Here’s a version making a run at the suggested edits. The original is below.
Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
It has always frustrated me to plan for a perfect image only to find the light is a flop. Sunsets that weren’t, screaming wind when you need the vegetation to hold still, clouds obscuring the stars, etc., can ruin a lot of careful planning. Once in a while though, the Gods feel sorry for you and let the chips fall the other way.
I had blocked out a few days last week to attempt to photograph fall color. The news said a solar light show was possible, but that the sky would be mostly cloudy. I’m not much of a night owl anyway, so I had decided it wasn’t worth the chase. During the day I puttered through the Columbia River Gorge, and then decided to see how the fall color was looking around Mount Hood. It was late afternoon when I went by the Lake Trillium turn off, and on a whim I decided “What the heck, I’m here anyway…”
The clouds were broken at that point, and what I really thought I would be photographing was sunset. When I explored the lake edge, I thought these rocks were a decent composition. I went back to the car and cooked supper, then returned to set up the tripod and hang out to see if the sky had color at sunset. Nope, not much. A couple of other photographers had arrived by then, hoping for the northern lights, and that inspired me to hang around just to see what would happen. Beginning at about 8 pm, this did.
It became an embarrassment of riches; there was so much great color and variation it was hard to finally pick one. I had worried the clouds would spoil the view, but the aurora was so bright that they didn’t matter, and in fact seemed to add interest.
I wanted a shorter shutter speed to help reduce star trailing, but with the wide aperture I knew my depth-of-field wasn’t good. After shooting the sky a bit, I increased my shutter speed and shot a focus stack to get those rocks in the water sharp. Struggling with focus in the dark, the closest part of the rock at the very bottom is not crisp, but fortunately it’s hard to see in the deep shadow.
The lights of Timberline, etc., on the mountain offended me, so I used an earlier shot to help remove them. The same for a truck that was parked at a boat ramp on the right side of the lake.
I’ll post a couple jpg images that the camera took with the raw files I used for processing in a comment below, so you can get an idea of what I was working from.
Specific Feedback
I’m still low on the learning curve for night skies; any suggestions and comments appreciated!
Technical Details
NIKON Z 7II
NIKKOR Z 20mm f/1.8 S
1.6 sec. at f/16 and ISO 64 (an earlier shot used to remove the lights on the mountain)
10.0 sec. at f/2.2 and ISO 2500 (small part of an earlier image to get rid of the truck at the boat ramp in the trees on the right)
20.0 sec. at f/2.2 and ISO 2500 (nine images focus stacked in Helicon Focus for the foreground rocks)
6.0 sec. at f/2.2 and ISO 2500 (the rest of the image)
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
- Vision and Purpose:
- Conceptual:
- Emotional Impact and Mood:
- Composition:
- Balance and Visual Weight:
- Depth and Dimension:
- Color:
- Lighting:
- Processing:
- Technical:
