The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Springtime in Yosemite Valley is only rivaled by autumn, oh, and maybe a fresh snow in the valley. This was captured recently with our small contingent of NPN photogs. Weather was a challenge, but gray, drizzly conditions actually let us shoot all day long; we didn’t see the light of the sun until the morning of our departure.
Alas, we also missed the classic dogwood over the Merced opportunities… but that didn’t prevent me from looking and finding little scenes like this.
Specific Feedback
I’m specifically looking to find out if you think I’ve succeeded in creating “order from chaos”? The two trees do provide some structure and framing. But are the branches, twigs and leaves too much?
Does the flowing water and the river background in general help to calm the chaos?
How’s the processing? getting the color/saturation and luminosity of the spring greens is quite challening. Easy to go overboard, and just as easy to not give the scene the brilliance it deserves and was experienced.
As always, your thoughts, comments and suggestions welcome!
Technical Details
Nikon Z8, Z28-400mm @ 84mm, f/20 2.5s iso50
Single frame. small crop and minor cloning small branch left edge
Hi Lon, The spring greens look very nice overcast and clouds most likely dimmed them but they still pack a nice luminosity. The smooth water is calming but I don’t think it can overcome the chaotic intrusion of the foreground branches. Also there is too much business at the top of the image for my eyes to stay comfortable in the frame. I think most of the work for this type of image may come from scouting very specific locations .
I knew this was yours, and I’ve been waiting to see what y’all bring back from that trip. This works really well for me.
Regarding your specific requests, the processing looks about perfect. I feel the spring greens and the freshness of the water, its reflection of the green. As for “calming the chaos,” I think it is calmed enough. How much do you want to calm the chaos? Is the chaos of the branches part of the energy of the scene and necessary for balancing the water movement? To me, that all works.
I can see Stephen’s logic above. For me, the rushing water balances it, and the top has enough additional solidity (for lack of a better word) to function more like a vignette and pull my eyes back into the frame. The spindly branches are a lovely flourish over the background for me, and they create a kind of oriental art effect, like caligraphy or characters on a shoji screen scene.
This is absolutely my kind of photograph. I think the ‘Chaos’ is just about perfect and both the rushing water and the reflection in the water at the top of the frame could not be a better background for this subject. I’m not sure how big of a branch you cloned out from the left side, but I feel like that empty hole there on the left is the only weak spot in the whole frame, it needs more ‘chaos’ there to match the ‘chaos’ in the rest of the frame. By the way, I keep putting chaos in quotes, because I think the ‘chaos’ is what makes this photo so eye-catching and alluring, at least for me. The overcast light and (I assume) water saturated trees, has brought out the wonderfully saturated colors in the leaves and branches. I even like the added bit of ‘chaos’ of the blurred branches in the LRC. Just wonderful, and thank you for sharing this.
Lon, in the small view, this was clearly a Lon Overaker look at Yosemite. I think it works well, showing off the bright spring leaves of the foreground against the smoothly flowing river. Clearly your goal was a thoughtful sense of place and this view does that well.
How did I think this was yours from the thumbnail? (And I was delighted to find it was!) If the Dogwood didn’t fit your schedule, this Alder is a good second prize. It is growing with a calm dignity, with its leaves sprinkled delicately across the frame. And managing to capture it without a breeze messing up the leaves, and still getting movement in the water, is a plus. The colors are gorgeous and just right, with the lovely grays in the water against the soft golds in the top half. The intruding brush in the LL quadrant would have made me wish for a machete, but I can accept that it has a right to exist as well! I think you could have a twofer here with just the right half. And this looks like it was begging for one of your famous ICMs…
Thank yo Stephen, I appreciate your straight forward and honest response. I don’t really disagree and was wondering of there was too much busy-ness. As with all things and all photographs, we each have our reactions. The only reservation I had really was that the upper river background was not enough to separate and thus reduce the chaos up top. In the end, I’m still pleased with it.
Thank you Marylynne. I’m wondering too if the title was something, anything other than including “chaos” if that changes any perceptions.
Actually Youssef, it was more like a tiny twig - not much better than the little one remaining at the bottom of the empty space. I see your point about the open area and that makes sense. It probably would have been more “complete” had there been some leaves along the edge. None of the other frames I have work any better and I don’t recall what was to the left.
Dang…honestly, my ICM frame of mind must have been turned off for that location. All of the group was together and there are hopefully many other images from this spot we stopped at - and they do not include the river! But I know I didn’t shoot any ICM’s here - and now wishing I had! Thanks for your comments!
Your aperture and shutter speed was perfect for this, Lon. The background is a perfect counterpoint to the ordered chaos of the trees. No nits from me.
-P
Another great take from the trip, Lon. The greens everywhere were a bit intense in the valley. I know it’s Spring but boy, was everything GREEN. I love the smooth and soft flowing water contrasting beautifully with the much more chaotic leafy foreground shrubs and the green reflections in the water in the upper portion of the frame. I’m less excited about the busyness in the LLC and those twigs creeping into the scene but not at all a deal breaker. I think this is creatively seen and photographed.
