After a round of below zero temperatures, I found these icicles hanging from a rock along the Atlantic ocean in Westport, MA. The boulder they are hanging from is maybe about 5 or 6 feet high, but the tides are high enough here that at high tide the boulder is mostly submerged, which means they can get some interesting ice formations. The larger icicles in the front are 2 or 3 feet long.
I am not adverse to including sun-stars in an image but do feel they have to serve a useful purpose. Here I think the sun-star helps by showing the light source of the backlit icicles. I also like how the sun rays point towards the icicles as well…
Specific Feedback Requested
any constructive critique or comments are welcome
Technical Details
Is this a composite: Yes
This image is a blend of 4 exposure brackets, using Lightrooms Merge to HDR function to create a DNG file with expanded dynamic range. I processed the DNG file using Lightroom and the new masking tools.
Good one, Ed. Love the light coming through the icicles and the sun in the background. Great warm cool look and feel. I might be inclined to crop a bit off the right as shown?
Burrrrrrrrr. I absolutely love the pinkish-orange tones on the ice lighting up. In fact it’s by far my favorite part of this image. You have a really nice sun burst and cool-warm color tones throughout. I find that I like @Harley_Goldman edit and crop and took it one step further. It’s drastic so I hope you don’t mind but the more I looked at Harley’s crop the more I felt like the right hand side was too heavy and I really thought of showcasing those icicles that were lit up with color. I also thought that the left side didn’t have a lot to showcase compared to the right side so I copped to a portrait view where I took a bunch off the top to make it less centered and also cropped from both sides. I think for me this showcases the really beautiful hanging icicles with the light going through them in a more intimate view. I also changed the hue and the temperature ever so slightly just in the icicles to give them a little more attention. I added 6 points of temperature and 9 points of hue to the jpeg. Take this all for a grain of salt or throw it out all together. Beautiful capture nonetheless. Wish I was there to see this unfold but I’m rather enjoying looking at this in the warmth of my home, LOL
thanks @David_Haynes, I think your crop really gets to the heart of the image, and I like your subtle color tweaks too. I got so fascinated with the large mass of icicles that I did not see this tighter comp too, I wish I had also done that in the field. When it’s 5 below, your brain runs slower
I believe you got here a beautiful scene, but for some reason is not working for me.
I understand your idea of getting the Sun and Sun rays on the pictures, but for me those elements are competing with your main subject; the icicles and the beautiful light on it. My two cents.
Ed, the backlit glow color in the icicles is marvelous. The icicles themselves are excellent, as is the sunstar. I do think that the vertical crop is the best combination of the three elements. Yes, when your hands will barely operate the camera, it’s hard to stop and contemplate what would make the best shot! I’ve stood in YNP at -10 with my hands in my pockets warming them enough for the next shutter press…I’m now thinking about buying reusable handwarmers for such occasions.
@Mark_Seaver@David_Haynes@Harley_Goldman@joaoquintela@Izzy
thank you all for comments, I appreciate hearing your thoughts. I think I got some helpful comments on this image, it is always valuable to hear the insights of others. I only wish I had thought of David Haynes crop while in the field, I think my composition works okay, but I like Davids idea better. Not only were my fingers nearly frozen off, but to get close enough to this boulder to get this shot, I had to very carefully navigate across a 20 foot wide patch of icy cobble rocks each about 3 or 4 inches wide. Even with mini-crampons, it was still a place I didn’t want to linger in. Normally I would try bracketing compositions, but this was a risky enough shooting spot that I wanted to get out as soon as I could.
Thanks Joao, no problem, the whole point of critique is to listen to other people’s ideas and suggestions. Just to follow up on your comment a bit further, would you have preferred to see some sky with no sun in it, or would you have preferred for me to change the angle of view and just concentrate on the icicles with no sky? I’m just curious, and I’m always open to ideas.
I believe, and this is very easy to say sitting on my living room, that one step to your left, panning the camera to your right - so, excluding the sky, would be my “natural” choice…
Thanks Ed. I’ve been there when my hands were so cold I couldn’t feel the shutter button at all. The brain is also dealing with lots of uncomfortable things in conditions like this that don’t make it conducive to thinking clearly, like trying not to fall if you change positions. Nevertheless, I think your original is very good and with Harley’s crop is even better.
Dang this looks cold, Ed! I know these are brutal shooting conditions and the body and mind just does not want to stay there for to long; so kudos for braving the elements and pulling this off. For my tastes the sun-star works perfectly and directs the eye to the luscious warm glow on those icicles hanging from the boulder. I do like @David_Haynes crop as it simplifies an already beautiful image down to just the basic elements; which for me are the sun-star and the combination of warm and cool tones of the icicles. Thanks for sharing this with the rest of us.
