The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I loved this open space. Not only are the trees the essence of the NP but the various rock formations juxtaposed to them. These trees are a couple of hundred years old…amazing. My interpretation of this scene as in some other images I have posted involve an ICM of the actual sky added in PS. The ICM adds more of what sky really added to the visual experience. Sometimes reality alone does not capture the essence of the scene.
Specific Feedback
Composition. I am sure there are opinions about the creative addition of the ICM.
Technical Details
iso 100, 30mm, f/4, 1/250
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Vision and Purpose:
Conceptual:
Emotional Impact and Mood:
Composition:
Balance and Visual Weight:
Depth and Dimension:
Color:
Lighting:
Processing:
Technical:
If you hadn’t mentioned that the sky was created with ICM I would have assumed it was a long exposure. Works for me. I usually try to avoid including areas with little interest but in this case, it works. As you stated, the boulders on the right somehow balance the composition. The color of the sky seems a little off but I wasn’t there and it’s always hard to tell if it’s just a wild sunset or creative color adjustments.
I’m intrigued by this process you are pursuing with the sky ICM and static foreground/subject. For what it’s worth, this one feels more artificial to me. Having spent some time at JTNP, I know that the rocks can take on this color. It’s an eerie, dusk or dawn aesthetic.
Perhaps it’s the slight edge discoloration on some of the rocks (chromatic aberration perhaps or a side effect of the sky + subject processing) or it might be the color of the sky with the color of the rocks. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, just that it feels more artificial than one of the others I recently commented on.
It might also be the lack of contrast in general? Playing with contrast or texture might eliminate the artificiality IF that is important to you.
ML
This, for me, might be the best of the 3 you’ve posted. It just looks so alien. It’s what one might imagine life on Mars would look like. It’s the unearthly color caste of the light in this image. I like your vision here. Many in the past have stated that our deserts look outer worldly. Edward Abbey did. So I’m not surprised entirely by this interpretation of the desert.
