Islands in the Stream

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

Some interesting formations on our hikes to the bird areas…
The intensity of the falling snow is just what we hoped for.

Specific Feedback

comments and suggestions most welcome


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I’m really enjoying this small scene Sandy. It;s quite intriguing.

Sandy, I have never seen snow so take this comment with a grain of salt. I think raising “shadows” may lift the image just a little. The beautiful browns in the trees will come out a bit more. But, that may not be your intention.

Love the snow fall! It’s a great image.

Such a simple scene, Sandy - simply elegant. The composition has a perfect sense of balance despite there being zero symmetry. The line of quiet, white snow in the lower foreground nicely counterbalances the active line of tree trunks in the upper portion and serves as a perfect frame for the contrasted pattern which is the central focus of this picture. There are a lot of ways you could go with an image like this especially if you chose to go monochrome but I think, in its own quiet way, this works very well just as it is. It evokes the feel of those winter hikes where the snow is falling and there is nothing but silence.

Sandy,

Kerry already called out the word, but I’ll repeat and say this was my first impression - and that is simply “quiet”. Such a peaceful little scene and I get a huge sense of quiet - like when snow is falling in an empty forest… no sounds, not even birds chirping, maybe just the sound of trickling water.

Also, at first I only saw the snow over the dark water, which I first thought was a frozen surface and snow was just beginning to stick.

A lovely scene, no suggestions.

Thanks, all. It was absolutely quiet - that’s one of the heartfelt things about snowy scenes, for me - the insulated, deep, intense, permeating QUIET and total SERENITY.

Is this in Hokkaido? They really got a lot of snow this winter. I agree with all the positives, and I also wonder if this was a slow or fast-flowing stream. I love all the snow flakes over the water.

Yeah, there was a lot of snow, just what we wished for!
Actually, the stream was not moving much at all…

No need to repeat the above, but I agree. The snowflakes add wonderfully to the image.

This looks a little yellow to me. You might play with the color balance a tad, but I also like the idea of just taking this to a monochrome too.