Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Another from a very productive day for Ed and I in Shenandoah National Park.
All comments, suggestions and critiques welcome.
1/60 sec @ f/11, ISO 400, 70mm
Another beauty from that day of photography in Shenandoah, Mike. The fog is magical and I love the mix of yellows and greens in this woodland scene. My only suggestion would be to clone out the small trunk in the LLC. Your image is framed tighter than mine; I may have to rethink my comp as I think I like your’s better. Here is a repost with what I was thinking. Just my opinion of course.
Thanks, Ed. Good call on the trunk. 
Yes another beauty for sure Michael, but I have to say Mist-ical #2 still reigns supreme for me.
Thanks Don. That’s probably mine too.
This really is a beautiful image, Michael. It feels like I’m looking through a window into a very intimate scene, a bit voyeurish in the sense of getting in so close to a private moment. The slight mist and vibrant colours work very well together and the composition is perfect. The more distant tree trunk (centre right) provides an added sense of depth. My only recommendation, and this is pretty much a matter of taste, is the aqua-green leaves in the upper right of the frame. The colour seems out of place to me, a bit jarring and I would be tempted to use the HSL colour mixer in Lr and push the green hue slider over towards the yellow and maybe the aqua hue slider a little over towards the blue, well I’m not sure about the aqua slider - might also try moving over towards the green. That being said, it may be that the aqua green is very much intentional in which case I bow to you as the artist.
P.S. I actually like that little diagonal trunk in the LLC. There is a certain cacophony to this scene which adds tension - the peacefulness of the mist against the chaos of the vegetation and the diagonal adds a bit to that.
Michael, this is all about colours and mystery for me. The firm trunk anchores the image aptly to my eye, while I keep exploring all the elements.
Although I usually do not rub out parts of other people’s photographs, getting rid of the trunk in the lower left corner is indeed an improvement in my opinion, accentuating the serenity of the scene.
A lovely image. I would not change anything.
I agree with Kerry about the aqua green in the very corner but the green leaves in the center are essential. The corner leaves may just be too bright. I like your brother’s crop but I liked the original as well. Wonderful image. Has a Romantic quality about it.
Thanks Kerry for the comments. I certainly expected that reaction from some about the green leaves. It jarred me at first. That is the color in the original raw file. It was further enhanced after I used the dehaze filter cause shooting through the atmosphere with a longer focal length made the scene too foggy looking. In a weird way, I kinda liked it, so left it that way.
Thanks Peter. Feel free to crop, clone, or alter my images in any way you want. I am always open to the thoughts of others in how to improve.
Thanks @Mark_Orchard and @Igor_Doncov for the comments.
@Michael_Lowe , Michael, My first impression was WOW a beautiful image. To answer on other comments. I should leave the trunk on the left alone. Because on the opposite side is also such a smaller trunk. For me they make a sort of frame to the image.
Then those black leaves at the center right. In two remakes I made those leaves in the color of the other leaves. An I took them out in the other remake.
I hope you can get anything out of it.
And don’t mind my English
Ben
I think these are even more mist-ical
Thanks for taking the time to do a rework, Ben. I think I prefer the dark leaves removed. I’m sure your English is a lot more fluent than my Dutch. 
Congrats on the EP Mike. Well deserved!
Editors Pick was richly deserved.
Mike, this is SO SENSUAL. I love the fog which obviously sets the mood here but it the almost impressionistic colors that make me think of a painting and it’s why I love this image so much. I have read most of the comments so far and sometimes I think we worry too much about cleaning up all of the chaos in a scene to the point where it becomes perfect/sterile looking. I actually like the tree on the right and the tree on the left as it makes the scene natural looking and it provides framing. I certainly don’t mind the trunk on the left being removed but I do like the original as well. As for the dark, almost black leaves, they don’t bother me but I also like having them removed because that’s the first thing I noticed in the image so I think I like @Ben_van_der_Sande second image the best out of all of the of the reworks. As for the green leaves in the URC, they do have a lot of blue cyan in them making them an odd color but to me it also gives this that impressionistic painting look so I don’t mind them at all. This really is a beautiful image Mike. Congrats on the EP!!!
I don’t think there is anything I would change in this composition personally. Everything has come together very nicely. The colour balance, form and softness introduced with the fog… A very nice work, thanks for sharing!
