This is my first time posting an image here. Given the very high quality of what I’ve seen here so far, it is a bit intimidating. Here’s part of my story. Every year for the past dozen years or so, my wife and I take the month of August and paddle the remote backcountry of Northwestern Ontario and Northeastern Manitoba. We travel alone and may often go 25 or 30 days without seeing another human being. Splendid isolation! It was because of these trips and my desire to share my impressions of these incredible landscapes while they still exist, that I took up photography three years ago. What I am trying to convey is something of the silence and solitude that pervades these places. If I can get another five or more years out of this old body, I would like this to be a long-term project. This image was taken last August and is really my first foray into black and white processing (I was deliberately composing with the intention of monochrome images.)
So, on the artistic and compositional end, how does it feel to you? I’ve tried to make a strong visual statement without pushing it too far. I want to convey a sense of awe but also retain a natural feel. I would like to know whether you have a sense of the “silence and solitude” I’m talking about? From a technical point of view, how have I done with the post processing? I start in Lightroom but do most of my post in Photoshop working with the TKv6 panel.
EXIF: Fuji XT-2, Fujinon 16-50mm f/2.8, ISO 800, 44 mm, f/14, 1/250 sec
Welcome to NPN and really sweet first post. I think you hit a homerun on capturing the mood. I look at it and I feel solitude and serenity. It feels slightly tight on the sides, but it really does not detract from it. Around here, people are big on shadow detail and I suspect you will get a comment or two wanting more shadow detail, but I like it the way it is. The deep shadows provide structure and nice negative space for me. Real nice work and looking forward to seeing more of your work.
Welcome to NPN, @Kerry_Gordon! This has a wonderful mood, and the solitude you wanted to express is evident, not only in the composition, but in the light and processing, too.
I think the deep shadows work very well here, and agree with Harley’s comment about them. It does feel a little tight on the right side. It took me a second to see the moon, so you might want to select it, and brighten it up just a small amount.
Thanks for posting, and we look forward to seeing more of your work.
-P
I like this as a b&w very much. I can understand the comments about the right being cramped due to the island touching the frame but if you added space up there there would be too much space on the bottom. The composition is well balanced the way it is in my opinion.
That project and paddling sounds epic! So very cool. Really enjoy the composition here and those conditions really pull it together. Look forward to seeing more from the adventures.
aF
Outstanding first post Kerry, welcome to NPN. This image does convey a strong sense of solitude and even mystery. It does not feel tight on the right to me, if you had the frame edge much further to the right it would create a lot of negative space in the lower right corner, which I think would not help. I like your dark processing of the shadows here, Harley’s comment about people at NPN liking shadow detail is often the case. But with your image, if you look at it long enough to give your eyes a chance to adjust, the shadow detail is there. I don’t think you pushed this too far, I think the processing is perfect for this subject.
Hey Kerry, nice image!
I do agree with the others that I like the dark shadows…but also find that rock to be a little to heavy because of it. So here is a quick phone edit with a bit of cropping and some D&B to move the eye around. Also some toning just for fun:)
Thank you, Harley, for your warm welcome and kind words. I am hoping this is a site where I can get honest, thoughtful feedback that will help me grow as a photographer. I have been one of those guys who has been big on shadow detail but of late, and certainly in this image, my feeling is less is more. My tendency has been to over process and not, in a way, trust my vision. How I would like my images to ultimately be seen is in print form. I guess I’m kind of old school in that respect. I would like my images to have the depth to hold the viewers attention and maybe, if I really get it right, to have them look at it over and over again. So I want my images to be more like the dance of the seven veils, a kind of slow striptease where more is revealed through viewing rather than having everything evident in one 15 second view. At least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it:wink:
Thanks, Preston, for taking the time to offer feedback. I did take your advice and gave the moon a little boost and slightly darkened the shadows on the surrounding clouds. A small thing but I agree that it improves the image. I wanted this image to be almost a silhouette but with just enough detail and contrast to entice the viewer to look further and maybe even come back for a second look.
Thanks for your comments, Igor, Aaron, Ed and Dan. Dan, I appreciate your taking the time to offer another way to approach this image but, as I’ve stated above, the dark, understated approach was intentional and is, I think, more consistent with my vision for this picture.
Welcome to NPN Kerry! Excellent first post. I really like the B&W treatment. I think Dan’s input on the contrast looks good but you loose the silhouettes you were going for.
Welcome to NPN Kerry! No need to be intimidated, we’re a comfortable group here! 
I think this works quite well with the b&w. B&W is most often about light/shadow, contrasts, shapes, etc., but this one also does capture the sense of solitude and silence you experienced and were after in a photograph.
For me, I like this uncropped. I think the shadow line and patterns/contrasts in the water at the bottom really help with the open feeling and sense of space. If anything, I might experiment with opening the shadows a tad in that rock, although the large view opens up nicely. I do like Dan’s dodging and burning, although the URC went a little dark for me. And the suggestion of bumping up the presence of the moon, if just subtly.
Now this is very minor and I call this the border patrol… going around the edges of the frame taking care of any distracting elements. for me, and this is quite minor/picky, There is a light patch in the trees on the left right on the edge of the frame. It’s a little eye magnet that you could easily fill in. That’s pretty picky, but one of those little things that might eventually make a difference when you go to print this.
Welcome aboard!
Lon
Good catch, Lon. I will go back and plug in that light patch. But you’ve also raised a point that certainly is an issue for me in the digital age, namely how the image will be seen vs how I intend it to be seen. The fact is that most people these days view images on their iPhone. That means they will be seeing the image quite small such that subtleties and detail will be lost in the translation. My intention is for my images to be seen as prints or, at the least, on a monitor. Personally, I’m not much interested in instagram or other social media platforms. I’m not a pro and never likely will be so. I’m also an old fashioned kind of guy. I’m not saying this image necessarily merits it, but I would like to create images that ask the viewer to spend some time with it so that everything needn’t be revealed in the first fifteen seconds. So that’s a bit of a dilemma - my intention vs. the reality of how these images will likely be seen online. I can’t see myself doing separate post processing for different venues and hope that, at least some people will take the time to open the image to a reasonable size for viewing. That’s one of the reasons that in this image I like the dark shadows. The detail is there but I’m asking something of the viewer to take a bit of time to take it in.
There in lies the challenge @Kerry_Gordon. Ultimately we can’t control, what or how viewers will see our images. All we can control is how we see our own images and making them the best they can be to our OWN satisfaction. Personally, I have no desire to view a photography website on my phone! If I do, it’s only to read comments, but certainly not to evaluate an image.
Another comment along those lines is that there are no two people who approach or view photographs the same. I personally enjoy the more intimate, chaotic details than I do grand landscapes. Others may be the opposite. But the most important viewpoint is our own.
The two images are so different it’s hard to compare and say which is ‘better’. They say different things. The rework is really excellent, though.
Absolutely love the atmosphere and composition here. I do think the foreground rock and its reflection can do with a slight opening of shadows as it’s so dark that my eyes get stuck there instead of naturally wanting to travel up the scene.