The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Props to my brother for the use of his D800 to take this photo. The focal length fell right in the gap between the two lenses I had. Zooming by foot would have required standing in the road.
Shenandoah National Park, VA.
Specific Feedback
Any and all comments, suggestions, or critiques welcome.
This is a beauty. The mist and the soft atmosphere, together with the little black and well-defined branches intruding from the upper right (IMO, an essential part of the picture - they occupy an otherwise empier part of the frame) make for a splendid image… Excellent composition!
Mike, the mysterious, mystical feeling here is excellent. I wish the small branches weren’t in the upper right, thinking that would make it even more dreamy since they do add a strong touch of reality. I’m sympathetic to the challenges of framing when you don’t have an unlimited ability to move around.
Michael: I thought this had to be a Lowe brother image from the thumbnail. This brings back some nice memories for me. Chrissy and I did a drive through the park and the Blue Ridge Parkway a number of years ago in identical conditions. I felt like the donkey who starved between the hay bales because he couldn’t decide what to eat first. It was a target rich environment for sure.
I’m kind of with @Mark_Seaver regarding the branches in the URC. The image would be better without them IMO but they’re certainly not deal breakers. Nice find and a fine capture in marvelous conditions in a marvelous spot. >=))>
Thanks @Preston_Birdwell, @Bill_Fach, @santhru, @Mark_Seaver, and @Antonello_Provenzale for the comments and suggestions. Mark and Bill, I would usually agree about the limbs, but my reasoning was as Antonello said, they were filling up some empty space. There was no BG tree to fill up the space like there is on the left side of the image. I did a quick and dirty removal to see what it looked like. What do you think?
Michael: I do think I prefer the repost. For me there is plenty in the BG in that area even though there are no heavy elements like the trunks and big limbs you have on the left. Nice quick and dirty work. >=))>
Michael, I agree that it’s now a bit empty. I tried doing some darks burning in that area to strengthen the visual impact of the trees in the distance and that helped a bit. Hard to tell if the cleanup effort is worth it…
Michael
when I looked at the original post, I really liked the image, but was uncertain about the branches on the right. The I scrolled down to your reprocessed version, and I definitely prefer the version without the branches. It does, however, feel slightly unbalanced. I wonder if a very slight crop from the right would help?
Another gorgeous dreamscape!!! I would stand in the middle of the road to get an image half this lovely!
I wondered about removing the branches and bringing out the detail hiding behind them. It would take a tedious cleanup, or maybe you have a different composition with that area empty? Here’s your quick cleanup with a soft-edged selection and a Curve to bring up some detail:
Thanks @Bill_Fach, @Mark_Seaver, @WillR and @Diane_Miller. Diane, thanks for taking the time on the rework. The slight curves adjustment does seem to make the right a little less empty.
Michael, this is gorgeous soft and moody light you had to work with. The fall colors add tremendous pop to the image and the muted stately trees in the background convey a large forested scene. The balance and composition work well for me. I wish the foreground trees had more definition to add depth to the scene and I have to say that I like those branches poking in from the side because they provide some depth and sharpness to this image. In the rework by others, the scene feels just a little flat. The original for me please.
Hi Mike,
I remember this day well as we had some spectacular conditions with the fog and mist. I had several images that were keepers, but I somehow missed getting an image of this lovely scene. This brings back memories of those damp cool conditions with the fog swirling about moving in and out of the trees decked out in their lush autumn colors. The limbs poking in from the URC are certainly not a deal breaker, but I have to say I am loving the rework from @Diane_Miller as it makes an already wonderful image even better. Fingers crossed we can catch some conditions like this again.
Agreed. It is interesting to see how different crops affect the viewer’s response. I also like what @Diane_Miller did with the curves layer to bring up some detail; nice trick.
-P
