Concerned the green is over saturated
Overall composition and appeal
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
Canon M5, Canon EFM 15-45mm F-3.5/6.3 IS STM
@28mm, 1/320 @ F-5 ISO 400 HH
John,
I think the overall composition is quite good; you’ve showcased the emerging spring of the forest floor. I like that the bg forest comes across as a single element, “the forest” rather than a mass or random trees. The diagonal of the fallen log works well too, as do the long shadows. All working together.
Processing looks quite chunky though; contrast pretty high, shadows blocked out. Can’t tell if it’s over sharpened, or just too much contrast. And to that, it’s not helping to judge the color or saturation. I think the greens in the upper half might be a bit oversaturated, but then again it could be the contrast. At least for me, I think the processing is a bit over done.
Looks like decent details and dof, especially given shot at f/5 and hand held.
Lon
Thank you Leon, I will try to tone down the green.
John
John, your composition is wonderful, and your choice of timing presented great light. I agree with most everything Lon mentioned, but would add one thing. The sky showing through the trees really distracts IMHO, as does the little bit of the downed tree sticking out of the bottom frame. I downloaded it and cropped most of the sky out and then cloned the remaining sky out, then using TKs masks, I dodged Darks 5 & 4 @ 100%, and dodged darks 3 @ 20-35% depending on location. I also played with the green saturation, lessening it a bit. I hope it didn’t kill your idea.
This is quite an interesting project. I love the light in this shot, and the way the shadows of the trees cut across the fallen log. The contrast is too high, though (looking at the histogram, the shadows are totally blocked). If you did increase the contrast during processing, that could explain why this is so saturated. Increasing contrast will increase saturation, too. If you want the contrasty look, you might consider desaturating at least the greens/yellows.
What kind of mood do you want to strike with this series? The mood of this one is harsh, because of the high contrast and blocked shadows. Bill’s rework, on the other hand, feels more hopeful, because he reduced the contrast and brought out the beautiful light. Deciding on a mood (if you haven’t already) will guide your processing decisions.
Thank you for your comments and question. Not sure if I have the right answer as to what mood I wanted to show.
