The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
While driving along the Metolius River in the Deschutes National Forest, I came upon this active controlled burn. The smoke made for very ethereal light beams filtering down through the trees. It was hard to stay too long due to the thick smoke and I smelled like a campfire when I got into my car, but worth it.
Wonderful light beams, contrasting with the sparse pine branches. I like the subtle touch of both sides being framed by barely noticeable trunks. I wonder about cropping off about half the FG, to give more prominence to the wonderful light.
This is a wonderful ethereal image of a strategic controlled burn, Chris! The smoke makes for good photography but it isn’t good to breathe for very long.
I like the mood of this and I like the scattered highlights from the sun in the FG.
I also like the way you used the forked tree as the central focus point.
The good news is that this will help prevent worse things in the near future and new growth is just around the corner.
Very fitting for the weekly challenge, I really like the B&W presentation but I wonder if adding a very mild blue tint might help to project the sense of smoke rather than mist? Its just a thought.
The B&W treatment really makes this image for my taste, Chris. The light beams through the smoke are awesome in themselves, but the black and white make a more somber mood. I do think that if I were using the image to promote controlled burns, I’d keep it in color, as this is a bit too desolate for that use.
Chris, the crepuscular rays are excellent and they show off the trees well. While I could see cropping from the bottom to make this about the trees and the light, I also like how you can see the burned vegetation on the ground and the healthy trees above. That comparison lets this picture tell a very different story about our interactions with our environment.
Wow Chris, this is beautiful! Love it! I was over in that area last week and was hoping for either more smoke, to get shots like this, or less smoke to see the landscape. Instead, it was neither.
The only little comment I would make, not something that you can fix in post, is that branch on the left poking in to the frame. The image would be much stronger without it in my humble opinion.
