Any pertinent technical details: Pentax K5, Sigma APO DG 4/100-300mm @180mm, ISO400 1/500s f/5.6.
About a year ago I spent a couple of days in Poland, to watch and photograph White-tailed eagles. There are plenty of them in the Stepnica region, near the border with Germany, where the Oder river forms a wide estuary before ending in the Baltic Sea.
Apart from the spectacular eagle hunting scenes, I loved the wild shores. From the boat, we had nice views of the river banks. This is one of them.
I like the movement of the leaves in the wind and the contrast of the light orange-brown spots on the trees, where the bark has been removed (beaver activity and water erosion), but the scene is also rather chaotic. So any comments on the scene are very welcome. Do you think that the image is too chaotic? Some might like to see the branches and leaves blurred (longer exposure), but a long exposure would have resulted in a fuzzy shot because of the movement of the boat.
Shoot at it!
Han, I like the color of the trees and the light you have in this scene. But I do think it is a bit chaotic, especially in the upper half of the image. To me the most interesting elements of these trees are their trunks near the river bank, and not the leaves and branches near the top. I think a panoramic crop would eliminate some of the chaos, and focus the viewer more on the interesting shapes of the tree trunks. I would suggest something like this…
Han, I like Ed’s crop suggestion. It nicely tightens the comp and really emphasizes the heart of the image, the river and trunks. In the OP, I find my eye kind of wandering and not seeing much. With the crop, I move through the image well, finds and enjoying the various detail.
Yeah, a little chaotic, but I’m liking this. Mostly for the soft, muted color, bigger “shapes” and the gentle light. There’s enough tree structure to keep the viewer interested, but perhaps not so much to anchor to. although the snapped off broken trunk on the river’s edge is a bit of an eye magnet.
In the larger view I can see the softness in the leaves indicating the movement in the wind you described.
For me, I’d go with the original, uncropped. As Preston mentions, I’m torn with the water. Either need to see more, or none at all. In fact, if I were to crop, it might be to simply eliminate the water. But then I’m not sure if that’s an improvement or not.
There’s a bit going for it, but almost wishing there was a bit more structure, repeating pattern, etc. But there’s something that makes me still like this.
Thanks everyone. Interesting to read the different visions. @Preston_Birdwell: I can’t test your suggestion of more water, the raw file has no more than the jpg An omission that can’t be repaired. @Lon_Overacker: it never occurred to me to eliminate the water. But I like the image that results. The impression of a river bank is gone, but the image pleases me.
About cropping away the upper part of the image: I see the point. And it is a bit less chaotic. Somehow, however, for me the trees look “cut off”, as a portrait with an arm cut off. Maybe I should play a bit more with the possible crops.
An omission that can’t be repaired.