The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This infrared image sat in my processing folder for over a year. I didn’t feel ready to process it. In finally doing so, I found it to be the most difficult image I’ve ever processed!! There are so many subtleties that, when edited, change the image, frequently away from my vision. I think it’s there, but I’ve lost my objectivity! Almost completely!
The day was extremely bright. I was with students at a spot on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and even though I usually don’t shoot anything other than my iPhone when teaching decided to get my camera to capture this. I’m glad I did, but (as I inferred above) it’s been tough to edit!
Specific Feedback
I’ll appreciate any and all thoughts on this. Especially, is there adequate separation between the background and the tree’s branches?
Technical Details
Shot with a Canon EOS RP converted to full spectrum, with 720nm filter; EF 70-200 at 94mm; ISO 400, f/8, 1/400 (yes, the ISO was high — I’m not great at hand-holding so I sometimes use a higher ISO even in bright light so I can use a faster shutter speed)
@Don_Peters, thanks! I didn’t even notice that branch since I was so focused on the tree! Now that you mention it, I see that it’s definitely a distraction. I’ll fix that.
There’s a painterly, abstract feel to this that is a bit enchanting. I also think the separation is fine; it’s not strong, but that’s part of the artistry to me.
At full size some of the leaves seem soft, but maybe that’s the infrared? (I’ve never shot infrared, and don’t know much about it.) The strip of white at the bottom snags my eye a bit. It might be worth cropping that off?
This is lovely!!! Gorgeous bones here with lovely detail! Other than that small branch, I have no nits. I like the brighter area at the bottom – it serves as a nice base/frame, even though it is light – a refreshingly different touch. The leaves that appear tonally flat are shaded – a frustrating thing with IR – but there is enough interest around them that they are not a distraction for me.
It would be interesting to photograph this tree in different seasons and light – with IR again. But I’m not sure you could get an improvement over this one!
Thanks so much, @Don_Peters, @John_Williams, @Diane_Miller, for your feedback. A revision is attached. I did some work on it to remove the errant branch. John, the light leaves are the result of the camera capturing the infrared (IR) radiation. As I said, it was bright and I decided to let them radiate! I compromised on the grasses and leaves at the bottom by lightly toning them down but leaving them radiating in that hot sun. I may crop it up just a tad to remove what looks like a strip of white (that I just really noticed) at the very bottom.
Thanks, again, for your help with this! I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving! I give thanks every day for NPN!
Fabulous! I greatly prefer the original. It definitely seems like a painting, which is part of its charm and beauty. The redo moves it closer to looking like a photo and to me it looses some of the charm.
