Updated:
I just arrived at Salton Sea State Park early in the day before the strong winds that were forecast to start later in the morning. I found this area of the water very quiet and peaceful. The new snow on the San Jacinto mountains from a recent storm added to the scene. Only a few birds were just starting to come in with this Coot already there.
Type of Critique Requested
- Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
- Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.
- Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
Feedback welcome. I do wish I had rotated or backed up to get more of the sea on the left side.
Technical Details
R6m2 RF 100-400 w/1.4x extender. at 140mm 1/160 f/18 iso 200.
1 Like
Dean,
Very nice layered landscape image. I do get the feeling of quiet and peaceful. Also, I get that feeling that perhaps many photographers get - that feeling of warmth after standing in the pre-dawn cold awaiting sunrise… then after the sun is up how everything begins to warm up. Of course by then much of the photography was over. I think this is right at that point - and as you mentioned you captured this before the winds came.
I like the presence of the coot. Small in the frame, yet so much of the story.
Sure, it might have been nice to have additional, unbroken water/sea on the left -OR as the case goes, you either want more, or none at all. But I don’t see any crop options without putting the coot in a bad spot.
Even though the midground is pretty dominant, I think there is good balance all the way around. Even down to the wee bit of clouds, they add to the scene.
Only minor suggestion would be a slight color change in the dark, forested part of the mountain top. A little blue/cyan, but that’s getting really picky. Oh, maybe burn down the brigher bush on the right edge. Otherwise, looks good!
Lon
Thank you for the feedback, @Lon_Overacker. I made a minor change with the bright green brush on the very right side. I just used a soft selection and used curves in PS to lower the brightness just a little bit. I also used the color range selection on the top of the mountains and just added light to help remove the strong blue in the very top of the mountains. With mountains in general, I always use the curves in PS and set two points. In this case I set one near the snow and one in a mid-range color of the mountains. Curves can change color, so I always use luminance for blending mode. Still sometimes the color seems to change, but maybe it just appears that way because it is darker. New image on top of this post.
