On a recent post by @Ed_McGuirk called Natures First Green is Gold @Igor_Doncov brought up an interesting point about a tension creating ping pong effect in the composition. With that in mind I went out into the field open to finding compositions that build some tension with the viewer.
I found this scene in the Tanatalus range in British Columbia and while Ed’s composition had two objects in a similar plane creating tension, my thought was perhaps the effect can be done with light.
In this scene I thought the bright clouds and storm light near the corner of the frame created a pull effect with the highlights on the peak. My intension in processing was to encourage this tension but hopefully the eye settles on the highlights on the peak.
Any feedback on how you eye travels here is appreciated.
What technical feedback would you like if any? Anything
What artistic feedback would you like if any? Anything
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
141mm, f/11, ISO 160, 1/500s
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@nathankleinphotos
Hi Nathan,
Thought I would comment here since I think I may have been one of the sources of the “ping pong” comments… 
Honestly, I don’t see that at all with your image. I don’t really get any tension either. To me, the play of light is all connected together and more cohesive. The gap in the clouds and the light in the upper right is the source of the light striking the peak; one is the reason for the other - they are connected.
And quite nicely btw! You’ve processed this nicely doing a nice job containing the highlights and any hotspots. I like the foreground ridge to give an otherwise static image a little dept.
The only nit and suggestion would be to see if there is any detail that can be extracted in the lower right part of the mountain. I know it’s in shadow, but there’s very little detail there. Not a huge deal nor an image breaker, but thought I would mention.
This one is all about the light. Love the clouds - even makes me wonder if there is a frame with more clouds? Or a broader view?
To your question on how the eye travels. My eye first went to the highlights on the lower left peak - well, mid-lower? I think it’s obvious where the light is… Then I travel to the right and the light source and the subtle light rays. Then I notice the rest of the clouds and highlights up there and finally acknowledging the foreground ridge.
Hope this helps.
Nathan, I think you are touching on an interesting concept, creating the dissonant tension with light rather than composition. But my sentiments about this image almost exactly mirror the comments from @Lon_Overacker
The two primary sources of light does create eye movement for me. But the light does not strongly force a comparison between two things, such as in Arbus’s “The Twins”. I think part of it is that there are other pretty dominant elements in the scene that create stability, ie the mountains. For me the stability of the composition comes across stronger than the “ping pong” of the light. Like Lon, I think overall the image is more cohesive than dissonant.
I do think it is possible to create the “ping pong” effect you are looking for with light rather than composition. I think it would be a situation where the light forces the viewer to concentrate on two very specific areas. In the meantime you have come away here with a pretty compelling image, it’s still a very strong image. The processing is excellent BTW.
I don’t quite get the ping pong effect here. My eyes see the whole scene as a unit and it’s quite a beautiful unit. I love the light coming in from the UR corner. Thanks for sharing, Nathan!
Nathan, your effort to create dissonance using light instead of composition reminded me of an image I saw in one of Alex Noriega’s processing videos. His image is titled “Agon Wastes” and is on his website in his favorite images collection. While it has more than two primary light elements, I think the use of light and shadow in the scene does create some tension and dissonance. While the composition is balanced in his image, I definitely get a sense of tension viewing it, because of the way he uses light.
@Lon_Overacker @Ed_McGuirk @Adhika_Lie Thanks for participating in the conversation here. I find that composition beyond the common leading lines, layers, near-far etc is a dark art and difficult to conceptualize.
Ed I get your point about Alex’s “Agon Wastes” that’s definitely a ping ponging composition.
Lon I do have another shot with more of the clouds but I found that the extra bright clouds made the composition more about the light and clouds and less about the peak. But perhaps that is what is required to create tension.
