What changed: Quite a bit… cloned/replaced the upper tree line. I liked having the space above the tree top. Also lightened up the image overall, and even a little more in the upper part of the image to make the fog appear more opaque. I dodged the stumps in the foreground as well. In addition, I used a luminance mask and some refinement to darken the background tree and make it a little more prominent in the image.
Added after receiving feedback from the community.
The photographer is looking for thoughtful feedback on the image as a whole, especially around the areas noted below.
Feedback Focus: Artistic / Expressive
About This Image
I took this image one foggy morning while strolling around on the shores of Lake Lanier. The stumps caught my eye because they almost looked suspended in the atmosphere due to all the fog. The vaguely visible crag in the background seemed to enhance that.
Feedback Requested
Do you get the same feeling from this image? The suspended look of the stumps?
Technical Details
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: EF70-200mm f/4L USM
Focal length: 78mm
Shutter speed: 1/20s
Aperture: f/13
ISO: 50
I’m a sucker for fog images, and I really like the central foggy subject and it’s reflection, Jonathan. For my taste the two darker objects in the foreground distract me from what I would think of as the subject of the image and I would probably crop this a bit tighter to eliminate the lower one and maybe remove the upper one as well, though scrolling on the screen I don’t find the single one as distracting as the pair, so maybe a crop from the bottom and a touch off the left to improve the horizontal balance?
Interesting composition. One hand I agree with Dennis, but it does have its merits. I guess I want to see more of the tree in the back. Interesting idea, though.
While I do like this as presented, I think I would dodge the stumps a little to bring out more detail. From comments by others, I’m beginning to think my monitor might be set too dark, so maybe take that with a grain of salt. I think I would crop out the sky to give everything an even more “suspended” look.
Yes, I get the same feeling, the stumps look suspended in the atmosphere. Making the stumps as dark as you have done is important to achieve that feeling.
I like the image and your strong composition a lot. Below are just some additional ideas.
To my understanding you see the stumps as the main characters. If so, maybe they could be given more breathing room towards the left and right edges. Another idea could be to crop a little bit at the top making the crag a distant “star” that the stumps are moving towards.
For me as a viewer I see the crag as the main object. Looking at the image in that way, the very black stumps, contrasting a lot towards the white BG, steal a lot of the attention. One idea could be to crop a little at the bottom and clone out the rest of the stump at the lower left, keeping the right one. You then get an interesting contrast between the kept stump and the crag, now having more equal visual weight (as compared to 2 stumps competing with the crag).
I understand and like the idea behind the composition.
To my eye the logs are rather dark and overpower the rest of the image. I like what @Michael_Lowe has done where they blend in more rather than jar against each other.
Jonathan, at first glance, the two dark stumps have me thinking of silhouetted houses surounded by emptiness, although that ignores why they would be reflecting. The spooky snag in the center contrasts well with the stumps, while the subtle hints of the distant ridge and it’s reflection add interest. I do think @Michael_Lowe’s crop, with the distant ridge missing looks good also. It’s well know in floral photography that having an odd number of items is usually more attractive that having an even number, the cropped version had 3 “items” and they are nicely symmetric.
@Dennis_Plank@David_Schoen@Michael_Lowe@Ola_Jovall@Huw_Thomas@Mark_Seaver Thank all of you for your feedback! In reading it I think I need to take a fresh look at this image, taking into account some of your observations and suggestions. I’ll make another pass at it and post a revision as soon as I can. I also want to check the archives and see if I have a different perspective of the same scene.
Hi Jonathan,
I’m a little late to the discussion, but I just wanted to add that I like the two rocks. The lone snag would work too, and that’s a different image. So good news: two for one!
I do like Michael’s crop, and I came here to make that suggestion. It’s tight because you don’t want to crowd the tree so you might have to copy some ridgeline in that upper left corner.
Hi Jonathan! This is a very cool fog image. I like the comp using the dark rocks the foreground, with the ghostly snag and faint hillside in the background with such a nice reflection. I really like it as is and I’m conflicted about what I’d like to suggest. I like Michael’s suggested changes and example as it emphasizes the snag a bit more, though it also looses the hillside at the top, which makes the reflection look a bit off. Perhaps it would work to simply dodge the dark rods a bit to give it more visual balance. I think this image is worth some experimenting.
Regardless of what or if you decide to change, I really like it. Well done!
This is a great and actually mysterious image. I do get the feeling of the suspension. In fact, to that concept, I think Michael’s crop enhances that even more. I say that because to me, the background tree/ridge line and it’s reflection provide enough reality and context that I think that notion of suspension is really closer to reflections, if that makes sense. In other words, by cropping from the top, we’ve lost that context and the floating stumps become more mysterious?
Overall, I think Michales version works beautifully. I do think though that the stump on the right the shadows were raised too much. I think a little less on that one.
I do also agree with Ola that some breathing room right/left could actually increase the spaciality and concept of suspension.
For sure you have a unique and very moody, atmospheric image to work from. I’m enjoying as presented, but I think the options are worth considering too.
I just uploaded a revision. I also found another composition of this in my archives with one stump. I’m not sure I like it as well as the angle is different and the tree and stump feel a little too close horizontally to me. Still, is food for thought.
I’m queueing in on the numerous comments. I think the revised version is perfect. Three ‘subjects’ , for me, is the way to go with this striking image. I will have to look into some attempts at similar scenes (but without the fog).
Jonathan, I was out of town when you posted this so I’m just seeing it. I like the simplicity of the shot. The more I look at it, the more I like it. Your revision is good.
It occurred to me that you could, if you wanted, push this one further towards abstraction. I played with darkening the branches, lightening everything else and giving it all some breathing room with generative expand.
I’m late to this discussion too. It’s an interesting image. I do like the toned down rocks whether you go with one or two, but I would maintain the shadow/reflection.
Alice
