The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Thanks to an online water level gauge (some sort of flood control management), one morning last week it looked like a decent chance for the magic fog at the laguna. The water level was perfect (it changes rapidly as it drains following a heavy rain) and it had cleared off overnight. The breeze was low and the temp/dew point spread looked promising, but the ephemeral ground fog didn’t quite happen. This was the pre-sunrise light and from here it went pretty blah.
Specific Feedback
All comments welcome.
Technical Details
Canon R5, RF 70-200 at 70, ISO 100, f/9.5, 1/4 sec. Global Shadows/Highlights in LR, into PS for NR (hardly needed) and a bit more tonal work. Full frame.
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Nice! The color scheme is kinda unusual but very attractive. I like the “mirage” effect the fog has imparted. Seems the trees are rising from the water. Well, maybe they actually are, but either way I like it.
Incredible contrast between Texture and Softness. The light is both warm and cool at the same time and the mood is driven by the softness of the water and the sky and mostly, the layer of fog. The trees with all their branches and texture and horizontal flow stand out so well against the quiet of the rest of the image. I feel like you’ve shot images like this in the past but maybe not these actual trees. It just looks so familiar. Superb image, Diane. I love it.
Thanks, @Bonnie_Lampley, @Michael_Lowe, @Mark_Orchard, @Giuseppe_Guadagno and @David_Haynes! Yes, you’ve seen these trees before, with better fog, and probably will again – but I doubt there will be a better chance this rainy season. It takes overnight clearing and a cold morning after a big rain with no wind to get the ground fog. There is unfortunately only this one view, with room for 3 photographers but I haven’t seen another soul there for a couple of years.
The trees are in about 3 ft of water, and it drains into the Russian River in 2-3 days.
Fascinating image Diane. Nothing new to add to the above. The way the trees are in water with that band of fog right where they meet makes for an almost optical illusion. Also as others have noted, the orange/magenta color scheme is really unusual.
Thanks @John_Williams! Both you and @Michael_Lowe commented on the colors so I went back to the raw file to see if I did anything wonky. It was shot with Daylight WB about half an hour before sunrise so it was a bit gloomy. There was some fine mist in the air and that one patch of gray mist. I raised the exposure about a half stop and pulled Highlights down and Shadows up in LR. Adobe Color profile, no adjustments in Color Mixer or Calibration. There wouldn’t have been any smoke, for a change, but when we fly anywhere there is always a pall of urban air pollution going up several thousand feet. It begins to thin out about halfway from the Bay Area to the OR border.
Frustratingly there was some thin ground fog in the direction this is looking. There is slightly higher ground there and wet pastures and vineyards. That is often the case when it doesn’t manage to form on the lower flooded area – I guess the water is just a bit warmer.
The misty fog rising up from the water is what this image for me. The reflection is near perfect, and the sight motion blur in the water is made palpable by the fog line. Wonderful color gradient in the sky and water. I also love how the reflection is correctly about a half stop darker than the sky. Really nice.
Sweet! As above, but I would add to all of that the nice touch of having the cloud above mirroring the shape of the island of trees below. The mood for me is one of quiet mystery, which for me, is very compelling. The mist, the light and colour palette , and the twisted filigree of the branches all conspire to create and support that moodiness.
You had me at “reflection”! I love reflections so much and will never pass one by! Love the colors in this one. When I have a scene that this symmetrical with no foreground, I will often include more of the reflected sky than the real sky because I love the way reflections saturate color. Its sort of using the sky as a foreground!
Thanks, @Youssef_Ismail, @Ed_Williams, @glennie, @Kerry_Gordon and @Paul_Holdorf! This day the performance was not at its best – too many factors in play. Paul, I sometimes do that, too. (I love the rule of 7/16ths.) The camera was leveled on a level tripod for the panorama (this one is just the middle 2-3 frames with a couple more on either end not used. So I would have needed to switch the camera to vertical to include more below, but there wasn’t any worthwhile foreground detail as I was shooting over an ugly trashed gate.
