The photographer is looking for thoughtful feedback on the image as a whole, especially around the areas noted below.
Feedback Focus: Artistic + Technical
About This Image
This image is from a recent trip to the Tetons. The aspens were struggling this year, but I liked the color left in this stand against the evergreens and fog
Feedback Requested
I’ve tried to keep the processing more to the subtle side in this image, which fits the scene I saw. Does that work? There’s not really what I’d call a central subject, but i was hoping the varying layers would draw the eye in
Technical Details
Taken with a Sony A7RVI with a Tamron 50-400 lens at about 350 mm and f/11. Processed in Lightroom with some basic exposure and contrast and some masking to work on the individual layers
It works for me. The layers (sky, cloud, evergreen, aspen, grass) are interesting enough to hold my attention. I do find my eye wandering up to the upper left cloud. Not sure why. I do think cropping it would potentially place too much weight in the upper right. Perhaps some subtle dodge or burn there.
The other area that that grabs my attention more than I like is the bit of dark vegetation right along the bottom edge on the right half. I did a slight crop off the left and bottom, and I thought I would share it. To me, it removes some distractions, but I’ll admit I would like more foreground grass than my crop allows. Maybe instead of cropping up as far as I did, you could remove the brush, if that’s within your practice.
Will, the layering looks very good, with the aspens standing out nicely. I like how dark the Aspens are at ground level, it’s like they’re wearing black socks… That contrasts well with the spotted white trunks and the golden leaves. I agree that the darkness along the bottom is a distraction. You could clone it out or do very slight crop from the left and bottom (maintaining aspect ratio) will remove it and the aspen touching the left edge. My other suggestion is to burn-in the clouds in the upper left. Since that area is brighter than the tree trunks, it gets more attention. You could also do some brights dodging of the Aspens to give them more attention.
