introduced a stronger dynamic balance in relation to other features in the crop, and which could serve as an anchor for the viewer’s attention? Once again, thank you for sharing this image, I wish I could go and see them myself.
Leo, I appreciate the thoughtful critique. After I read your comments, I tried adding a gradient to darken the upper part slightly. When I darkened it enough to be noticeable, I didn’t like the result. I suspect that the problem was that the gradient darkened the upper parts of some hoodoos. They don’t get darker towards the top in nature, so it didn’t ring true to me.
Your suggestion about cropping seemed sensible. As I said at the outset, the hard part with this shot was deciding what to include in the frame and what to exclude. When I tried a couple of crops, the image changed, but I didn’t think any of the changes really improved it. I think the original crop was the best compromise I can come up with.
Wow, what a landscape. It has an ominous feel because of the flat light, all the vertical features, and the subdued colors. Those trees don’t bother me at all; as Diane said, they’re matched by the trees in the URC and other patches of trees. Very cool.
