The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I was captivated by the various layers of water, stones, grasses and the forest across the Merced River in Yosemite Valley one Autumn day. What you cannot see is beyond the tall pines is the very busy South Side Drive. Quite the dichotomy of quiet forest and river vs. noisy roadway.
-P
Specific Feedback
Any comments you may have would be greatly appreciated.
Technical Details
Chamonix 4x5
Nikkor M 300 mm
F32 @ 8 s
Astia 100 iso 100
1800 dpi scan processed in PSCC 2025.
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
I know that spot (see) and I know the look of that film! I miss Astia, with its muddy brown shadows and low contrast. It made it easy to scan and then had the latitude needed for editing.
If this was mine, I would lower the reds in the shadows a bit and then maybe bump the overall contrast just a bit. Here is what I think.
That captures the beauty of the streamside nicely. I like the light dappling the scene, and the reflections at the bottom are very nice.
I agree with @Youssef_Ismail that something is off in the shadows. The blue channel is blackish in those areas, much darker than the red and green. I would expect the shadows to have more blue.
@Youssef_Ismail and @John_Williams: Thanks for your comments, gents. I struggled with the color balance of this one to keep the ‘Astia yellows’ at bay, so I can see what you’re driving at. I likely won’t rework this one, but I’ll keep your ideas in mind if I work on any other Astia scans.
-P
Quite a lovely and peaceful little scene. Exactly the type of photo that invites the viewer to pull up a camp chair and just imagine that sound of the river and rustle of leaves in the wind. It’s interesting to me how much the main tree on the left stands out from the rest of the image, but not in an overpowering way. I do prefer Youseff’s edit as the colors seem a little closer to what I would expect.
Preston, this gave a bit of deja vu here, but it was a look a like scene. I recall the site that you, Lon, and I photographed on June Lake Loop area back in the day. We each posted them in NPN 1 and was amazed at being only 50 feet apart the differences we all produced.
As @Youssef_Ismail said the Astia was very tame in it’s look going Green / Yellow while Provia had the Blue / Cyan and of course the Velvia had the Red / Magenta.
The entire scene has a calming effect overall…well done…
@Paul_Breitkreuz Thanks, Paul. Back in the day, I settled on Astia because its dynamic range was wider than Provia or Velvia.
I guess it’s because of age, but I don’t recall the June Lake Loop shoot fest. We all made so many pilgrimages to the East Side back then they sort of melted one into another in memory.
-P
Hi Preston,
I could see myself sitting down along the banks of the Merced and soaking up the peaceful vibe of this scene. The dappled lighting is exquisite as is that lovely reflection in the still waters. This is being real nitpicky, but those couple of bright areas about three quarters of the way up along the right edge catch my eye a little. I only mention them because everything else is just so perfect in this image. Beautifully done!
