The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
For most of the full (second) day my friends and I spent camping on Mt. Hood recently, there was a very nice stack of lenticular clouds to the northeast of the mountain. A little before noon though, the lenticular stack morphed into this massive donut-shaped cloud. I’ve seen photos of this type of cloud before, but this is the first time I remember seeing one in person.
For comparison, here’s what the clouds looked like about 3:30 pm:
Any recommendations on the crop, or does this seem okay as is? Immediately below this composition the edge of the precipice that plunges into White River Canyon begins to intrude in the lower left corner, and above the sky wasn’t as interesting, so I elected to go with a panoramic format. Rather than switch lenses and crop, I elected to take three landscape format images and blend them together.
I initially processed this darker, running with a bit of a sinister mood, but in the end found this scene to be quite majestic too. I ended up landing with this contrast level and overall brightness to let some of beauty of the land and upper sky come through. Would you recommend different?
Technical Details
NIKON Z 7II
NIKKOR Z 24-200 f/4-6.3 VR at 24.0 mm
1/320 sec. at f/13.0 and ISO 64
Three handheld images blended in Lightroom for field of view.
Critique Template
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John: Got a nice -meter spike from this one. The light on the peak on the B&W is marvelous and the ominous sense certainly comes through. On the color, the cloud is so dominant that my eye kind of stays there but what a magnificent spectacle to see. Many kudos. >=)>
Hi John,
You are hitting on all cylinders right now with these images from your winter backpacking trip and this one is no exception. I love the color version, but the B&W is on a whole different level IMO. That morphing lenticular cloud is so cool and unique looking and that light on Mt Hood is flat out gorgeous. I am also enjoying the range of tones in the scene as well as the pano format. Beautifully done!
What a surreal scene you captured. That torus shaped lenticular cloud is off the charts. The lighting on the Mt. Hood and the overall composition and B&W processing give the photo such a lofty and elegant feel, that titling it with perilous does not seem appropriate. But none the less, awesome work.
Perilous indeed. What a perfect image to go Black and White with. There is terrific contrast and the B&W turns this sooooo moody. I’ve never seen a lenticular cloud do this before. Can you imagine if that doughnut was over the peak of the mountain? Wow! I love the pano format given the circumstances of the terrain and it works really well. Good choice not to go any darker. I think the luminance is just about perfect. What a great trip you and your buddies had. Thankfully you got that storm before you left giving you some beautifully fluffy snow to work with and you certainly took advantage of that.
Spectacular, John. And to think I was there that weekend and didn’t come away with much. No sour grapes though! You all put in the time to really experience the mountain and get this scene.
I love the the light on the mountain and agree that the luminance is perfect. I do feel pulled to the right, and it’s weird because, you know, mountain to the left, cool cloud to the right. The composition should feel fairly balanced, but I found that by cutting the smallest bit off the right side (you might be able to trim more) it felt more balanced. Not sure it’s better though, as we lose some of the cloud rays.
I don’t do much pano stuff (just with the iPhone, really), so I’m not sure how the stitching works, but if it is possible to stitch the whole scene ever so slightly less wide, I think the image would feel less divided. Of course, I see no evidence of stretched trees or snow patches on the ridge to the right, so I’m not sure it’s even advisable. It’s a massive mountain, and you’re on its flanks shooting a massive cloud to its north, so there’s only so much less division you can get in the frame.
And of course, it’s absolutely amazing as is, so I’m just looking to offer something other than O M G!
ML
Wow !!! What an interesting image. The Composition and the Tone is so cool !!! The Sky really grabs the eye and makes a statement. You captured your vision and then some !!!
WOW! What a scene! I´m jealous!
It is a great picture. I wonder what if going even a bit more wide, meaning to crop a bit from the top.
Initially, i thought the ridgeline on the right is a bit dark, but with a second look, I think you nailed it. I love the tonality.
John, wow, what a fine combination of lenticular clouds and high cirrus. I like the long ridge leading in from the right and how bright the mountain is. There is definitely an ominous feeling here. Just out of curiousity, was the wind perpendicular to the view or was it coming in at an angle from the upper left?
Stunning. As to your questions, composition and processing look great to me. Wouldn’t it have been cool if the photo gods put the donut hole right over Mount Hood? I would like to see the color version, if possible.
Excellent image John! I love the composition with the long ridge with the cloud over it. I did like Marylynne’s suggestion of a very slight crop off the right. I also might suggest a crop off the top to eliminate some sky. This creates a more “panoramic” proportion that lends itself to the composition and makes it less weighted to the bottom of the image. It also makes the mountain more prominent in the scene to my eye. Very nicely seen!
I had to enlarge the image to truly appreciate it. That cloud is incredible. I feel like your composition is about as perfect as it gets and the processing is pretty much spot on. If it were mine I’d probably try to push the highlights in the cloud just a touch further to create more contrast. Excellent work!
-meter spike from this one. The light on the peak on the B&W is marvelous and the ominous sense certainly comes through. On the color, the cloud is so dominant that my eye kind of stays there but what a magnificent spectacle to see. Many kudos. >=)>