I moved to Tahoe recently, excited to advance my (beginner) photography skills. It turns out that mostly there’s just a whole mess of pine trees Lots of room to grow in my composition work, but so far it’s been challenging to even find any spot with enough of a clearing to take a photo.
This photo was taken on a small elevated clearing near Captain Pomin Rock. There was still a decent amount of smoke in the air from surrounding fires, creating some lovely colors in the sky and a subtle horizontal band of light in front of the more distant peaks.
Specific Feedback Requested
Any remarks are welcome, I’m here to learn. Particular areas of focus:
Composition. The viewpoint didn’t afford a lot of flexibility but I hoped that having the pines just crest over the lake in the foreground would help draw the eye over the layers. Is that effective, or distracting?
Composition 2. I’m concerned that the foreground is too busy to be minimal, but too boring to be grand, and that the lake is iconic but bland in this shot. Are those concerns accurate, and how much do they weigh against the image? Any other changes?
Processing. With smoke in the air, the camera saw things less vibrantly than I remembered them, but it’s hard to say if I overdid it when bringing it back. Is it too feisty? Are there elements you would emphasize or reduce, and how?
Overall quality. I’d like an honest calibration against my inner critic. Is this image decent?
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Sony ILCE-1, FE 24-70 F2.8 GM @ 70mm, f/10, 1/8s, ISO 100, stitched pano
Hi Steven, welcome to NPN. I am sure you’ll find this a rewarding experience.
I like your image. The smoke actually enhances it…most of the time, I turn my smokey images into B&W to make it look like fog…the colors work well here. You did a great job of positioning the foreground hill/rock between the foreground trees. It feel like a great spot in the frame and balances well with the water on the right. The soft, warm light in the foreground is a nice compliment to the blues of the water. The only thing I might do is clone out the hint of tree branches in the water on the right side. Interestingly there seems to be a bit of a halo around those branches too…
I’m sure you’ll get other impressions/suggestions from this great group of NPN’ers.
Nice work and I look forward to seeing more of your work.
Steven you had a beautiful idea to land in this splendid web site, an ideal place for photographers that are beginning. I am still at the door at this great group of NPN’ers, I am learning too. No doubt that you will receive excellent advices.
I love the mix of personal colors in the sky.
I like what the smoke did to those distant mountains. Their purple/magenta color is beautiful. Smoke makes everything warmer in a way. It’s sort of like changing your white balance but better.
Welcome to NPN Steven, this is a great first post.
I agree with you that have the tips of the trees merge with the lake helps to pull the viewers eye up into the rest of the image. I also think having parts of the tree being against the water helps to create a sens eof depth. The tree that’s below the sunlit rock cliff also helps to direct my eye to that cliff. I think your spacing and arrangement of the trees is very well handled despite likely not having a lot of flexibility. It shows that you put thought inot the composition.
The foreground is a bit busy, but it is not boring, you have some interesting light and shadow on the trees, which helps add some interest. To me the lake, mountains, and sky are less interesting thna the foreground you were so worried about. The nice warm light on the rock cliff and the trees is the best pat of htis image for me. However the blue of hte lake, and the purple mountains provide some nice cool/warm color contrast against the foreground.
Overall I think it’s a pretty good image, the composition is strong, and I like the warm/cool thing you have going on here. The processing of color works well for me. A minor nitpick are the dis-embodies pine needles intruding from the right edge of the frame near the water line. They are a minor edge distraction, and i would clone them away.
One thing would have been nice would be a greater tonal separation between the near layer of trees and the forest behind it. There is some separation and some merging now. If these trees were in shadow later in the day you could have pulled it off. Although a dark front layer may not look that well either. Anyway, that’s something to think about.
It turns out yellow is one of my favorite colors in nature, yet, I’ve recognized it is a very “strong” color and is easily oversaturated with modern day sensors. I love your image. When I saw it, i exclaimed “rainbow”! The colors are truly beautiful and the scene is just great. I did take it into Ps and cropped it a bit to make the two primary/dominant trees on either side more symmetric “bookends” of the image (because I’ve got this thing about symmetry . I also took a “saturation mask” and and increased blues in the yellow saturated aspects to pull them down a bit and bring them more toward a pastel. I also pulled down the saturation of the blues in the upper R corner. I dunno, see what you think. It’s your image so you have to be take what recommendations resonate with you and discard the rest. Be true to your vision and that’s most important. Not sure if my changes will translate on all screens.
Lots of room to grow in my composition work, but so far it’s been challenging to even find any spot with enough of a clearing to take a photo.
. I also took a “saturation mask” and and increased blues in the yellow saturated aspects to pull them down a bit and bring them more toward a pastel. I also pulled down the saturation of the blues in the upper R corner. I dunno, see what you think. It’s your image so you have to be take what recommendations resonate with you and discard the rest. Be true to your vision and that’s most important. Not sure if my changes will translate on all screens.