Snow Lantern and Rock at the Strolling Pond

[Marylynne_Diggs]

Retouch:

Original:

Color Version of Above

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

It was a drizzly day and I went to the Portland Japanese Garden mainly to hear Stu Levy talk about his photography, but I took the camera and went an hour early just in case.

I have never taken a satisfying image of this area of the garden, and I think it is partly because there is so much going on: a waterfall, koi, the rock and the lantern. This day was no different. The colors were not especially attractive, but I decided in the field that I would shoot for texture and shape and convert to black and white.

I decided to frame the rock and the lantern with the drip rings reflecting rhododendron in between. Those were the dominant shapes and textures, aside from background foliage, which I darkened to de-emphasize, hopefully creating depth instead of distraction in the darkness.

Specific Feedback

As always, I am open to every imaginable kind of feedback, including a resounding “ho-hum.” In particular, I’m wondering the following:

1. Is the composition too linear (lined up rock, drips, lantern) and the background too distracting? That’s my gut.
2. Is the black and white more interesting and appealing than the color version? I did it in LR, but I usually I take an image into Nik Silver Efex. I was undecided about the composition, so I tried a quicker take on the conversion.
3. Do you think the lantern and rock have potential, perhaps from a position to the left to get them on a diagonal? They have some oxidation that I find distracting, but perhaps the scars are part of the interest value.

Anything else you would recommend, or just a “keep working the scene” kind of situation? I hope to go back when there is snow as this style of lantern is designed for and named for the way it collects snow on its domed top.

Technical Details

Canon 5D4 with 24-105mm at 24mm
ISO 250, f/10, 1/6sec, perched on a post
Processed in Lightroom (crop to remove more trees at top, some contrast, texture, burning the trees, removing small distractions in water)

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[Mark_Seaver]

Marylynne, I’m a big fan of how the colors saturate under an overcast sky. I think the color version shows that well with its many subtle green shades. I like the strength of the reflections (especially the outlines) in both versions. To me, the central portion in the b&w version seems a bit too bright and lacking in contrast, but that could be your intention. In the color version, I’d burn-in the dark tones in the reflections just a bit for slightly more contrast.

[Diane_Miller]

This is wonderful!!! I don’t find anything about it ho-hum. I don’t have any negative feelings about the color version but I LOVE the B/W – for me it evokes snow or at least frost. My only suggestion would be a graduated darkening of the bottom, angling from the lower left. That balances the darks at the top. I would try to retouch the small brighter details right on the top edge just right of center, but that’s a very small point. Maybe also look at darkening the rock and ferns coming in from the right edge.

[Igor_Doncov]

I agree that the b&w version is much stronger of the two. My biggest concern is the lack of commitment to what the subject is. Is it the pointy rock on the left or the lantern on the right? The lantern on the right has the tree behind it so our attention is more drawn to that side but we are pulled to the left as well. Diane’s darkening of the lower right does help in that it pushes us a bit to the left and helps balance things out. There is also the fact that the composition is of basically two objects placed in the center and equally distant from both sides and from top and bottom. But perhaps I’m being too critical. The reflections are wonderful and mesmerizing. I wonder how things would look if the darks in the water were darker. Would that make the reflections more prominent?

Did you notice the Iron Giant at the bottom? That would be the grinning robot.

[Marylynne_Diggs]

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. This is very helpful. I think Igor’s comment gets at a key problem, and the one I can solve with repeat visits. I wasn’t thinking about it as a lack of clear subject, just as a static, linear set up of elements. But my challenge with the location has always been “what to focus on” as a subject.

As I think about it, there are several problems with how I framed this:

1. I cut off the reflection of the lantern roof, and I’m not sure how I didn’t notice that at the time.
2. I didn’t like “just rock” or “just lantern” but setting them up like a pair of bowling pins doesn’t quite work either.
3. There could be two different crops/comps here, one with the rock and the drip rings/rhodie reflection and one with the lantern and drip rings/rhodies.

Here’s a mark up of where I think things went wrong, but I also think a different angle (once those people standing to my left taking a selfie moved on). Next time, I might try the green framed comp, correcting the issues at the bottom, and the blue framed comp.

In some ways, the rock is more interesting than the lantern, especially with those upside down fir reflections.

I’ll add a slightly retouched one above momentarily, but I think this is a re-shoot opportunity.

Markup

[John_Williams]

I definitely prefer the retouch.

My favorite part is the way the light outlines the reflections, and I’d consider brightening those just a touch to emphasize them.

[Marylynne_Diggs]

I took a stab at a more isolated crop, focusing on the rock and reflection there. Just increased contrast in the reflections, burned some bright foliage and used generative AI to build some space to the right of the drip ring where the lantern had been. Not my usual way of dealing with a major element, but I was just experimenting to plan my next visit.

I plan to re-shoot sometime this week, hopefully adding a new image to my draft list of 2025 favorites.

ML