Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I did a backpacking trip many years ago to canyonlands which is where this image was taken. That night it snowed pretty heavily and half of the group that was with me freaked out and left. I had no choice but to stay since this was a job for me. Everyone was okay but it’s tough when everyone has their own idea of what is safe. It snowed less than a foot and we all had no problems getting out.
This is supposed to be in the woods well there’s one out there; just pretty sparse.
I like the lighting and the shadows.
the color ain’t bad either
Specific Feedback
anything that helps me improve my skills as a photographer
Technical Details
this is an old Ektachrome slide from about 20 years ago or longer.
Scanned with a Nikon 4000 ED supercool scan using VueScanand processed in Photoshop, lumenar, several different de-noise applications to get rid of the graininess of the slide film.
Very cool area and scene, David. Since you’ve converted this to digital, I could see a touch of burning on the bright ridge in the upper right. I like that it pulls my eye toward the back of the image, but it pulls a bit strongly for my taste and I’d rather linger on the foreground and midground a bit more.
repost
reposted with dark and less saturated area in deep bg
Hi David,
I always remember slide film being especially saturated, with glowing reds, and this fits that memory nicely. It’s a neat scene, and I can imagine how beautiful it was being there at with that light.
Now, please take this with a grain of salt because it could just be me, but that foreground rock is so dominant that it overwhelms the scene. Its color is lovely, but it lacks some texture or shape to make it feel like a strong subject. I was at Canyonlands some 8-9 years ago, and while I found it lovely, the grandeur felt so dispersed as to make it hard to photograph. Compared to Bryce, Zion, and Arches, I found Canyonlands to seem distant in so many ways. Bryce, of course, feels very intimate and tangible as you walk its narrow halls. I thought perhaps it was my inability to get down in there deeper, though we did rent a jeep and take Shafer to Thelma and Louise Point (how could I not).
Perhaps I’m projecting my memory onto this image, but this too feels distant rather than intimate or grand. It’s not so much a critique of your approach, just perhaps a description of the place from my perspective.
I’ll be curious what others say about the composition and the foreground shelf.
ML
Yes, you are very correct. Canyon lands is so vast that it is very difficult to photograph. I spent some time in Chessler Park and was able to get some decent shots there. But this one it’s tough. The point of view is difficult to conceive. I like the colors and I had to really desaturate a lot of areas in the image.
I do appreciate your comment and I’m not offended in anyway.
1 Like
I really like the repost, David. I tried playing with the original and never got anything that looked good in that far cliff. This looks really good.
David, this shows off well the wide open spaces and long distance views that are part of the area. Your burning in of the rocks on the right in the repost is an improvement, but feels oversaturated and the edges aren’t as dark as the middle.
