The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I see this tree quite often. It is in an urban park where I go biking frequently. I was looking for an image that could be used for a high-key edit while at the same time maintaining a minimalist approach. The way the tree stood with the top branches leaning to the right caught my eye. I thought it was a struggle to stay standing and in the frame. That led me to put the rightmost branches right on the edge of the frame. I wish I could have added more negative space, but since this is an urban park, asphalt would show on the right, and power lines and posts on the left. Since it is a scene I often see, I keep looking to see if anything changes to allow me to recapture the same scene.
Specific Feedback
Is there enough negative space? I guess I could use Generative expand, but I prefer not to create unreal scenes. Is the use of high key appropriate? Particularly, I wanted to show some of the shadows in the FG and gradually fade into whiteness in the BG. Is that noticeable?
Technical Details
Although I had three different bracketed exposures, I ended up using only the ETTR image.
EgĂdio, I think there’s plenty of negative space here, as more emptiness would make the tree smaller. The bending to right suggests lots of wind from the left. The tree’s shadow adds some extra tension to the left side and you’ve got enough faded land in the distance to add interesting depth.
This is an interesting image, Egidio. My eye goes immediately to the horizon on the left and I have to force myself to look at the tree (this is in the larger version), so I think you have adequate negative space, though when I looked at the smaller version, I found myself wanting more space at the top and right. An odd phenomenon. I like the high key presentation.
As you saw in the technical details, I was using my super-wide lens at 12mm. I was really very close to that tree because I wanted to eliminate the urban signs from the image. If I had used a longer lens, I could have had a smaller tree and more negative space. However, that would require more cloning/erasing in the final image.
Dennis, that is indeed an odd phenomenon. In the smaller image version, you can experience more of the struggle and tension I created with this tight composition deliberately leaving little to no room on the right of the frame.
Paul, I have to thank Texas skies for that. It was totally blue and cloudless.
Your comments have all made me want to revisit this tree and try different compositions, maybe with a long lens, for example.
