I am very new to ICM having only started making photos in this genre in December 2021. What attracts me to it is the interplay between desired effects versus unexpected results. My approach to ICM is to let nature call my attention to it. That is what happened two weeks ago as I was hiking in the White River National Forest in the Silverthorne, Colorado, area. Inevitably, textures, repetitions, and colors have been the common thread in the ICM photos I make. Among all the blooming summer wildflowers in the area, I could not avoid capturing this scene. The aspen trees looked like ghosts levitating above the green ground cover. I liked the three main colors present: green, blue, and white. Although the original image was a bit darker, I wanted to emphasize the ghost-like features of the aspen trees. I tried a BNW version of the same photo but didn’t like it as much.
Specific Feedback Requested
Any feedback is appreciated. For example, is the soft light too distracting?
Love aspen trees, Egidio. We used to live in Colorado and I could never get enough of them! Like you, the blues, white and greens and wonderful. Also, like how the subtle movement leaves enough information but still has an abstract feel. For me, it does feel a bit bright, but as always, this is a subjective medium, so it’s really how you want to project the image. Very nicely seen and captured.
Hi Egidio, thank you for sharing your aspen ICM image here. I love the movement you’ve captured. The grass on the bottom helps to anchor the image. My eye travels up along the aspen trees which have nice structure to them. The patches of blue sky complement the greens. Lovely image!
I do find the bright areas in the upper left and upper right to be a bit distracting. My eye tends to leave the frame instead of staying around the center with the aspens. This is an edit I played around with. I cropped into the frame to almost a 4x5 crop. I added an inverse radial gradiant mask and decreased exposure to -.29 and highlights to -32. This helped darken the edges.
Linda, thank you for taking the time to give me your feedback. I very much appreciate that. I do agree with you that I could reduce highlights and still maintain my overall goal. The same recommendation was presented by @Alfredo_Mora in his critique here. Thanks again.
Hi, Alfredo. Many thanks for your careful critique and suggestions. I can easily see the positive results of the radial mask and exposure/highlight adjustments. You showed that creating a subtle vignette – not noticeable to my eyes – was needed to keep the viewer’s attention in the center of the image. I especially liked the end result in the blues. They appear softer and blend in more nicely with the aspens. I guess that the cropping you did eliminated the darker blue on the top edge. Thanks so much for your time critiquing this image. Very much appreciated.
Is the Pope Catholic?! We liked it so much that we will go back in late September again. Also, we have been talking about spending a whole month next summer.
LOVE this one! The streaking of the whiter aspen trunks is striking, but I also like the remnants of the summer leaves canopy; it’s like it’s the complete aspen tree - of course only very abstract!
Great edits from Alfredo. Minor, but effective in just elevating this even more.
Aspens are my favorite tree. I spent 3 years living in Denver. I never took to the city, but loved the Rocky Mountains and those wonderful fall Aspen colors.
This is really a unique look and I think it works very well as a wonderful abstract. I like Alfredo’s changes too. This is excellent.
David, thank you for your complimentary words and feedback. Rocky Mtn NP is one of my favorite parks in the US. I’m hoping to catch some fall colors in Colorado this year. Maybe I’ll see the aspens glow if I go at the right time.
We liked it so much that we will go back in late September again. Also, we have been talking about spending a whole month next summer.