Hi Everyone,
I have been a bit awol over the last three weeks, traveling to Maryland for family visit and to Iceland for fun! Over the next few weeks, I am going to share some images made in various regions. The shooting conditions kind of sucked (lots of featureless skies), so I might only have a dozen worth sharing. Here I am sharing several compositions from the same area: Kerlingarfjoll in the Northern Highlands. Please let me know whether some compositions are more pleasing than others.
#1
#2
#3
What technical feedback would you like if any?
I’m playing with radial filters a bit, which is new for me, so let me know if it’s working or looks funky.
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Does the sky add anything, or should I crop for more abstract images with no sky at all?
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
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Beautiful scenes, Marylynne! I’ve been to Iceland a couple of times, but I’ve never made it into the highlands and have always wanted to.
As for compositions, #2 had the most impact for me. Full disclosure: I’ve been more interested in telephoto shots recently since I picked up a 70-300mm not too long ago, but I still think that #2 does the best job showing off the details, shapes, and textures that make these types of scenes so enticing.
As for shot-specific notes, the processing between the three looks a little inconsistent, with #1 looking a bit “crunchier” (extra of the clarity slider maybe?), while #3 looks a bit flatter and could use a bit more contrast (maybe just raising the White slider would do it). I think the processing in #2 is spot-on and I wouldn’t change a thing. My only potential note on that one is that my eye gets dragged to the triangle of snow in the lower left corner and the two small mounds barely peeking up from the center of the bottom boundary. With those removed, the curve of the hills on the bottom of the frame nicely holds the eye in the frame.
As for the sky, I think it’s worth keeping in the frame. The tops of the hills hold a lot of interest, and the negative space of the sky gives them some nice room to breathe.
Order of preference 3, 1, 2.
Number 1 needs a better defined sky. Composition could be better.
Number 2 has a weaker composition and a white problem in the llc.
Number 3 is excellent. Like a watercolor painting.
My vote for 1 and 3 would be to go for a more abstract composition and crop out the sky. These images all have interesting lines and textures and I think that cropping them to a more abstract image would further emphasize those elements and make the images stronger overall.
When I see colors, textures and patterns like this, as well as yucky skies, I’d lean more towards telephoto extraction and abstract type shots.
My preference in order is
#3 this has a lot of visual interest, and has the best processing IMO. I especially like the patterns in the transition zone from land to snow. I would lose the sky and go to a panoramic crop. I agree with @Igor_Doncov, this one has a very painterly look to it.
#2 I like the abstract look here, but i agree with @Igor_Doncov that the white patch in the LLC is a distraction, I would suggest cropping from the left and bottom to remove it.
#1 something feels off with the procesing, it is pretty crunchy looking. and to me this one has the least interesting composition, and less interesting shapes and patterns. Even losing the weak sky would not help this one much.
This is where I would go with cropping #3, and adding a little more midtone contrast, as suggested by @Kevin_D_Jordan. I like both this reworked pano crop, and #3 as originally presented, they have different looks but both work for me.
I prefer #3. The contrast bump by Ed works better for me. However, I like the full frame of the original. The sky/clouds look flat, so I suggest making the clouds a litle cooler, add some contrast and darken them fo a more dramatic look.
For #2, I would crop from the left to eliminate the featureless snow slope. Doing so would also bring out the steam vents. If possible, you could try bringing a little derail out in the upper snow patches.
For #1, I would make a pano crop, taking 1/3 from the top. I like the curves of the slopes and the little stream.
Very nice efforts, here!
-P
Thanks everyone. You are really helping me get perspective. I am attaching a redo of all three, but I think, realistically, #2 just doesn’t have any structure to the composition. It feels random, and not in a pleasing way. I have a few more from this location, several including people for scale, and one looking down from above. I’ll share those in a few days.
#1
#2
#3 with more punch and cooler sky.
Marilynn,
I preferred the old sky in #3. Actually, I would process the sky in #3 as it is in the original #1. So, I guess I changed my mind about the sky in #1. Sorry. It looks pretty artificial now.
The comp improved in #2.
The comp in #1 doesn’t look right to me. There is too much white around the top edges and the round hill on the left feels like it’s sliced off. The better part of #1 was the top 2/3rds largely because of the large less interesting part in llc.
Hi Marylynne,
I like all three of these very much, but I prefer #3, especially with the blue sky. It complements the orange/browns very nicely and I don’t care about what is realistic in a photo that is so painterly.
There are wonderful textures and shapes here also. I look forward to seeing some of the next ones with people for scale. Excellent work.
