Metamorphic Drama

Image Critiques Landscape Critiques
1

A;

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B:

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C:

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This is the first image of my Alaska ‘rock pile’. It was what originally attracted me to this area. This one is not as colorful as the others but the sheen off the face of the slate is marvelous in my opinion. It might be a good candidate for b&w. I reduced the orange considerably but I enjoyed the yellow where it existed.

The bottom image is the full image captured by the image and the others are crops of that capture. Even when photographing this scene I didn’t particularly like the debris in the llc but composed it as is because I felt that composition was the strongest. During post processing I decided that that conclusion was wrong so I had to crop to get what I wanted.

So what do you think? A, B, or C?

GFX50R 45-100mm, f/11, focus stacked.

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2

Wow, Where do I begin??? This image is so geometric and dynamic and complicated. There are so many strong vertical lines and diagonal lines that work off of each other. I prefer the images in the order you presented them. The rock pile in the second version seems too distant and the first allows me to focus more on it. Also, adding the top 1/5 of the frame on the second version adds in more vertical lines that complicates the composition. It’s not bad at all and actually quite good but the first is my favorite. To everyone that views this it must be seen LARGE. The texture is amazing when viewed large and not so much when viewed small. Forget viewing this on a tablet or a cell phone. Go to your computer for this one.
I feel like the first version has a purpose of arrangement. It’s about this crumbling, and as you put it, “Metamorphic” change that is happening to this mountain side. The debris pile is a collection of that change. However, it’s not the only focus point in this image. Not by a long shot. There is so much going on everywhere. It’s almost apocalyptic and cataclysmic in nature. There are no visible forms of life except a couple of small patches of lichen. It has a desolate and stark, doom and gloom look about it. This is not a subtle image. It’s impactful and full of energy and vibe. Everything is sharp edged, pointed, shiny and razor like. The colors are dark and fitting for the scene. Not happy and cheery and melancholic at all. This is what I imagine earth might look like 1,000 years after a nuclear war or the next Los Angeles earthquake. Ok. That was a joke. That’s where I live and this is what I’m afraid of.
Exceptional image, Igor! This one is way out there but extremely explicit.

Oh, and I like the jagged sawtooth marks in the top half, center of the image and just above those jagged marks, I like that almost skull like looking rock on the ledge. There is nothing that pulls my eye or attracts any undo attention.

3

Those yellows are too strong. Gotta do something about that. Change them in all 3 images. What fun.

4

I would agree with that. I think a little bit of saturations and luminosity reduction would help.

5

I’ve greatly reduced the yellows which resulted in a less chromatic image. The strange thing is that I liked the colors in the uncropped version but not so much after it was cropped. I’ll try to understand that at a later day.

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6

Igor,

Pretty clear why this subject called to you! I think there are many here, including myself who could get lost for hours with this - and no doubt the surrounding opportunities!

Beautifully captured and really you can’t go wrong with any crop. For me, this is a classic, “Three Little bears” scenario and there is one that is “just right.” And to me, that is B.

First, regarding the colors, ie. the yellow? To me all the colors and processing in general is quite excellent - I wouldn’t change anything. One could easily go overboard with color/sat - and on the flip side, I think it would be easy to reduce color too much - which I would say kinda happened in your last response; it’s as if you just took the global saturation slider and moved it to desaturate everything. Maybe that’s what it was like, I dunno, wasn’t there. Anyway, point is I think the colors in your original are beautiful.

Now to the B choice. First, the original C. I actually like the “debris”. It comes across to me as a “collection” area where all the falling pieces end up; so in essence, it’s helping to tell the geologic story. The nitpick I have with C is the border patrol on the right edge. the LRC, the brighter stone above that right near the edge, and the long, thin shadow lines bordering the right edge - all make that edge a little untidy. IMHO. Not a big deal, but enough for Papa bear to move on to the next bowl of porridge. Then, it seems the wonderful details up top are further away from the debris, or interests down below, almost feeling like the comp is “stretched.”

A. Very similar to B., but now I think too far the other way. Much closer and so it becomes more about the very small details, the debris and so we lose sight of the bigger picture.

So… as a result, I think B. combines the best of all things and I’m loving that one the best.

oh, you didn’t mention if this was a focus stack or not. I don’t recall if that’s something you normally do anyway, but wanted to comment that the details and sharpness edge to edge is pretty amazing; especially given what looks to be an angled perspective - ie. the left side is closer to the camera than the right side?