This shot was taken somewhere in Bonito/MS in Brazil. It was raining cats and dogs and we took a short hiking tour to various waterfalls.
Unfortunately, it had not rained at all the days and weeks before, so some waterfalls hardly had any water.
When we arrived at this spot, I immediately liked the scene. The heavy rain created a really nice atmosphere.
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.
Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
I tried to maintain the soft mood that I experienced when I took the image. But is there enough contrast?
Does the image work for you even though you weren’t there?
Is there anything that I could improve?
Any Feedback is welcome.
This photo has an amazing magical, almost whimsical, quality to it. The bright background just pulls the viewer right in. The subtle highlights in the foilage surrounding the midground falls bring the attention back and then you settle in and just absorb the overall scene. I think the amount of water in the waterfalls is just perfect. The atmosphere provided by the rain is perfect. If I was to suggest anything it would be just a slight boost in contrast, or maybe just a little bit of clarity.
A boost in contrast would give it more snap, but I suspect the way it is better reflects the mood present then. The brightness in the distance effectively pulls the viewer in.
IMHO, it’s really hard to convey an emotion that equals what we felt if we had been there in person.
I’m not sure that even big screen movies can spark that level of an emotion.
To me, yes, the image does work, but only because it reminds me of places I’ve been to in person that are similar to this, which included the memory of breathing in that moist air, as well as the scents associated with that environment.
If someone viewing this has never experienced an environment like this, it may not work for them, at least not in the same way it does for others who have.
Maybe try a compromise, increase the contrast in the FG portion but leave (or even increase) the misty look in the BG portion?
That may completely change the mood that you’re trying to convey though.
I think you should just follow your heart and make it a piece that does a good job of reminding you of the experience you had while you were there.
That way others with similar experiences can enjoy the same basic emotions conjured up by fond memories of their own
Love the image BTW, well done and it does remind me of similar places I’ve been to and that makes it a winner in my mind!
Congrats to making an absolutely wonderful photo with amazing colour, mood and light! Beyond that, I agree with what others say and @Merv especially and his suggestion to see what adding a slight amount of contrast to the FG might do. Speaking of contrast, I can’t help but wish for some more of that in the center, trickling waterfall with some D&B, brightening the darker rivulets of water (especially those on the left) and darkening the less flattering mud just a smidge.
Regarding the FG, I find the “brighter” reflections of the sky (I assume) a bit distracting, so darkening those a tad could perhaps let the viewer enjoy this beauty even more.
Another thing that I’d explore (if you havent already) is cropping in a tiny bit on both the left and the right. There’s a thin vertical tree trunk along the left edge that pulls my eye ever so slightly from the beautiful more central action, as are the leafs peeking in on the middle right. If you agree, of course just darkening them slightly might work too, if not even better.
In the end, only you can tell if these ideas improve your memory and vision of this scene or not. Either way, this photo definitely makes me want to go there myself!
Oh, and I know this isn’t what you were asking for, but having a very week spot for such things, I’m pretty sure that there’s also a fabulously beautiful B&W photo lurking just beyond those amazing green tones.
Hi Mervin,
thank you for your feedback and your kind words.
The compromise you mentioned sounds like a good idea. I will definitely spend some more time on that image.
The biggest thing I wanted to demonstrate is using a brightness/contrast mask, darken it, invert it and use that mask for burning the gaps between the rocks on the mid ground falls as well as a small amount to the rocks in the water (adding it to the rocks in the water gives the illusion that the water is more clear than it really is), burning the gaps between the rocks adds depth as well as definition and makes them stand out a little more.
I also done a little dodging to the mid ground rocks but only a little and with a fairly large brush at about 20% hardness.
The main reason for doing the tweaks was to satisfy my curiosity about changing the mood of the image.
The main reason for posting it here before deleting it from my hard drive was to demonstrate the effects of darkening the gaps in the rocks for added definition and depth.
IMHO, the tweaks do change the mood of the image/scene but maybe not as much as I initially thought.
Anyway, I hope you don’t mind that I did this and it has been a pleasure to learn from this image and other’s suggestions and comments.
BTW, I’m not suggesting that you make any of these tweaks, as I said, follow your heart and do what you feel is right for you
And finally, you may already know about this technique, but there may be others reading this thread who aren’t
Hi Mervin,
thanks for taking the time to process my image.
A description of what could be changed in an image is awesome. But to see the finished result is even more valuable.
Even though I already knew most of the techniques you mentioned, it’s interesting to see where you used them.
I really like the tweaks on the water surface in the foreground. I love the way all the details come to life in your version.
Filling the empty space on the LLC with some cloned leaves is a great idea as well. I’ll never be able to look at my version of the image again without being distracted by that blank space.
Thanks for the inspiration, I will definitely spend more time working on that image.
If you’re curious about how it could look, I’d be happy to give it a go in B&W, keeping in mind that it would be based on my personal style and preferences (my presentation post should be able to give you an idea).
Also, it would probably take a few days for me to find the time to do it.
Oh my, this is wonderful! In addition to Youssef’s comments about being “magical and whimsical,” I’ll go on to say painterly - the atmosphere here is simply beautiful. Although the rain isn’t obvious, the resulting conditions are indeed magical.
So, absolutely this image works even though I wasn’t there! The slightly lower contrast and surrounding darkness enhances the mood and atmosphere and so honestly, I don’t think there’s much you can do to improve this. I tried a little modification by applying some Orton effect just in the lower half - and while I like it, anything done to the foreground really reduces the overall mood, so again, I love this as presented.
Couldn’t wait, @Jens_Ober. Your photo was just too inspiring and sometimes inspiration can’t be halted.
I used @Merv’s version as a starting point, and in Lightroom used some radial gradients for the main vignette and selectively brushed in some luminosity masked dodging and burning to get some light back into the the foliage on the sides and the midground water rivulets and further darkened the mud on the left.
I also re-added some light and carefully reduced clarity to the background waterfall area.
I hope you don’t feel like I butchered your beautiful photo too badly!?
A wonderful scene done with good taste. I wouldn’t add too much contrasts. I just do a little dodge and burn here and there. I tentatively added a warm glow to the background and darkened the light mossy areas. I also cloned out the left small tree
Are you kidding me? I love the result. It’s amazing to see your vision of my image.
And as I said, I am a complete B&W newbie. For me, it’s currently impossible to guess what images could work after converting them to B&W. I have to experiment with that.
