Hi! This is a small cave on private property owned by a friend of mine here in Texas. I love the “troughs” that were created so long ago by pooling water.
I’m looking for some feedback on color, contrast, and anything that might be distracting. Any other helpful feedback is also welcomed Thanks!
@asliceofbrie2020
Oh how cool. I’d love to have my own private cave!
The exposure here looks pretty darn good considering how hard it is to manage the dimness of the interior with the bright outside. If you can visit on an overcast or rainy day that would be easier. Contrast - well I think it could use a little more, but I wouldn’t go too crazy. If you use Lightroom, try adding texture which works with local contrast differently than clarity does. Sometimes I use it rather than clarity to avoid that crispy look.
Compositionally I’d like to see more of that shelf structure on the right. It makes for a natural and intriguing leading line to the doorway. Not sure if it is even possible to back up more, but if you could that would help.
Nice work and an envious location. What else have you got to share?
Hi and thanks! Those shelves are super cool and I wish they curved a different way! But, The way they curve, if I back up to capture more than I lose everything else in the image. This is actually a blend of two exposures. I wish I would have take another one without the highlights being so bright. And , the way the afternoon light is shining actually helps with some reflected light to illuminate the cave.
I’ll consider your suggestions about contrast and texture. Really appreciate it!
Here’s another image taken from inside the cave looking out into the messy wooded tangle.
Brie, this cave has some very neat formations and elements to it, what an intriguing location. I think your processing of dynamic range is very well handled, you have maintained good detail in both shadows and highlights. I love your use of reflected light on the “pool” formations too. Overall this image has a lot of impact, its very well done on your part.
In terms of distractions I have couple extremely minor nitpicks, it depends how fussy you want to get. There is a bright strip halfway down the left frame edge that I would recommend cloning away. Even more nitpicky, there is a stick in the lower left corner that could go too. As @Kris_Smith said, I could see a slight bump in mid-tone contrast too, but it needs to be subtle.
On a more subjective level, I could also see flipping this image horizontal. This would make the pools “flow” from left to right, which I think I prefer.
My reworks have been having some color space issues, so the rework below looks less saturated than your original, which is not my intent, I prefer your colors. I show this rework only to illustrate the visual effect of a flip, and the cloning of distractions.
Thanks for the feedback Ed! I definitely thought about cloning out those two distractions. Sometimes I let an image sit before doing all that stuff so that’s helpful to know it bothered you too. And, thanks for the suggestion on the flip. I hadn’t considered that but I will!
And, I definitely want to get nitpicky because the property owner may want a print of this for their home.
The issue some folks have with flipping is that it can be a problem when a location is easily recognizable. I think the flipped version is more appealing visually in a vacuum (ie never having seen it before). But the property owners may prefer to see it the way it is in real life.
Exactly my thought. I recently posted an image on IG that is flipped horizontal AND vertical because I liked the flow better. It’s pretty abstract so it really doesn’t matter. But, I can see the owners wanting the “true to life” image of the cave. I’ll be playing around with midtone contrast too. I tend to be more subtle but don’t mind the experiment. I can always delete the layer in PS!! Thanks again.
Here’s an updated edit. I took out those “distractions” and did a minor mid-tone contrast adjustment. What do you all think?
Nice improvement in the rework.
Hi Brie. Love the image, love the geology of Texas. I really like your chosen composition but I feel a little selective burning/dodging would definitely help. I played with it a little and here’s my version.
Oh, I didn’t see your revision before posting mine. They’re fairly similar. There is, however, a little advantage to the burning/dodging over just adjusting midtone contrast. Compare the two (especially the formation in the opening and on the far wall, and you’ll see shadow and light variances that don’t exist in your version which, to me, makes it look more natural. That’s not a criticism, just a hint.
This cave reeks with potential. I don’t think looking from the interior to the opening is your best bet, even though the leading lines are good. It’s just that the opening doesn’t show anything better than what’s within and yet everything is pointing to it. I would work on compositions inside the cave ,both in color and in b&w.
Thanks Bill! After letting it "sit’ for a bit, I agree that those areas could use a bit more selective contrast work. That far wall definitely looks more “flat”.
Thanks for the feedback Igor. Although there really isn’t much more to the cave than what you see, it’s always worth revisiting to find other interesting compositions.
Brie, do you live in or near the Hill Country? I used to live in Uvalde and there were small little “pocket” caves like this all over the place there, along with some bigger one too. We lived about 20 minutes from the Frio Bat Cave and that was truly amazing. That’s beautiful country!
I do! Right on the edge just outside of Austin. There is some pretty awesome landscape here if one hunts for it. I’ll have to check out that cave!
Yes, the cave is amazing. Depending on the season, there is like 12 million bats exiting the cave every evening. It starts slowly and grows until thousands and thousands of bats are pouring out of the cave every minutes, and it goes on for a couple of hours! When we lived there (20 years ago), it wasn’t well known and they charged like $5 or $10 dollars and the day my wife and I went we were the only two people there (plus the caretaker of the property). I think it has become more commerialized now (sadly). Here is a link - https://www.friobatflight.com/
