This was taken about 100 yards from my back door on a rare foggy fall morning in southeast Michigan. I was attracted to the way the scene fades in vibrance and clarity from left to right. I could not change my position to alter the composition. I managed to penetrate the brush a week before and was hoping for good morning light, the fog was a real bonus.
What technical feedback would you like if any?
Any would be appreciated particularly post processing
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
That is a really nice scene and the fog definitely makes it. What an awesome spot to have so close to your back door. I might try reducing the overall exposure a bit which will help amplify the colors in a natural way, as well as adding a touch of midtone contrast. I’m glad you didn’t crank the colors as your rendition looks very natural to me, but reducing the overall exposure a bit might help give it even more life.
I think this is a very nice capture of an ethereal scene. Colors are soft and pastel which works nicely.
One of the first things that caught my eye was the first green bush on the shore on the left. It is very sharp, so much that it seems out of place. Don’t know what sharpening was done on the image. With a scene like this, I would remove all sharpening and maybe even go the other way to soften things up a bit. I played with it via a Surface Blur and liked the result.
I agree with the other comment about darkening it down just a bit as well.
Art, thanks for your comments. Prior to posting I did consider the exposure and struggled back and forth with the proper level. I have worked with fog very little and found it very tricky in post. I appreciate the your specific suggestions and will revisit the exposure again.
Keith, thanks for the suggestions. I did sharpen to about 70 in Lightroom. I will focus on the first green bush and adjust sharpening down, or off and see if that has an effect.
Harley, I agree with you regarding the darkening and it does lose some of the dreamy mood. As I mentioned above it is the item I struggled with most in editing. This may be one of those personal preference calls? That mood was my inspiration to shoot this scene in the first place. I appreciate your thoughts.
Dang, this is nice! I would crop off some of the left side though, feels a bit heavy and like you have more than you need in here. I would crop off everything from that dark, distracting tree to the edge. This way you focus more on that tasty atmosphere and those awesome colors over on the right side!
Thank you for your input Eric. It does seem there is a consensus that the left side is heavy and distracting. I am working on the crop. Really beautiful light and atmosphere is a blessing so close to home. We may have fog in our area 10 days a year and rarely in the fall.
I think you got the exposure and colors just right. I can see the argument about the bush but I’m not sure about it. You want the eye to start at the bush and work its way down the shore. I suppose you can mute that bush some. Yes, it’s a good idea.
I wanted to suggest a crop that changes the emphasis on things. I don’t find the reflection as interesting as the rest. I would crop the image from the bottom and change it to a shoreline floating in the mist. It would change the message. It would require some cropping from the sides likely.
Igor, I am working on the crop on the left and will also look at your suggested changes. They would create a very different emphasis. Thank you for the feedback.
