Strong winds blowing across the ridge only left a gentle dusting of snow and ice on the landscape. None of the trees really stood out to me in the moment, so I decided to go for a more abstract composition.
Specific Feedback Requested
Does the image feel too busy to you?
What do you think about the color and contrast?
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Single exposure @ 38mm | f11 | ISO 640 | 1/100s
I used luminosity masks to darken the background considerably and added a subtle orton effect to the highlights.
martinmaier_photography
1 Like
This is a beauty, Martin. I love the color palette, the mystical and wintry vibe, and the composition is very pleasing.
I love busy compositions, this one included, and I don’t find it too chaotic at all. The one simplification that I think could help this image would be to clone out some of the dead grasses in the foreground (especially left side). It does distract the eye a bit and I think if your lovely arrangement of icy trees was suspended above that thin strip of a mostly pure looking snow, it might help the image sing a bit more clearly.
Also, personally I prefer the softness of your edit…but if you wanted to ramp up the visual impact I think you could go a bit further in darkening the background, if you were interested in more drama (the full GOT treatment!). But that is personal taste. I wouldn’t, however, suggest photoshopping in any White Walkers! 
1 Like
Thank you very much Sean! 
I have tidied up the foreground a bit more now. You were right, it was a bit too distracting. Not sure if I’ll add white walkers though 
Cheers!
1 Like
Hi Martin,
It is a lovely photo. This is the style of photographs I prefer. Why don’t you try to darken even more the sky, this would add further emphasis to the trees and create some drama in a peaceful scene.
You would obtain a photograph with a “Jean-Paul Lemieux” painter’s style (a famous Canadian painter from Quebec you now see in museum).
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/fr/article/jean-paul-lemieux
BTW, it is my first reply at NPN as I’m a new member 
Yvan
1 Like
Welcome to NPN Yvan and thank you for the feedback.
The layermask is not perfect thb and the image breaks down if I push the background beyond -1 stops. I quite like the calm nature of the image anyhow, no need to add further drama IMHO 
1 Like
You’re right, the image is superb as is ! I was curious to see if adding more drama would increase its impact. It would obviously change the mood.
I sometimes use soft grad ND filters in the field to darken the sky in winter landscapes. This allows for a damper ambiance. Here is an example made in a rainy day of winter.
Neuville 2017 02 25 0196_4x6|690x460
Nice shot Yvan 
I stopped using graduated filters myself, because at the end of the day it is a destructive workflow. Most of the time I can get away with a single/bracketed exposure anyway and do the rest in post. But I know that this is just a matter of personal preference.
I guess a polarizer could have helped my image but I was too preoccupied with keeping warm I guess
