REDO: I adjusted the crop and lightened the center just a touch.
Critique Style Requested:Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I was recently near Capitol Reef for work and noticed how great the bare trees were looking, and I had a surprise couple of days free, the cards aligned for me to travel, so I went back looking for this type of scene.
Specific Feedback
I was aware of some of the issues while I was shooting this scene. I was having a hard time framing it so that the out of focus branches in the URC and LRC would not be there. I couldn’t get to a spot for a clean comp. I shot this in the morning, too, and knew the problem but couldn’t resist in the evening. I couldn’t get closer and I couldn’t climb higher, so this was it.
I shot it 1x1 aspect ratio and it’s cropped a bit to minimize the branches.
So my question is, do the branches totally ruin it and I need to move on from this image?
Do the overall tones work? I wanted to keep it pretty light and pale. Also they always look better full screen than they do thumbnails on this page. Should I let the thumbnail freak me out?
Thank you!
Technical Details
Nikon Z8, 100-400 @400, 1x1 aspect ratio
Critique Template
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This is nice. No way would I move on from it. The color palette is very pleasing. Is it a perfect image? I’ve never seen a perfect image, but to me it’s certainly a keeper. I would crop a little from the top. That way you get rid of two minor distractions. Some of the oof limbs creeping in and the rockslides. The ones in LRC don’t bother me.
This is a very nice image and the twigs at the LRC are not a distaction at all to me. The URC corner might be annoying in a larger presentation…you could use the Remove Tool if that’s acceptable to you, but Michaels crop works really well. Either way it’s an excellent piece of work.
Julie, I too think this is a fine subtle view. The mix of greys in the trees and the hills behind have interesting shapes. They contrast nicely with the reddish tones in the land. I was felt that the rock slides at the top were a distraction…Micheals crop fixes that.
I think this is gorgeous!! You found an unusual and very interesting juxtaposition and shot it in the perfect light. I felt the trees were overpowered a bit by the lovely hillside but @Michael_Lowe’s crop fixed that perfectly. I don’t mind the OOF branches and a crop from the right would lose the balance of the closer branches on both sides.
I don’t shoot a lot of landscapes and would never think to try it until too late, but would a focus stack work in a situation like this – assuming no wind?
@Michael_Lowe, @Bruce_King , @Mark_Seaver, @Diane_Miller
Thank you all for your feedback! I guess the consensus about the crop is pretty clear, and I will take another look at it!
Thank you for the positive reinforcement to keep working on it, despite the challenges!
And yes, Diane, it was actually quite windy, and I was shooting with a long lens, and the light was fading, so I didn’t try focus stacking.
Oh My! I’ll come straight out and tell you my very first response. Guy Tal. I hope this is a compliment because I’m not saying your work is like someone else, but the quality of this image is way, way up there! I love this.
Why did I think this? Unremarkable colors and tone that are just gorgeous; color/sat are so pleasing, not brashy or bold. The subject matter - just seems like something in Guy’s portfolio; looks like Utah or the kind of geography he seeks out. And I’m betting you had a pretty deep connection with this scene (or you wouldn’t have shot it!)
I really like Michael’s crop. I was thinking similar, only not as far - maybe just removing the layered brown strip, but not the rock fall? Those eroding ridges are just wonderful.
Hi @JulieEdwardsViola, I really like this image you have shared with us. The tonality is really wonderful. Yes there is some chaos in the slightly out of focus branches and the rockslide but that is nature and it is really lovely how you embraced it. I don’t think it needs a crop. Well seen and processed.
Count me in as another that loves this scene. I am VERY familiar with this area and love what you have done with the colors and tone represented in your image. It’s softly muted with very useful and pleasing light magenta tones that work really nicely here. The light is gorgeous. Your composition is first rate drawing the eye right towards that center V bush and the beautiful reddish scrub brush underneath. This image doesn’t scream at you with high contrast harshness and bold colors like many would be tempted to use. It shows incredible restraint in all the right areas. You list yourself as an intermediate level photographer but this is a professional editing job and a first rate composition of a wonderful scene. I concur with @Lon_Overacker about his mention of Guy Tal. This is right in his backyard and if you hadn’t posted this I would quickly surmise that this is one of Guy’s images.
I have to say that I very much like @Michael_Lowe’s crop as it eliminates two distractions in one. And if you can’t tell, no, I wouldn’t let the thumbnail freak you out and no, you do not need to move on from this image. Print it and find a place on the wall for this one, Julie!
Oh my goodness @David_Haynes, @glennie , @Lon_Overacker , @guy your kindness is overwhelming!
Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback.
I feel quite guilty having He Who Shall Not Be Mentioned mentioned because, yes, I was in his neighborhood, but now I feel like I must not have been original enough. Esp by He Who Shall Not Be Mentioned’s standards.
On the other hand, during covid times I was watching a lot of Adorama TV youtube freshening up on studio lighting, and there was one guy (Seth Miranda) who said in a video, “Saw it, loved it, shot it.” And I think about that all the time, that’s pretty much how I felt this whole trip.
This is just an amazing image. Everything has been said. I’m not entirely sure that the revised crop is better. It just places less emphasis on the mountains and the mountains are amazing. Just have to be with this longer.
Hi Julie,
I have to say that I am loving the soft pastel tones in the scene! The OOF branches do not ruin it for me. If you are fortunate enough to get back to this area you can always try some different compositions. I do like my brothers’s @Michael_Lowe crop as it removes the rock slides in the BG mountain. I would print this big and find a wall for it as this is exquisite. BTW, I always try to adhere to the mantra “saw it, liked it, shot it”.
A second look shows the cropped version to be better. One thing you could do is to use a radial filter around that central tree to make it stand out even more. A very faint level of vignette is another idea although I’m less convinced of that being helpful. Goyjus image.
I wouldn’t change anything about this image. The OOF twigs don’t bother me at all. The color palette is exquisite and there’s so much to explore in the image. I absolutely love this!
I had to come back and enjoy this one again and I’m delighted to see the enthusiastic reaction it has gotten! I keep doing a screen scroll to crop the top and I do feel the crop, aside from removing the distracting rockslides, actually makes the lovely background more interesting because it occupies a little less of the area. (That sounds strange, I know.) But another option I don’t think I’ve seen mentioned would be to either do some careful cloning or just change the brownish color of the rockslides to match the hillsides. Or a little of both. And then decide on a crop.
@Diane_Miller , those are excellent suggestions that would give me my 1x1 ratio back. I did try cloning/remove/heal but didn’t love the results, but just adjusting the color of that corner might be useful. I’ll give it a go…
But now I’ve sort of gotten used to it the cropped way!
There are already so many comments on this, but can’t help adding mine. So much to love in this image. The soft pastels of the fuzzy shrubs. The intricate, lacy branches patterns of the trees. The soft folds and sharp ridges of the hills. The color tones make it feel cold and wintery. Wonderful.
