New to LPN and excited for my first image critique! My goal here was to take advantage of the foggy evening along the Hudson River and create a sense of calm. This particular evening was very gray and lacking contrast, so I thought it was a great opportunity to practice some B&W photography - something I don’t have much experience with.
Welcome to NPN, Jon. This is aa wonderful first image. The B&W works well, and the leading line of the log is terrific. I might raise the shadows in the bottom third, but that’s minor and all I can think of doing. Awesome.
Processing seems great… the brightest part of the image is the top of the frame so that’s where my eye goes. Not sure if that was intentional or not… if not, might be worth burning it down a bit.
The texture of the log seems to be the hero here.
We had quite a few “long longs” used as leading lines entered into NLPA this year… I think it must just be one of those things people see!
Thanks for the feedback, David! I’ll play around with the shadows as you mentioned - that might also help bring out the definition of the rocks underwater a bit.
Thank you, Matt! I’ll try to burn down the sky a little as you suggested - I don’t find the sky that interesting so maybe keeping the viewers eye in the foreground is the way to go. The definition in the log in contrast to the fog is what drew me to the scene so I was hoping the viewer would experience the same intrigue.
I think you accomplished your goal because I do get a nice sense of calm, but to me, there is one minor area that doesn’t seem to blend in. The left side of the log from the very bottom up to the knot seems to be a little too bright or maybe just too much contrast?
Maybe tone that part down with a brushed mask first, then ever so slightly, bring down the exposure and/or contrast on the entire log but just a little. That might help to blend the log in with the rest of the scene.
The reflection of the clouds on the water really adds to the foggy look and I think your choice of B&W was a good one.
I really like how you managed to capture this from the very near log to the town where the lights are, and of course that lovely cloud covered sky, and I’m guessing that was made possible with the 12mm lens and the focus stacking process.
I would like to do some wide angle photography with a 10mm or 12mm lens, my widest lens is 18mm. I may be missing out on a whole new perspective (for me anyway).
This is an appealing image, it looks like you have an eye for wide angle scenes like this!
Thank you for the thoughtful feedback, Merv! I actually didn’t mind the brighter part of the tree in the foreground initially, but the longer I stare at it the more jolting it becomes! I’ll definitely try to burn down that section and see if it blends better.
I’m glad you like the choice to use B&W, the original colors were very bland and I actually decided it needed to be B&W while I was on location.
I highly recommend picking up a wide angle lens, I’ve had a blast with mine! I went with a very budget friendly 12mm Rokinon, it’s completely manual and doesn’t export the EXIF data, but it has a f/2.0 aperture so it even works well for astrophotography if that’s something you’re interested in trying…although I may trade it in for a Viltrox 13mm f/1.4 to get the autofocus function back.
Thanks for the kind words and the response in general!
And you are very welcome!
I will probably go with something like the lens you have because I doubt I’ll use it a lot. I don’t mind manual lenses, I have a few already so I’m used to manual focus, and I don’t mind not having EXIF data from the lens.
It sure does sound and look like an exiting adventure into wide angle photography.
It’s obvious to me that you put a lot of thought and planning into your images because the two I’ve seen so far sure back that up, and you have a natural eye for perspective and composition.
Keep up the good work.
I’m looking forward to seeing more of it
