Shenandoah National Park, VA.
I always have trouble with chaotic forest scenes so any suggestions on composition, crop , color, processing much appreciated.
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
Iām a real sucker for these type of images. This is awesome in my opinion. Itās common these days to make the wb cooler and while keeping the leaves warm. I donāt know if thatās better though. You could add a touch more luminosity to the leaves and saturation as well. These are all ātry and seeā suggestions. The only suggestion that Iām sure about has to do with those green leaves. Theyāre an eye magnet because they donāt fall into the same color palette. The composition, though, is really first rate.
Lovely light and color balance. The sense of space is well realized. There a re two small branches on the lower right edge that grab my eye. A very slight boost yellow saturation of the leaves would also work, but not overtly necessary for the mood. I think you did a fine job extracting some order from the chaos.
āP
Thanks @Igor_Doncov and @Preston_Birdwell. Itās funny you should mention a slight saturation of the yellow leaves because I allready boosted it 28 points and was thinking I might have gone too far.
This is not chaotic at all Mike. If anything itās amazingly symmetrical for a forest scene, you have done a great job of balancing all trees here into a very pleasing arrangement. The group of 3 trees in the center makes for a very powerful comp. My only nit is that I think @Igor_Doncov makes an excellent point on the green leaves on the right being incongruous from a color perspective. However I like having those leaves there to balance the composition, so I would try selecting that green and shifting itās hue to yellow, which should be easy to do.
I normally like cooler looking fog, but in this case the warmish fog creates such a pleasing mood that I would leave the color of the fog as is. Your processing of the fog looks perfect to me. Heavy fog like this naturally reduces the saturation of everything via diffusion, so Iām not surprised that you already boosted it a lot. But I agree with Igor and Preston, i think you could push the leaf saturation even further and get away with it. But thatās a minor point, this is a stunning image as presented.
Michael,
Whatever doubts or trouble you thought you once had with chaotic forest scenesā¦ should have been put to rest with this image. This is exceptional! From a compositional perspective, Iām so glad you included so much space, giving the tree trunks room and even including the young tree on the left (thereās no cropping or changes there that could improve this.)
I love the main tree and leaves as presented. Sure, there is room to play with luminosity and saturation and perhaps to even some better alternative presentation - but this works beautifully as presented. I just LOVE this image. Kudos!
ok, I love it so much I canāt help but mention the minor nits. Thereās a knob of sorts on the right edge right on the mid line. Either a slight crop or a quick clone. Then below that the small, short branch also coming in from the right edge (I think one Preston mentions as well.) But as far as the pair of green-leaf twigs in that LR area - I agree they are a bit of an eye magnet - but I think in a very positive way. In an innocent kind of way, itās very small sub-plot saying that itās just not quite fall yet - in my book (says Mr. Twigā¦) I wouldnāt change that either.
Very impressive work. Canāt say enough about this one.
Lon
I agree with much of what has been said above. The composition here seems flawless, and for me, that includes the hint of summer hanging on in the lower right corner.
ML
Really love this image, reminds me of home.
Beautiful, Michael. Great combo of color and mood. I am with Preston on cleaning up the right edge but not a big deal. Very nice work!
Great delicacy of hue and tone, Michael, the mist giving it added depth. The composition works perfectly well, anchored as it is by those fg trunks, though I would also be interested to see a vertical version.
Exquisite image, very well done. Perfect balance in composition and stunning light.
Mike,
You may have some trouble with chaotic forest scenes occasionally; as do I; but this is not one of them. The fog is magical and helps get rid of what would be a busy BG and I love the symmetry with the placement of the FG trees. They do a wonderful job of directing the viewer to the tree in the center of the scene. I could see adding just a bit more luminosity and saturation as others have suggested, but certainly not a deal breaker. It is a shame that you no longer have the raw file. You will just have to go back this fall and try to duplicate the scene.
Love this one, and the fog helps to cut the chaos, as well as those near dark tree trunks. I agree with Igor about the green leaves looking out of place. You didnāt saturate the yellow leaves too much. Iām wondering about the color of the fog in the lower half of the imageā¦it looks slightly brown. Perhaps you could cool it a bit? Still, just lovely and one Iād want to put up on the wall.
Ah I like this one, relaxing, brilliant, not chaotic at all. A promise of the fall to comeā¦
Lovely mood and color Michael.
