The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Last summer, I attended a workshop at a horse farm in Iceland. We spent a lot of time in the pasture with a herd of 100 horses, just observing them “being horses in nature”. My favorite observation was watching them groom each other. These two, with their contrasting colors, caught my eye. I was hoping to capture this very intimate moment.
Specific Feedback
Was my use of low saturation image processing successful in relaying the mood of the moment?
Technical Details
Taken with an Olympus OMD E-M1 MarkIII, using an Olympus 12-100mm lens at 100mm, 1/250 s, F7.1, ISO 1000.
Welcome to NPN, Kari! I like the contrast here between so much white and the browns of the pony facing the camera. You’ve handled the subtle brown tones very well.
I find the mood created by your processing choices to be appealing, engaging, and charming. The sense of softness fits perfectly with the moment. I am a fan of the position, the white mane sweeping to the right, the position of the head of the brown horse. Color palette, focus, all wonderful (to my eye).
This is all initial response: saw the photo, had to comment and commend.
What I’m unsure about (and I’ll mull it over) is the crop. I’m not sure I’m a fan of the tail. It feels more relevant than perhaps it should be? I played with a 4x5 and a 1x1 crop, and the 4x5 (including all of the top portion of the frame) seems to minimize the tail without making the entire frame too tight. But that is completely subjective.
What a fun outing. Sounds (and looks) like time well spent.
Thanks Mark! Photographing dark horses, especially next to a light colored one, is always a challenge.
Someone replied to your post.
| Mark Seaver Weekly Challenge Moderator March 11 |
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Welcome to NPN, Kari! I like the contrast here between so much white and the browns of the pony facing the camera. You’ve handled the subtle brown tones very well.
Welcome, Kari. I really like your processing in this image. The way the white horse almost blends into the background on the left is really nice. The interaction, of course, is what really makes the image, but without your processing it could easily fall flat.
I can see @Gary_Hook 's comment on the tail as it is quite out of focus and has a tendency to draw the eye away from the heads where the real action is. Not knowing what you started from, I took the liberty of downloading this image and trying a 5x4 crop with a touch of added canvas on either side with content aware fill as an optional approach to consider.
I an very passionate about horses and what you have posted has immediately sparked that warm, intimate feeling that only horses (and some dogs..) can give.
The contrasting colours are lovely and the browns are handled very well to bring out that softness.
With an image as lovely as this, you are lucky to have a number of different crops. I rather like @Dennis_Plank 's version.
A very lovely first post, Kari – welcome to NPN! I think the crop to remove the tail is the way to go, or at least lighten it (reduce contrast) so it is less noticeable. Hope to see more of your work!
Hi Dennis, I can see the wisdom of cropping to remove the tail but I like that you kept the dorsal stripe.
Someone replied to your post.
| Dennis Plank Birds and Non-Nature Moderator March 11 |
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Welcome, Kari. I really like your processing in this image. The way the white horse almost blends into the background on the left is really nice. The interaction, of course, is what really makes the image, but without your processing it could easily fall flat.
I can see @Gary_Hook 's comment on the tail as it is quite out of focus and has a tendency to draw the eye away from the heads where the real action is. Not knowing what you started from, I took the liberty of downloading this image and trying a 5x4 crop with a touch of added canvas on either side with content aware fill as an optional approach to consider.
| Diane Miller Nightscape & Astro Moderator March 12 |
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A very lovely first post, Kari – welcome to NPN! I think the crop to remove the tail is the way to go, or at least lighten it (reduce contrast) so it is less noticeable. Hope to see more of your work!
I an very passionate about horses and what you have posted has immediately sparked that warm, intimate feeling that only horses (and some dogs..) can give.
The contrasting colours are lovely and the browns are handled very well to bring out that softness.
With an image as lovely as this, you are lucky to have a number of different crops. I rather like @Dennis_Plank 's version.
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