The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This image was made later the same morning, just a few minutes down the road from where I shot the last photo I posted. Originally, I had planned to simply scout this small lake for a future visit, but when I arrived, the sun had started breaking through the clouds and the light still had a beautiful, golden quality to it and it was just too good to pass up. Shooting here isn’t easy; access to the lake’s shoreline is really limited, with only one small spot that offers a clear view of the water and mountains. Fortunately, that one spot was all I needed. I set up my tripod, shot a few frames and then got out my little foam seating pad and sat down for a while to take in the view and breath the cool, fresh, mountain air.
Specific Feedback
Please let me know if you spot anything that I missed or could have done better - both with the composition or with my processing.
Technical Details
Canon 5D mark 4
Canon 45mm TS-E lens - tilted for max DOF
1/20 sec at f/11, ISO-100
polarizing filter to cut through the reflection on the water to better show the rocks below
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Beautiful scene with some very rich light. I really like the crisp clean air as well allowing all the detail to come through, so characteristic of the early morning atmosphere. The color balance, while nice just seems off in the water as compared to the land and sky. Seems a bit yellow to my eye. I like it overall but wonder if the yellow was backed off just a bit that it would seem more balance.
Thank you for your comment @Youssef_Ismail ! The water in this lake has a sort of greenish colour to it so I suspect it’s throwing the colour in the entire image. I think I’ll take this back in to Photoshop and try a few more adjustments to see what can be done with it.
Aren’t reflections terrific? You have a nice image here, but there’s a lot going on. Since i’m not a fan of blue skies that create rogue highlights, I cropped the image from the top and did some cloning in the URC. The foreground rocks add interest and enhance the framing of the image. I agree that the saturation of the yellows could be toned down a stitch .
Thanks for the feedback @Larry_Greenbaum , it’s much appreciated.
I brought the image back into Photoshop and using a curves layer, hopefully improved the look of the yellows in the image. Personally, I like it much more than my original version.
What an incredible scene! It may only be average spectacular for the mountains up there, but for me – well, I’d probably still be sitting there. I love the way the FG rocks meet the cloud reflections and their layer of brown echoes the mountains. Beautifully composed with wonderful balance of elements. I think the WB tweak is good.
And what a perfect subject for a TS-E lens! I had the 17mm for years but it was just too soft in the corners below about f/10. I’ve had the 24 on my semi-wish list ever since. How do you find the 45?
These days it’s so easy to shoot panos that the shift seems hardly necessary, but tilt is so much better than focus stacking if there is any wind.
Thank you @Diane_Miller! When I was younger, like in my late teens, I took the mountains here totally for granted. They were just there.. kind of just in the background. Fortunately as I grew older I started to appreciate them more and more and now I just can’t get enough of them. Kind of reminds me of a quote from Jack London who once said - “He lacked the wisdom, and the only way for him to get it was to buy it with his youth; and when wisdom was his, youth would have been spent buying it.”
I bought my 45mm lens 18 years ago and I still use it a lot - actually I use it more now than before as find my vision shifting from wide angle to a bit more in the normal range. The lens isn’t the best (they say) and I thought about upgrading it to the newer 50mm TS-E but that lens is very hard to get a hold of and is expensive. The 45mm suffers from chromatic aberration but with today’s software that’s now a non-issue. It’s also supposedly not the sharpest but I shoot mine almost exclusively at f/11 or f/13 so it’s fine for me. Recently I tried running a few of the photos from this lens through Topaz Photo AI’s sharpen algorithm and it sharpens the images up nicely.
Thanks, Tom – good to know about the 45. But I’m probably too lazy to use a TS-E that much.
Great quote! We just sent a birthday card to a friend that shows the view down a modern highway with a lane sign pointing ahead that says “Older and Wiser.” Next to it is an off-ramp sign that says “Young and Stupid.” I almost think I might take the off ramp…
Beautiful “reflectionscape”! Excellent near/far composition. I think you’ve got the balance between top and bottom just right - and I’m glad you didn’t go with a 50/50 split. The foreground rocks provide a great starting point allowing you great depth in this image. The light/clouds of course are just spectacular.
I would agree with Youssef about the color/white balance in the water. Much improved on the repost. You might even tweak a bit more . In fact this looks like a bit of a balancing act in terms of color/WB. I ended up with 2 gradient masks in ACR to cool the water (and increased contrast slightly with dehaze). Then for the non-reflection, I reduced the magenta using the Tint slider. The magenta wasn’t that strong, but when you start moving color balance around in just half the image, then that triggers other adjustments to the other half. Well, that’s what I found. Of course the great news is that these are just tweaks - and personal choice ones at that. You’ve captured and created a beautiful scene and small tweaks are just icing on the cake.
This is a gorgeous scene and wonderfully composed. The color tweaks that @Lon_Overacker did look nice.
OK, kids, here is something to remember: Reflections are always darker than that which is being reflected because the water absorbs some of the light incident upon it and the water, being a mirror, the image is actually formed below the surface of the water.
In this image, it’s most obvious in the reflection of the dark hill on the left. I think that if you want the image to look truly natural you might look into darkening the reflection a bit.
Hi Tom,
Sorry I am late to the party; I somehow missed this beautiful image on the first go-round. Talk about serendipity; being in the right place at the right time. I do not blame you for sitting for a while and soaking up the surroundings as that would have been my reaction as well. The view is breathtaking and I love the way you filled up the frame; first with the rocks, then the reflection, followed by the mountains and all topped off with those wonderful clouds. My only suggestion would be to slightly darken the reflection. Very nicely done!
Lon, I really like what you did with the image and it’s definitely an improvement. I’m going to update my “master file” with this changes right away - before I forget
Preston, you’re right about the reflection being too bright and I’m going to address as well.
This is outstanding, @Tom_Nevesely. One of your best in recent history, IMHO. The light and conditions are so perfect, and your composition ties everything together neatly. I love that the reflection is ever so slightly disturbed as it adds a nice little element to the image. Lovely image!
