A long dreamt of backpacking trip to/through Paria Canyon on the Arizona/Utah border finally became a reality last October. A very heavy monsoon season resulted in some spectacular mud patterns. The hike had some challenges, among them quick sand, but in the end, every step was worth it.
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.
Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
All feedback appreciated. Some dodging and burning in PS, color grading in LR, with some basic adjustments in LR.
Wow, Fritz. Beautiful organic shapes and composition. Love how the tiny bit of white clay is imbedded in the darker gray. Did you convert this to b/w? Was the natural color more brownish? I am just curious as to how the two shades of gray were formed? Water? Fascinating capture.
Thank you, Linda. It was quite amazing in that canyon! Yes, the different tones of grey are created by water, or rather the lighter parts are dried tiles. There were some tiles such as in this photo that had dried, surrounded by wet tiles, giving it great contrast. And yes, I did convert this to B+W, playing with the blue hue slider, as well as color grading, bringing out the blues in the midtowns and shadows, warming up the highlights to keep it more pleasing/balanced to the/my eye. When it comes to processing, I just love to have fun, try different things, and am thrilled when some of it works out. Thank you again
Hi Fritz, I absolutely love your image! The patterns and the contrasts are amazing! Also I really like those silvery tones in the lower left corner. This is really an image which should hang on a wall. I very much like the patches of light in the darkness as it gives the image a beautiful yin and yang feel. The only thing I might play around with is maybe cropping in a little bit from the top (or maybe a 8x10 ratio?) as this might put more emphasis on the “White Island” in the “Black Sea”. But really, this is absolutely subjective and as I said I really love this image! Liebe Grüße Ronja
Wow! This is eye-popping. It looks like metal or metal and plastic. The patterns are well composed. The lines leading directly to the island of silver really serve to emphasize it. I like how the black cracked sections are larger than the silver cracked areas. This is a really fascinating image.
Well spotted, Fritz. Love your B&W conversion and those silver tones! I think removing some of the top and going for a square crop would also work. Either way, great image.
Excellent, Fritz. When I first opened it, I wasn’t sure about the transition from the bright bottom to the much darker top, but the more I looked, the better I liked it. Surprisingly, my eyes spent a lot more time in the upper portion that I expected.
@Ronja, @Chris_Baird, @AndreDonawa, @Dennis_Plank , thank you all very much; glad you all liked the photo. Thank you for the feedback as far as cropping the image. I have tried countless crops, and they all work. For me, this is the crop that is most pleasing to my eye, as the patterns in the top, specially TR, really catch my eye. But yes, it is subjective, and I guess my preference also could change at a later day. Thank you all for taking the time to comment. Much appreciated!
