I find this to be a very pleasing image. Simple but effective. The backlighting is nice and handled well.
That said, when I opened the larger image 2 things immediately grabbed my attention. One is easy. The tree stump on the lower left is a distraction that could easily be removed. The second one is a bigger issue and I don’t know what caused. I’ve circled both in red in this attachment. The middle one is just really odd looking light. Maybe from moss on the tree, but nonetheless troubling for my eyes.
A couple of fixes and this is even better.
The color in the “mist” in front of the middle tree is also visible in the shades part of the next 2 trees to the right. It reminds me of something I read recently about artifacts created in using dehaze in LR or CR.
This is beautifully warm and inviting, Ben. The backlighting from the right rear and the touch of fog really create a fine glow. Yes, the colors in that one tree trunk look strange. It looks like too much dodging, trying to see details in very dark shadows.
Ben: I love the scene, the light and the color palette. One has to look REALLY close to see the weird colors in the shaded trunk but once noticed its a distraction. Since I suspect this is a processing and not a capture issue I would expect it to be relatively easily rectified. Welcome to NPN. Looking forward to more of your work.>=))>
Ben,
A wonderful forest scene and I can see why you would like this one very much. The light is special and I really like the alignment of the trunks and light hitting the barren ground (which, now that I think about it, is odd there aren’t other plants, but no matter.)
I would agree with the others about the funky shadow detail where it looks like light beams meet shadow. It might be helpful to see an unprocessed post for comparison or even describe what you’re trying to do in post. We would be glad to help.
I also agree about cloning out the partial trunk in the LLC. And also was going to mention the closer, out of focus yellow leaves in the UR. Not a deal breaker for me as they blend in pretty well and aren’t immediately noticed.
Certainly an image worth making the best it can be.
Lon
Thank you, Keith. What a great comment, this what I and looking for. To learn !
Thank you, Rick. I had never found this, so it helps a lot !
Thank you, Mark.