The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Taken in Switzerland. Those “Drumlins” are the relict of glacial activity. The trees originally have been planted by the farmers, one for each son (what about the daughters?). As they sometimes get hit by lightning, some of them have lightning conductors.
It’s a charming and yet strange location. As it is very hard to reach by car, I had taken my bike with me and left the car outside. Midsummer, around 30 degrees Celsius, and I uphill on the bike with my crammed 60 liter Shimoda backpack on the bike, haha! Eventually this was one of the most exhausting shootings.
Specific Feedback
I am not doing an awful lot of b&w images. This one was not intended to be b&w at the start, but I like it. I wanted to hear your opinion concerning the lighting design and the crop. I did two different crops. This is the standard portrait, which has more white above and black below. The other one goes in the direction of 4:3.
I generally don’t like the 4:3 format very much. It always feels to me, as if there was something missing. But maybe you see it differently in this case. Curios to read, what you think. General feedback is welcome, too! Thank you!
Wow, cool! The high contrast processing works well; I’m usually not a fan, but some images do call for that. I tried some different crops, because it feels like too much space at the top. But, I’m with you on the 4:3 crop - that wouldn’t work. It feels too wide that way. 4:5 definitely didn’t work (yuk!). 5:7 felt pretty good, though.
In addition, I would try to make the lower tree stand out a little better from the grass, but not too much. I tried that with some dodge and burn, but I think you can manage that better in the raw state. Maybe it’s worth playing with the yellow and green sliders in the Black & White Mix Adjustment Panel In Lightroom.
Very interesting, Markus and worth the bike ride, though it sounds awful I second Jens’ opinion that the lower tree should stand out a bit more. I like the lighting on the hills and just like the shape of the hill in the foreground stands out a bit because of that lighting, I would want some more definition on the lower tree to recognize it as such.
I very much understand the frustration with the 4:3 format, I am drawn to a square format lately, but that wouldn’t be possible with this image. So … up for another bike ride?
Congratulations on finding such a compelling composition! For portrait compositions, I actually prefer a 4:5 ratio, and think that would work very well here. I, too, would crop a bit of the bright sky out, and work to enhance the contrast of the lower tree against the hillside.
A nice result for a tough ride…
I think you did an excellent work with the composition. This image has a very natural thirds division which makes it very pleasant to view.
I have to admit, that at first glance I did not notice the bottom tree. And I still really liked your image. It looked like the hills become narrower and narrower, until they formed a tree at the top.
So I think it works well with the bottom tree as it is. It could also work (differently) as others have suggested, if you brighten up that tree a bit. So I think you have several options, and in my opinion leaving it as is is definitely one of them.
Regarding the crop, I actually like the one you have uploaded. 7:5 also works nicely (maybe a bit better) in my opinion.
Well done on the effort and on the result.
Markus, I really like the bold and graphic composition and the B&W really does add to that feel. I can’t imagine (well, I can but I don’t want to) the bike ride with such a heavy pack on such a hot day. Brutal! I think that the bottom tree could be a bit brighter because it kind of gets lost in the darkness but otherwise I think that this is killer!
Wonderful composition. The simplicity is what makes it so attractive. I like the high-contrast processing as well. Like the others above, I think the lower tree needs more separation from the hills, and hopefully, you can bring it out more in the RAW processing. Regarding the crop, I like the 4x5 crop best, with some taken off the bottom and top. With that crop, it places all the elements perfectly in the frame.
I second Jens’ opinion that the lower tree should stand out a bit more. I like the lighting on the hills and just like the shape of the hill in the foreground stands out a bit because of that lighting, I would want some more definition on the lower tree to recognize it as such.