A foggy morning inspired me to go to a local woodland that often has rather magical qualities in the fog. I usually am drawn to low-key scenes and tend to process my images toward the low-key side of things, but this one just seems to work well as a more high-key image and matches the mood I was in.
Since I don’t often process for a high-key I am wondering if I went to far, not far enough, etc?
Is this a composite: No
Hey Dean - what great conditions! Despite the density of the fog, you have great directional light here coming from the R. I personally think your processing here is excellent and wouldn’t change luminance values at all. The trail leads in from the bottom, and then guides the eye to the mid left of the scene. This is balanced by the prominent tree trunks in the middle and on the R of the scene. It’s like the action is on the L of the image, and the balance comes from the inaction on the R. I’ll be interested in what others think of this approach. I initially sought more dynamic visual experience throughout, but now I’m not so sure. Regardless, it’s a cool shot with great conditions.
Thank you, Jim. Appreciate the feedback, including regarding balance. I tend to compose based on gut/feeling but your observation makes sense to me—I would like to think I had similar ideas subconsciously.
Dean, the stillness is palpable. I would like to sit there for a while. Composition is well balanced TME and I think the higher key works well.
Great work here Dean, fog can sometimes be difficult to process, but I think you nailed it here, just the perfect level of softness and luminosity. You also kept the relative luminosity well controlled, darker in the foreground, and brighter as you recede into the background, This helps create a sense of depth.
I do think your composition is very well balanced, and I agree with @Jim_McGovern analysis of why that is the case. While I think the image works very well as presented, my own personal preference is for lines like the path to lead from left to right. So I might consider a horizontal flip. Once flipped, I think all of Jim’s points about balance still apply.
You almost can’t go wrong when shooting in fog. In this image I particularly like the greenish cyan color in the upper section. On my screen this doesn’t appear very high toned. It’s somewhere in the middle. One suggestion would be to slightly desaturate that green section in the Llc because it’s pretty dominating.
Thank you, Mario. It was a nice calm morning.
Thank you, Ed. I had not thought about flipping the image. My own personal preferences deter me from doing so, except possibly with an abstract, but I see your point. Perhaps I need to reconsider my preferences.
Thank you, Igor. I already desaturated the greens a bit but I will try out a bit more.
This is quite lovely, Dean. I can almost feel the moist still air as I journey down that inviting path through the forest. You can’t go wrong shooting in the fog as it imparts such a wonderful mood. BTW, the processing looks perfect for my tastes. This had to be a great morning and I hope to see some others from your woodland walk.
A gorgeous scene, well photographed! As lovely as the composition is, with the path, my eye goes to the wonderful interlacing branches in the top half and doesn’t want to leave.
