The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
While at Snow Canyon State Park in southwestern Utah, I enjoyed getting out early for sunrise and was blessed with cloud on most days I was there in mid October. Unlike most of the national parks, you can hike with dogs. My dog, Sawyer, loves to explore as much as I do. We hiked up this large rock formation just before sunrise. These two large, flat red sandstone rock formations along with the small puddle caught my eye.
Specific Feedback
I liked the triangular shape of the subjects. In hindsight, I probably should have left more space at the bottom. ( I always try to tell myself to shoot the scene wider, at 50MP, you can always crop out the foreground; but I forget at times.) Additionally, re the color, is it too red? i know I was in red rock territory, however, too much of the same thing… Then again, the sky has some blues and yellows. I tend to use vignettes on most of my images. Used a subtle amount on this image. Thoughts on the vignette.
Technical Details
Nikon Z8 24-220mm @ 40 mm 1/60 sec f/8 ISO 1000 Edited in LR/PS
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Hi Gary,
This American SW landscape has a nice mix of warm and cool tones and those two mounds do make for a uniquely shaped element in the scene. I also like those touches of warmth from the sunrise in those clouds. It would have been nice to have a little more at the bottom; which you already mentioned. IMHO that little area along the middle right edge of the frame disrupts the flow of all that beautiful red rock. I hope you do not mind, but here is a rework with a little more canvas on the bottom and a crop from the right. Just my opinion of course and this may not be your vision for the image. Anyway; beautifully done.
Hi, @gDan52! I live in Moab and have spent a fair amount of time wandering around the St. George area and I can say with full conviction that the rocks in your photo are not “too red”. I’m always shocked at how colorful they are in mid-day and then at the edge of light, they are even more intense. This looks like pre-sunrise light and the colors are spot on. As you mentioned, the pool is a little too close to the bottom of the frame but that’s truly a nitpick of an otherwise outstanding image.
Gary, in addition to those two “rock humps” what also caught my eyes here is the transition from horizontal to vertical. The colors look fine. The only place I notice the vignette is the upper right corner. What I do see in the large view is that the vertical formations look just a touch soft, so I’d suggest a smaller aperature to get those nicely sharp as well.
Gary: Exploring Utah more extensively is on my to do list and this image piques my interest even more. Plus another first impression I had was that it would be great to shoot this scene from an aerial viewpoint and since this is a state park there may not be the drone restrictions of the national parks. It’s still amazing to me how effective AI can be in adding canvas. I think your final iteration checks all my boxes. Nicely done. >=))>
I think everyone has nailed my thoughts on this image so I won’t reiterate all of them. My only thought for next time is to explore the puddle. By that, I mean get right on top of it because you would have had a beautiful reflection had you placed your camera right over the puddle and then those foreground rocks would really pop. You’d have to use a wide angle to make it work and I don’t know if you have one but next time explore those puddles. They are little treasure chests.
