The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
We had our first hard freeze on Saturday night. This is a look as some of the ice that formed on my pond with fallen leaves on the bottom providing most of the color. You can also seem some of the trees surrounding the pond reflected as the ice was starting to melt in the sun.
Specific Feedback
I’m enjoying the slight softness of the ice as it has started melting and the distorted tree reflections in the thin layer of liquid water on top of the ice.
Technical Details
R5, 180 mm macro, 1/13 s, f/10, iso 800 tripod and polarizer (minimize blue sky reflections). A 25 shot stack for dof.
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Wonderful abstract here, Mark. The all around ice distortion and leaf coloring’s makes for an excellent abstract. One that could or would make a mind twisting puzzle too…
Beautiful Mark. I can understand the source of color and reflections but what is causing the ice to be rippled? Doesn’t ice freeze smooth on bodies of water?
Beautiful, Mark. I didn’t even notice the tree reflections until I read your comments. I like the softness and tones of this image, though I think you could do a gaudy version that would also be excellent.
Oooh, nice! Your pond is the best. Did you consider brightening the image at all? I could see doing that to bring out the cool reflections more. Here’s my idea - using a curve in PS, hold the darkest bits and raise the rest:
@Youssef_Ismail, I had to double check… . For my small (10 ’ x 6’, oval) pond where there’s constant motion, the ice is not smooth, although the changes are only a couple of mm high. It does get lots of interesting structure as the ice grows and spreads. I don’t know about larger bodies, for something like a skating rink, the small textures may not matter, or the ice might be smoother.
@Bonnie_Lampley, I’m fascinated and delighted with the change in feeling that you’ve achieved. From my dark moody feeling, you turned into a bright happy feeling. I’ve posted an alternative where I did tone curve adjustment in LR. With the expanded histogram, I did have to reduce the saturation a bit.
What I’m enjoying most about these shots is the way the ice sort of softens and blends the colors. If I could have only one of these three, I’d choose the original, with the colors more blended and less emphasis on the ice structure.
. For my small (10 ’ x 6’, oval) pond where there’s constant motion, the ice is not smooth, although the changes are only a couple of mm high. It does get lots of interesting structure as the ice grows and spreads. I don’t know about larger bodies, for something like a skating rink, the small textures may not matter, or the ice might be smoother.