This image was taken the following morning from my last post. It was originally a horizontal, but after viewing it on the computer I thought a vertical would work better. The fog was getting a little thicker by this point so we just had to wait for some periods where it thinned out a little bit.
What technical feedback would you like if any?
All C&C welcome
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
All C&C welcome
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
Nikon D800, Nikon 17-35 @ 35 mm, f 18 @ 1/6 sec, ISO 200, MLU, cable release & tripod, four image stack for DOF
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I like the flowers as a nice leading line. There was something that was bothering me and I think it is that the division of the flowers and the foggy trees is right in the middle of the frame. This is just my taste but I think you could take 1/3 off either the top or bottom of the frame and have a more dynamic composition.
I like the composition of the flowers leading towards the trees. I agree with Richard that the the foggy trees and the flowers each having 50% of the frame makes my eye lose track of where to go. Also, this is just a personal preference but I think if you burned some of the darker greens and dodged some of the flowers it could create more depth and help the eye move through the scene.
Looks like a pretty morning. Something I struggle with is what is the subject when I’m composing an open expanse. I feel like this image is lacking a definitive subject. I agree with the top comments about the framing. But my eye is wondering through the scene without finding where to land. By the way checked your website and really enjoyed your butterfly gallery.
I struggled with a similar comp not long ago, flowers in the foreground and fog with trees in the background. I finally decided that it was missing a mid ground, and so it looks a little truncated in two. I’m not sure what the remedy is, because both the foreground and background are beautiful.
You’ve got such a beautiful field of flowers, yet I can see the conundrum of having all the glorious fog as well. In the end, I have to side with the other comments about the 50/50 comp and the competition between that fog and the beautiful stand of summer wildflowers. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I just can’t see cropping most of the flowers to give the edge to the foggy trees - that just doesn’t seem right. So my thought would be cropping a good 1/2 off the top and perhaps coming in from the right a little to remove the lone patch of yellow on the edge. This leaves still a good chunk of the mysterious trees (even more so now?) and still feature the beauty and prominence of the flowers.
No doubt an exciting place to be and a great site to witness.
Well Ed, the fog was pretty thick that morning wasn’t it? I like the high key processing, it creates a dreamy mood here. Some application of Orton Effect might also work well here too. The WB / color here is good and very true to life.
I was at this location with you on this morning. And in reviewing my images at home, I also had issues with the verticals that I took for the same reason, the fog kind of forced you into a 50/50 split, and the image would have been stronger with either some type of mid-ground, or some clouds/color in the sky that at least would have have created 3 layers in the scene (flowers, tree, clouds/sky).
FYI, I skipped shooting at this location on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday due to lack of clouds. I went back this morning, and although the goldenrod is starting to go brown in places, I finally got both ground fog and pink clouds in the sky this morning. It only took a week of waiting for it, the advantage of living near by.
Ed, I’m intrigued by the idea behind this view. The stand of flowers and their glow is quite eye catching. I think that the fog also adds interest. However, I’m having a hard time with the 50:50 split. I wonder how cropping half (or even a bit more than half) of the top would look. (Not sure how that would work given that this is already a major crop.)
Somewhere along the line I decided that I didn’t like vertical images that were bisected horizontally. So I thought I would go with the horizontal comp and provide a horizontal frame. I also desaturated the yellow on the right. Anyway, see what you think.
Overall, I think that the tones and colors in the field should be lightened to create a high tone image.
Didn’t see this till now, Ed. Contrary to the others I’m not bothered by a 50/50 split for a vertical. And this as presented is actually not a 50/50 split. It is a little weighted towards the top. I think I would crop down to get rid of that nub of tree sticking up on the left. I also like @Igor_Doncov treatment. If you leave it vertical I wouldn’t get rid of the yellow on the right as someone suggested, because I think it balances the yellow on the left. I see two dust spots in the trees. I might also clone out the dark spots in the FG. Nice mood presented here.
I agree, this isn’t a 50:50 and doesn’t bug me too much in that regard. I do wish the trees were even across the image though, the empty on the right stands out a bit.
