This NWR in NW Florida is a superior place for both sunrises and sunsets as well as mountainous thunderheads/storms, all of which provide very expressive images. This was shot on a quite chilly morning which accounts for the crispness of the colors. The Wildlife refuge is pretty massive in size with many meandering watercourses, grass savannahs and an incredible array of flora and fauna. The refuge is one of the largest migration areas for the Monarch butterfly and wintering Sandhill Cranes.
Specific Feedback Requested
I’ve debated back and forth as to whether to trim off the palmetto fronds in the foreground. One side of me says they are distractive, one side says they help to add depth to the savannah.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: Yes
This is a handheld, three shot vertical pano, stitched together in Photoshop. Because I was hand holding, I chose to use a higher shutter speed of 1/250 @ f/9, ISO 200 on a D850 coupled to a 28-300 @ 80mm.
Very little post was needed though I did do both a lights and darks mask to accentuate more colors in the grasses and better contrast between the fore and backgrounds.
This is an exceptional sunrise shot. Keep the palmettos. For one thing, if you cropped them out then much of the marsh would have to go and it would be more of a sky shot. The best part of the image is the marsh itself with the palmettos. The only part of them that draws the eye in a negative way is the highlights in the far left corner. The highlights elsewhere break up the solid darkness of the marsh and thus provide balance.
Nice work with the handheld pano work, Chris. I knew this was Florida as soon as I saw it. The sun setting is in the perfect location and you’ve managed to bring out the foreground and mid ground perfectly. I agree the palmetto fronds have to stay.
Gorgeous!! I vote on keeping the composition as you have it here. The fronds provide depth and point at the distant interest. The light water in the LR corner pulls my eye – I think it could be darkened quite a lot, and maybe a little cropped from the right if darkening doesn’t work well.
Another vote for keeping the palmettos, they are needed to create depth. The midground marsh is a dark mass that you do not want to have as a foreground IMO.
The foreground feels a bit cool for my taste. I might try warming up everything except the sky. With backlit palmetto fronds like these, I think might look better if they were warmer.
I would also consider cropping or cloning away the bright patches in the LLC.
