I’d love to know how you feel about the overall balance of color and light. I’ve tried to craft the eye a specific direction, but curious how you feel when you look at it. What stands out? What’s distracting?
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Sony A7riii, 24-70mm f/3.5, 1/60, ISO 100. Handheld.
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A really impactful image Dan, with wonderful light which you have accentuated with your processing. When I view the image, my eye is immediately drawn to the gorgeous light on the mossy tree. The branches on the tree then lead my eye to the right to the bright spot on the mossy cliff. I assume this was your processing intent, and that effort was very successful. I like how you kept the lower part of the image near the river dark, to enhance the spot-light effect even more.
This image is gorgeous, and suggestions for improvements are nitpicks, but here goes anyways. There are some rocks and debris in the river to the right of the tree, I would clone them away, and maybe even clone away the dark white water in that area.
The very left side of the image is not as strong as the rest of the image, but I’m not sure about how to address it. I think it could maybe be cropped slightly. I might also consider burning down the white water in the river, it’s bright and pulls your eye out of the image to the left.
That is one fantastic looking tree dripping with tons of character, Dan. The lighting is sublime and is perfect for show casing the greens of the moss both on the tree and the canyon rock wall. The tree limbs do lead me to the light on the rock face if that was your intent. If this were mine I would clone out those lighter rocks in the river along with the couple of small branches on the right side of the tree. I too think I would crop just a little from the left side and burn down the river just a touch so it doesn’t tug my eye. I think with a couple of tweaks this lovely image would really sing. I really love the mood here.
First, I think you’ve done a great job handling the light and shadows here - in what clearly is a most difficult lighting circumstance.
What a great tree! Great Character. You mentioned trying the lead the eye? I would have to say just because the branches are pointing right, that’s where the eyes are directed to - and that would be the greens on the wall? For me, the cascade in the LL is just too small to contribute much - although, it really is the only hint that this is a narrow canyon. So, if you want the viewer to follow downstream, I would burn down the greens on the right… And vice versa if you want the viewer’s eye to go right - burn down the left wall…
I think the PNW yellow/greens are depicted just right…
Lon
