The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
For a few weeks each spring the Columbia Hills in the eastern Columbia River Gorge are a happy place for me. I’ve typically focused on other flowers, but this clump of phlox was growing beside the trail and caught my eye. Wind is typically my biggest enemy in the Columbia Hills, but I was able to catch a small break to take the images I stacked with only a little movement.
Specific Feedback
It was mostly overcast with just a bit of light seeping in from the left. The sky had contrast, but I’ve emphasized it a little for a stormy look. Does the processing look natural to your eye?
Technical Details
NIKON Z 7II
NIKKOR Z 14-30 f/4S at 14.0 mm
1/50 sec. at f/7.1 and ISO 64
10 images focus stacked for DOF
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
This is really nice John and your title made me laugh! What I like most here is the contrast between the colourful flower and vivid green grass against the grey sky. It makes for a striking image. The shadows under the flowers in the foreground, especially in the bottom right may be a bit too dark and make my eyes go there so I would consider lightening them up just a tad.
Hi John, what a beautiful hillside with wonderful flowers and you’ve put me right there looking down at the Phlox and wildflowers. I enjoy overcast days for flowers and deep image compositions. To my eye the processing is natural for the colors of the flowers and plants, not so much for the light conditions though, given the soft cloud cover. But it matters little to me. It’s the different hues of pink, green and yellow that make the hillside slope so engaging. So good job with the processing. Good textures in the sky; but I would open up exposure a smidge more so it does not look too brooding especially on both corners (maybe a vignette was used?) And the focus extends through the far hills, so a great choice and well executed.
The vertical image format is interesting as I don’t spy hardly a one vertical shape in the image. Sitting at my PC I feel I want to put fingers on my monitor and open up and widen those hillsides. The narrow composition works away from enhancing the overall hillsides and rolling terrain. Also the Phlox need some breathing space along the bottom edge although I like the darker green tones surrounding it . Your image gave me a lot to think about regarding some hillside Spring images I am currently working on.
Beautiful colors and composition. The only thing I would do is add space to the bottom and move the flowers towards the center just a smidgeon. I also cropped a bit off the sky but I’m not sure that was necessary. I like the darkness at the bottom because it makes the pinks stand out more. Just a wonderful image and very much a Williamsesque image.
So the name of this photo is great. As to the processing, The sky is perhaps more dramatic than “natural”, but I think it works with the bold colors of the flowers, and the drama of the near-far composition
I’m posting an edit that hopefully moves in the correct direction based on your feedback. I opened the shadows under the phlox just a tad, but also tried to even out the lighting around the rest of them a little. I backed off the sky contrast, hopefully it it appears more congruent with the rest of the photograph. I also did a couple other small tweaks, but nothing major.
The sad thing is I had the real estate to begin with, but got carried away with cropping to focus on the area of interest. I put back in the neglected breathing room.
Thanks for your detailed comments Stephen; that’s an interesting observation. The back story there is that I’d eventually like to have a project of flowers (in landscape scenery ) of the Columbia River Gorge. I typically prefer 4:5 aspect ratio verticals, but the first three images I had for consideration were 2:3 so I’ve been trying to stick with that in subsequent photographs because of @Theo_Bosboom’s thoughts in the Project Critique Guidelines:
It’s easy to get grand views and flowers in the gorge, and while not common it’s not too hard to get days that aren’t too windy. What’s seriously challenging is to get all three at the same time so I doubt I can repeat those images again with a 4:5 ratio, thus the 2:3 vertical.
I know that’s how I feel when I say that to other photographers, so thank you so much for your kind words!
I meant to comment earlier – I think this is gorgeous! The whole image is in 3-D and the variable cloud shadows are wonderful. I love the drama of the original sky. The visual weight of the Phlox counterbalances anything you could do to it.
John, this is lovely. That clump of Phlox is quite the find. The color shifts from the pink Phlox to yellow Balsamroot, to yellow green hills are nicely warm and inviting. The revised version with the tad of extra space at the bottom and slightly reduced drama in the sky look great and fit my expectations for how landscapes under overcast skies should look (nicely saturated colors, lots of detail).
Bonus points for sure with the title! I like the vertical composition. I tend to shoot that way a lot myself. I love the way you’ve got the ravine winding through the image. I do like the added space in the second image, but I tend to like the texture in the sky of your original shot. Great colors!
Thank you @Mark_Seaver and @Paul_Holdorf! I really appreciate the feedback. On the version I posted on my website, I split the difference between those two skies
