The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
The last couple of years it seems as though I find myself attracted more and more to busy scenes. This image was taken two years ago while visiting Susquehanna SP in MD. Mike and I went back in April of this year hoping the redbud blooms were a little more uniform across the frame; unfortunately that was not the case as they looked really scraggly with few blooms. Maybe next year. I went with the pano format to eliminate some areas toward the top where the sky was poking through as well as getting rid of some brush along the bottom. I wound up standing on the tailgate of my truck as the two redbuds were slightly up the hill and I did not want the camera pointed upward .
Specific Feedback
Does the pano format work for you? How do the greens look? Too busy? I played around with the sliders as the greens looked a little yellow. Anything else you notice please feel free to mention it.
Technical Details
Nikon Z 7, Nikon 24-200 @ 60 mm, f 11 @ 1/25 sec, ISO 100, Kase magnetic CPL, cable release & tripod.
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Ed, this is a great look at early spring in an Eastern Forest. The redbuds stand out well and are distributed nicely throughout the frame. The greens have the brightness of early spring. Have you tried cropping a bit more off the top to make it clear that you meant to clip the redbuds up there? I would also suggest reducing the amount of yellow slightly. That may or may not be an improvement…
Well, scraggly to one person is delicate to another! I think this is a lovely tapestry, and I love that there is almost nothing but leaves through the trees.
It might be interesting to get closer to some of the branches next year and maybe do a short focus stack to cover the blooms and leave the BG soft.
Pretty cool shot for being taken from a parking lot, Ed. I really love the BG of vertical trunks and iridescent green. The two redbuds seem to be reaching for each other at the top. Pano looks good.
The composition looks good from where I sit. There is strong vertical structure in the back and these pink trees spread across the front. In music it would be the bass and the melody. It’s hard not to compare this subject with Eliot Porters image. His greens were far more subdued and more bluish. However when I cool my greens they come out vanish and that’s not what you want here. So I don’t know. On the one hand the two colors complement well. On the other hand yellow being yellow tends to steal the show. And the show is the redbuds.
Busy and messy are par for the course in woodland and forest photography. This is lovely. I like the pano format and the color palette is great. The gray neutral verticals in the BG give the photo a solid foundation and the redbud the zing that captivates and keeps you looking. Well done. My only wish is for the right redbud to be leaning to the left to give the photo some symmetry.
When I looked at this yesterday, my initial thought was it too busy. After a second and more thoughtful look, I find this very appealing. The three distinct layers; redbud, trees, and spring green leaves give the image a strong structure.
Love this! I especially love the color combo with the redbud pink/lavendar contrast against the spring greens.
I was initially thinking it was tight up top, but then I completely understand your restraints with sky and such immediately out of frame - so thanks for disclosing that.
Interesting that this works so well for me given there are two primary redbuds, which sometimes creates a back and forth conflict. Fortuneately these two beauties play beautifully together and almost become a single element.
The only suggestion I have would be to burn down the trunk on the left just enough to match to luminosity of the slimmer trunk on the far right. Not a big deal, but something to consider.
Here is the original file with patches of sky showing through. I forgot to mention that there were a couple of areas that I cloned out some of those patches that were lower in the frame.
I like the framing of the original, but do like that you cropped in from the right just a bit, Both the base and the top feel more comfortable. The sky might be amenable to some cloning, or come in even a bit more from the right to get rid of the bigger piece of sky. Lovely scene amenable to several treatments!
Thats a tough scene to translate from the beauty of what your eyes perceive to an image that works in a photograph. I like what you’ve done. I’ve often wondered, but never tried in situations like this if it would work to extend the tripod to full height, close the legs up, and hold it up as high as you can! It would be hard to keep even images for a pano, but might help get more foreground and less sky in cases like this. I’d like to see more both above the trees and below their canopy, but I understand the constraints you’ve mentioned.
