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Questions to guide your feedback
Did I handle the light breaking through the fog correctly…and, is it too busy?
Other Information
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Image Description
This was taken a bare three months after one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded - chaos abounded, especially in nature.
I shot this as a calming antithesis to the chaos that surrounded everything in the hurricane’s path. We lost well over 150,000 trees. To me, there is even beauty in everything; you just have to look for it’s presence.
The light filtering into the mist signaled a new beginning, the cliche it may be and the new growth on the far bank spoke of nature’s desire to live. It was quite an emotional moment for me and while others might just pass this image by, I HAD to take the shot. It’s been almost six years since it was taken and only now that I’ve tackled the editing.
Critique Template
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My first impression is that I definitely like it. I like the reflection and the overall mood the photo sets. It’s also busy, and at first glance I am wondering if the crop at the top is too much. Perhaps more sky would make it look less busy?
The light is gorgeous! I’d say you handled it very well. The way the light fades from the ULC down to the LRC is great.
While this is a busy scene with all those little branches, the strong verticals of the main trunks give enough structure to offset the busy-ness (IMO). I wouldn’t crop anything off - you want the sky at the top to tell us that the sun is up there and about to break through the fog.
Two little things I see are the stronger blue patch in the LRC and the overall noise. It might be worthwhile to desaturate the blue patch a bit so it’s not so prominent right there on the edge of the frame.
Looking at this at 100%, I see a lot of noise. You could probably eliminate that with one of the super de-noise actions in PS or other software.
Anyway, this is really wonderful.
P.S. Just read your comments. I wouldn’t have guessed that this was after a hurricane, but then I’ve never been to the bayous so I don’t know what they normally look like. It looks like a winter scene to my California eyes. And I agree with you that one can find beauty everywhere. After one of our big fires here, I found solace in photographing the resultant destruction (in nature only, not peoples’ homes).
First, thank you for your comments. Unfortunately, more sky meant enormous powerlines that with the plethora of limbs, a near impossibility of realistic removal. Also, in part, this was about the aftermath of the storm which again, unfortunately in another way, reflected the tremendous loss of vegetation.
Thanks, Bonnie; I too also loved the “tenderness” of the light. The noise you see is actually the misty fog which was almost droplets. I ran it heavily through On1’s Noise reduction program. Further reduction meant a loss of sharp lines in the tree limbs that I felt the image needed to show the strength and resilience of nature when confronted by such enormous winds (top speeds recorded were at 205mph).
Your images are often intriguing and this is one such image. I found the dark branches at the bottom detracting from what I find the statement to be. I would recommend this crop.
A lovely and captivating image, Chris. But I have to say, my first impulse when I viewed this was to crop it exactly as @Igor_Doncov has. The pano crop is gorgeous. I just don’t think the reflections are that interesting especially compared to the subtly magnificent light on the trees above the waterline, which is where I would want to direct the reader’s eyes.
This is wonderful Chris; congrats on the EP. I too agree with the above consensus that the reflection is too much, but I like more of it than @Igor_Doncov’s crop. I’m more in line with @richard27 that more at the top (tilting the camera up a bit?) would be a sweet spot.
Chris, this is marvelous. Congrats on the EP.
I agree that your reflection might be too much, but I’d like more of it than Igor suggested.
A magical and mystical image.
Unfortunately, going up would have resulted in a mess of powerlines, far too difficult to remove successfully. (I tried.) I’ve played with the suggested crop several times and am still not as happy with it as leaving it as is. I’ll come back to it in a month and revisit. I very much appreciate the EP but mostly appreciate each response I’ve gotten on this image. Thank you, all.
