The only sunset with clouds we had on Lake Superior. It is very hard finding foreground elements or leading lines on this gigantic lake, but a little ice jam helped me out here. Plus there was some color thrown across to those clouds. This is the semi-famous fish shack near Two Harbors. It has a mate in the trees, but at least this one is visible. So far as I know, none of the other workshop participants aimed their cameras in this direction, but it is THE shot for me at this location. Everything else is just ice/water/sky and it was kinda dull. I do have a shot of the water with those eerie colors on it though and will post later. The reflections were magenta and green and it was super strange.
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
This is a very typical Lake Superior shoreline, all the weight is on one side and so balance worries me although I’m glad it was still frozen enough to walk out on a bit. In summer I’d be knee deep for sure! There is more ice, but it was overwhelming so I cropped it out and this ratio seemed to work given the heavy tree line. Thoughts?
Technical Details
Tripod
Lr for a 3-shot HDR blend and then some work to bring up shadows and whites, lower blacks and highlights. Calibration panel to raise blue saturation slightly. Texture and clarity, some wb adjustment and a crop to these dimensions. Photoshop for a little distraction removal and some dodging and burning through luminosity masks. Also ran a clarity action and painted it in the ice where needed.
Great photo image with nice light and colors, Kris. The cropping left side was well placed with that tree. The sky reflection is nice and soft but easily see. I also like the lighting on the right side of the trees and the house adds to it. The snow is nicely balance so whatever you are doing with keeping the snow from being too strong is working. I am wondering what the others were doing. I see people take photos of lakes with a big view of the lake but nothing on the shoreline that helps the story. It is a common mistake because I use to do that. very pretty scene.
I think you composed this about as well as could be expected given the large amount of ice in the foreground compared to the smaller jutting point. It feels pretty balanced although if you have more sky it might be helpful to add a very small amount up top to balance the bottom heaviness. I like the break in the trees which leads the eye to the little house on the shoreline. The colors in the sky are beautiful and muted, just the way I like them. I think I would have a hay day trying to photograph some intimates of that icy shoreline. Did you get any small scenes of that. It looks amazing.
My favorite aspect of this image are the contrasts between warm colors in the sky and cool ones in the ice and water. The overall composition flow works for me, but I can’t find enough interest in the foreground to hold my attention. It may not have been an option, but I think a larger chunk of ice to anchor the FG may have worked better. Looks like a fabulous area with lots of opportunities!
thanks @David_Haynes, @Dean_Salman & @Bret_Edge for chiming in. Glad things look reasonable in this one. Unfortunately the clouds higher up were thin and broken and there is a lot of very pale sky showing that just distracts. I didn’t play in the ice much and I should have, but the lake isn’t going anywhere so maybe next time. I think one of the other participants did, but the other guy was aimed at the cliffs on the other side and doing long exposures with the clouds. I did a few, but they were boring so I don’t think I’ll bother with those. I will put up a shot of the water with the strange colors. It’s oddly cool.
This is lovely - I’m really enjoying the colors and the balanced composition. The sweeping edge of the ice chunks leads the eye in to the frame, and all the way around where they colors in both the sky and reflection can be enjoyed.
I can’t see much that could be improved. I’m thinking a slight crop off the bottom to make that “less heavy” as has been commented, but then again, the ice is also a primary feature in your composition, so not sure taking some of that away is an improvement.
I love this scene. There is so much in it that is appealing and interesting. I think it’s well composed and balanced. My eye moves smoothly through the image. You’ve caught the light beautifully. Wish I could be there.
Thanks @Lon_Overacker & @Chris_Baird - balance is tough with these and I’m glad you move through the scene easily and are kept interested. I was a tiny bit worried there was too much in this, but I think the size of the shack helps keep it from being too dominant, but the ice is really kind of the point so I had to include a lot. The sky was opening up at the top so I chose to crop that out. Not that many folks would want to be here, Chris, but it looks colder than it was!
What’s most interesting to me in this image is the “contrast” between the sharp jagged foreground and the smooth curved background. At least how’s how I see this. You have some beautiful colours throughout and I love the C curve of the water’s edge. So yeah, I quite like this.
Thanks @Tom_Nevesely - I’m glad it resonates with you, too. Curves like this are sometimes hard to come by on this lake, but the ice helped since I could walk out on it somewhat. The colors were luck, but I deliberately kept the clarity out of the sky so that the textures would contrast more than if I had added some. I did a similar thing with some long exposure and ice for the other sunset - went for contrasting textures. Superior was calm, but still constantly moving and we even had baby pancake ice forming at one point.
