Yet another take on the forests in and outside Yosemite. This was one of the first images on my way in to the park that wet, rainy excursion back in November.
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.
Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
Pretty straight forward image. Some distance separates the front trees and the background so it’s tecnically not the best being a little soft in back. I had trouble bringing out the background autumn colors and new growth tyring to not go too far, but far enough to notice and help tell the story. The story is pretty clear as well so not sure how compelling this comes across. Too busy?
Sure is sad to spend time in locations like this knowing fire ravaged thru here not too many years ago. Then again, life and the forest lives on…
Thanks for any comments, feedback and suggestions.!
Technical Details
Nikon D800E, 28-300mm @250mm, f/22 .4s iso 100. Single frame.
Powerful!! And sad. And a great documentation and story. Wonderful choice of a group of trunks. The softness in back is perfect, as it makes the gorgeous sharpness in front stand out so well. The tiny branches are amazing. I’ve always wondered how these small branches survive fires the way they do. The bark on the trunks is severely damaged by the heat and the delicate cambrium layer underneath is cooked and the tree dies, but what really burns is the leaves, and somehow the twigs survive. (The second fire that comes through will be a different story, with the amount of matchstick dead wood.)
Hi Lon,
I’m a big fan of your images and your editing. Some of your pictures, which I find very inspiring, I probably wouldn’t have taken at all because I would have just walked past those scenes.
I don’t think so. The main tree trunks stand out very well. And the dead somewhat blurred branches behind it blend well into the background.
Lon, A fine image and also the story behind it. Not at all too busy. I did play a little with your image to try and place the middle tree more too the left by cropping. I didn’t succeed! So my nit is that the middle light tree should be more to the left.IMHO. Now it’s a bit to prominent I think.
I love the colors in the background.
I love this, Lon! This tells a powerful story of the ravages that forests sometimes face and the aftermath of their regeneration. I do not mind the BG being a little soft; in fact I would say that it is perfect; as I think it makes the three FG trees a little more prominent. I am also enjoying those lovely soft greens of the new growth in the BG. Beautifully done; no suggestions from me.
I love the tonal values in this image, Lon. Particularly the two dark trees and the one blonde tree in the middle of the frame. I think the soft background colors add a lot to the image. It certainly tells the story that I think you want told. The rejuvenation ,process seems to be going ahead full force. I LOVE the soft background. I think it adds to the dominance of the three main trees up front and it makes this more painterly being soft in the background. I even like the the leaning tree poking out behind the one black tree trunk on the right. It’s a story that’s sad but also makes me feel hopeful. There is so much new undergrowth that it won’t take long for this to recover. Thanks for sharing, Lon!
I really like this one, Lon. For me I think all the barren limbs or sticks as it were weaving throughout the scene is what works best for me…
Otherwise with just the burned trees it might not hold the same impact.
Looks really fine as is but I might try a slight drop in the lite blue/greenish cast for another look too…
A very fine image of patterns and texture! What stands out to me is the almost mirrored pattern of inward curving branches between the two dark trees on either side of the light tree in the middle. That draws my interest first. The leaning light tree on the right also balances well against the middle light tree. From there my eye travels deeper into the forest. It really tells a story. Well done!
Looking at the small image does nothing for me. I was going to just chalk it up as one of Lon’s infrequent B-roll photos. But then I decided to look at the full size image, and WOW! The lighting on the darker FG tree is so subtle and yet gently wraps around the trunks giving them such depth. The same is true for the branches. It almost makes the trees look plastic, but in a good way if that makes any sense. The background is also subtly lighted and with just enough blur to make them look real and unreal at the same time. An almost surreal rendition of a real aftermath.
Thanks Ben - yeah, I tried various positions of the crop as well. It’s a tough one and I wondered about centering that main trunk.
Keen eye Paul! Interesting I can see that cast when I look at the smaller view in Bridge, but upon opening up and attempting to adjust, it becomes more difficult. ButI for sure see what you mean.
I wasn’t going to disagree Youssef! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
I agree that this is so much better when viewed full size; it would make a wonderful large print. With that said, the mix of in and out of focus in the background is confusing to me. Was there a lot of wind when you took this?
I don’t recall it being windy at all. I expect that what you’re seeing is a result of a large distance between the forward trees and the new growth in the far background. AND all the trees in between. Here is the image of the area I was photographing. The image posted above is a square drop from vertical of a frame that is directly next to the right edge of this frame. But you get the idea of the density of trees all at varying lengths from my vantage point. I’d say from 40-50yrds to at least a quarter mile away in the far background. I don’t know if this explains what you’re seeing, but a single frame at f/22 and those distances; trunks up front pretty sharp, “acceptable focus” as you go further back in to the image.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.