The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Been a bit absent as of late being swamped at the day job, although I did manage a couple of days in… go figure, Yosemite. Despite the crazy weather, imminent flooding and constant threat of rock slides… I had to get away.
I also had the chance to play with the Nikon Z7ii, renting it for a week along with the Nikon 24-200mm. Quite happy with the results and operation - more later!
Specific Feedback
During this trip I experimented with a couple of new (to me) ICM movements. Here the camera isn’t actually moved until just after pressing the shutter; in other words, the motion does not start before the shutter is released. This actually allows the reality of the scene to be captured, plus the addition of motion. I thought this looked pretty cool with the dogwood blossoms.
I’m mostly interested in processing and specifically I’m unsure about the color and color cast.
Your comments and feedback always appreciated.
Technical Details
Nikon Z7ii with 24-200mm @150mm, f/18 1/4s handheld single frame
Nice, Lon! That technique to get some “fixed” elements in the scene along with the moving elements give appealing results. I love that we can see some of the smaller horizontal branches of the dogwoods. The raining blossoms is cool. The colors look fine to me, although I could see pulling up the midtone exposure a bit. Just to give the greens more life - make it more springlike.
Oh, this is just so cool!! I think there are endless possibilities for tweaking colors and tonalities but the subtle colors here work very well for me.
That’s a technique I’ve tried quite a bit, but I have a very low percentage of good results with it. I see you also did a swipe up here, which is also one I’ve found low percentage, but you pulled off both techniques so well here. I love the variations in the shapes of the vertical trunks, and that and the horizontal elements evokes bamboo for me.
I really like this image, @Lon_Overacker. This is a different technical approach but similar that I was attempting with one of my wind-blur images I posted a few weeks ago; capturing a sense of movement, while keeping something discernable as a visual anchor. I like the way you executed that aesthetic here. I also like the color tone just fine; the more subtle jade feel is really appropriate for this scene.
Hi Lon,
it’s good to have you back. We missed you already.
Wow, your picture looks amazing as always. I love the painterly look and the subtle color palette.
You really created the illusion that the flowers are just falling off the tree.
I have never tried ICM, except for panning with the waves on the beach. Since I joined NPN and see these inspiring pictures, I always take it upon myself to try it out. But when I’m out in the field, I forget to do it.
How exactly do you imagine the result when you are shooting? Are you surprised when you shake your camera and look at the LCD screen afterward? Or do you have a certain look in mind before you press the shutter button?
Welcome back Lon! You’ve been missed. This is a great result. The raining dogwoods make the image for me. It’s cool to see an impression of the branches as a result of your technique. The colors look good to me. Perhaps just a slight bump in vibrance. Not noticing any color cast.
Jens, the ICM technique is also not my “go-to” mode when out shooting - but over time you come to learn and recognize scenes and situations where the technique might work. And to you question,
This is probably the biggest beef and detractor of the ICM technique; it’s random and results cannot be predicted. So one actually doesn’t or can’t see or imagine the results ahead of time. Hard to explain, but viewing that very first attempt of a scene can be a very pleasing surprise; and because of the instant results you know whether or not it’s a situation to continue persuing with different motions, SS, etc.
And again, over time one can have a “certain look” in mind because you know different motions produce; and while you can’t predict the result, you kinda know the type of image you’re going to get. And in this case I had not done a “stop-start” kind of motion before and I remember my reaction was, “wow, that’s cool!”
Thanks for asking! I’ll be posting the straight image in Landscape soon.
“Raining Dogwood” is a good title, although, “Snowing Dogwood Blossoms” might fit better since they look a little more like snow flakes but it doesn’t roll of the tongue as well.
This isn’t the sort of image I go out for specifically but I have done a few just for kicks.
I’ve used the technique of press the shutter, then move the camera simply because I like to have a little definition.
Interestingly, I’ve found that brighter elements work best, in fact, darker elements rarely show much blur at all, many times the darker elements are ghostly or semi-transparent. This image demonstrates that pretty well, notice that the darker horizontal branches aren’t really blurred, they are closer to semi-transparent while the white blossoms show up as spectacularly blurred streaks.
Reading @Jens_Ober’s comment and question, maybe he is interested in this bit of information for future reference.
You mentioned the color cast, Dogwood blossoms usually have a natural green hue in the petals but some are more white so it depends on what you want or prefer.
This image shows a slight green cast on the blossoms but it looks natural to me.
I’m glad you were able to go to Yosemite anyway and glad you had the chance to try out the Z7ii.
I’ve been using mirrorless since 2014 and I can’t imagine going back to DSLR.
Very appealing image, Lon!
Looking forward to seeing the Non-ICM of this whenever you decide to post it
