The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Springtime means Wild Garlic Season. I am fortunate that a nearby forest is a pure wild garlic paradise. Since the flowering period is brief, you must take every opportunity to enjoy the spectacle. It looks beautiful, you see these white flowers in all directions, and the whole forest smells of wild garlic.
This shot was taken last week in the late afternoon.
Specific Feedback
Finding a pleasing in woodlands is often challenging. Especially when you can not move freely because of the beautiful flowers between the trees. I donāt want to stomp on this floral splendor for my photos.
So this composition is kind of a compromise. I would have liked to move my tripod a bit further to the right, but either other trees were in the way or I would have had to sacrifice wild garlic flowers.
What bothers me the most is the tree at the right edge.
What do you think? Does the composition work for you?
Is there anything I could improve regarding contrast or colors?
Jens, this is another very appealing view of the garlic carpeted forest!
I was wondering in your first post of these if the scent was strong or even noticeable, so thanks for adding that bit of information so I could imagine the scene on a new level.
I actually like the scent of garlic which means that my wife doesnāt have to shy away after eating it.
The leaning tree at the upper right doesnāt bother me, if it really bothers you, you could crop on the right and top using the same ratio but in my view, itās not needed because it doesnāt stand out in a distracting way.
Cropping as mentioned might put the log on the floor too close to the LRC though.
I like the separation between the floor of garlic and the BG trees, the slight color and luminance change is subtle, yet defining.
The only suggestion I have is to clone out the larger, dark horizontal branch coming from the leaning tree at the top right of the image. Thatās kind of minor though.
Wonderful composition and Iām sure you were excited that the weather was perfect for this series!
Oh yeah, being in a lot of wild garlic smells like crazy. If you get down in there, it comes off on your clothes. A lot of the time I smell them before I see them.
I really like this shot, Jens. The lighter green of the far trees contrasts beautifully with the darker garlic. And the flowers are so evenly spread - wow, you didnāt clone a bunch did you? LOL. The far tree works for me and I think thatās partly because of the sump just in front of it. Somehow they balance and seem like a specific choice. It is hard to get separation of trees and you did admirably well here. Do you have an angle that separates the nearest tree with the one near the stump? That may have introduced more problems, so donāt sweat it. What a gorgeous little bit of forest. I can practically smell it.
Another gorgeous image from the garlic forest! this is beautiful. Now it doesnāt have the striking, warm light as your previous image - but there doesnāt have to be. Youāve got some beautiful back lighting and diffused light throughout the forest.
This is beautifully framed as well. I also am not bothered by the tree in the UR. Do I wish it was more vertical and then had space to breath? Sure. But the good news is that the trees are leaning in every which direction and so I think it all balances out.
My only suggestion really would be to raise the shadow detail - at least in the larger left tree trunk. Yeah, I realize the backlighting situation. And actually, after looking again at the large view, itās not a lack of detail and you wouldnāt want it unnaturally lighter. But I realized that was I was looking for was a bit more contrast. Maybe it was too dark in RAW, and you raised the shadows already? But Iām only guessing. A minor point to be sure.
Haha, it sounds like you have come to an agreement. The problem does not arise with my wife and me. We both like to eat garlic.
Good point. Iāll give it a try and see how it works.
Yes, I was glad to have had the opportunity to go out at the right time. The weather wasnāt really good the last weeks. So I caught a day on which the wild garlic season and the good weather overlapped.
Yes, I can confirm that. My pants still smelled suspiciously at home. I could not deny where I had been.
Now youāve got me.
Here is a short video that shows the environment. But itās not exactly the same spot:
I only have one different angle. I wonder why I have taken so few pictures here. And more importantly, I wonder why I didnāt develop the image here in the first place. This seems to me to be the better composition.
The RAW wasnāt much darker than the final image. Yes, I raised the black a bit. But I rather emphasized the light in the background.
But I will try to work on the shadow details of the left tree trunk.
oh yeah, the second angle is the winner! Looks like an amazing (and smelly) place. Iāll have to remember which section of the Ice Age Trail had so many of these. And Great white trillium grows like this too. Shame itās so buggy that I basically canāt stand the woods after the middle of May.
Pretty much, yeah. Iām in the kayak from May to September, but sometimes hit a trail or two in late August - early September. By October itās bearable again. I may try a new gadget this year, a portable Thermacell mosquito repeller -
We have the standard one for the deck which is the only way we can stand it out there without being covered in Deet. It covers a 10-15 square foot area basically. It doesnāt work well on black flies or midges, but for mosquitos itās pretty good. So right now it isnāt great since all the blood suckers are black flies and gnats. Makes wildflower season hell on earth.
Wow, that device looks interesting. Iām curious to hear about your experience.
My body canāt tolerate Deet that well. Alternatives are always welcome.
My wife doesnāt really need all that. I am her repellent. When I am near her she does not get a single mosquito bite. These critters only have an appetite for my blood.
Jens, I actually prefer the first composition and itās because the orientation feels better to me, it feels more level.
I also like the brightness and warmer temperature on the garlic carpet better in the first one. The tree on the right looks better not being cutoff in the second one but it didnāt bother me in the first one.
I suppose you could do a warp transform on the second one, then warm up the color temperature but that would take a bit of work.
And it all depends on what āyouā prefer.
Late to the party, but Iāll chime in for version 2. My issue with the first one was the lack of negative space between all the trees. Version 2 is perfect. Iād agree with Merv that the warmth in Version 1 was nice.
@Merv, For the second image, I used a slightly longer focal length and took a few steps back. It may be that I did not level the camera exactly in the second shot. Iām going to take a closer look.
Thank you for your eagle eye!!!
Iām lucky to have this forest right on my doorstep. Itās only a ten-minute drive, after which I can enjoy the peace and calm of the small forest. There are some beautiful scenes, but the wild garlic transforms them into something completely different.
The scene is entrancing. We call the wild garlic ārampsā. I have not found them in the northwestern US, where I live, but I have read that they are present. Terrific flavor to the leaves.
The diagonal of trees and flowers in the center-left attracts my eye. I played with the image a little, to see if that could be emphasized, to generate another picture within the scene. Also decreased luminosity and yellow saturation in the distant trees, to not let that pull my eye too much.
Hi Jens, this image is a tough nut to crack but we all know how difficult it is to frame scenes like these in the field, and the more so one restricts oneself in order to respect nature and not trample the beautiful carpet of flowers for the sake of a shot, which is highly commendable!
I like the crop that you did (as well as the square crop, a square crop could work very well too) because a very beautiful part of the image is the sea of flowers that appear to flow around the bottom part of the tree closest to the camera.
That said, I much preferred the light and detail in the tree trunks in the original posting. I think the light looked perfectly realistic and the texture and detail on the tree trunks were very enjoyable to look at. Somehow the depth does not look entirely convincing to me in the repost.
Of course, this is largely subjective and it may just be me, so please feel free to ignore
