I had an appointment in Sayre, Pa. this week. The road I take to Pa. is on a country, two lane rd. that travels along the Chemung river. Parts of this river has beautiful Sycamore trees growing along it’s banks. The river is on the rt. hand side of the road and only has a few roads that turn rt. off it. These roads have to have a bridge built to cross over the river and there’s a couple that are very old one lane bridges. Very cool. Every time I travel this route, I always say “Why didn’t I bring my camera?” Well, last week I did. I couldn’t find any trails where I could walk along the river or get close enough to get a good shoot of the river or the trees. I did stop on the side of a dirt road to capture the photo I’m posting. I think the Sycamores had enough separation to stand out ok. I figured I would have viewers that would say crop this image, so I’m posting a cropped version also.
Specific Feedback Requested
Pick the image you like the best and critique that one. I’m really working on my processing techniques, especially D&B. Did I do enough of that. Could I have done better on the composition?
Technical Details
Sony a7r iv 70-200mm @123mm
f/11
ss/ 1/40 hand held
ISO 640
Donna, I’m really enjoying the horizontal version of this scene. I can’t say I’d change anything beyond some bright areas here and there. However, that can be subjective from monitor to monitor or even a given browser being used to review the image.
Very peaceful view of this country road area…
The uncropped version definitely works better for me. It shows a perfect balance and most interesting interaction between the trees.
I just think of burning the bright grasses at the bottom, or even cropping them . This is my personal opinion of course. I enjoy the composition a lot, thanks for sharing.
Donna, To me the first one is a stunning image,. And your processing technique is more than OK in my view. Especially the way you handled the colors, what is always very personal . Well done again !
I like the uncropped version very much. It is very well composed and the contrast between the birches (aspens?) and the background works beautifully. I might try adding a little clarity (around 3.5 lowpass in PP) or texture in LR just give the texture a little more pop. But the main thing I’d want to do is crop out the bottom yellow grass. It detracts and you have such a wonderfully homogeneous field with all the trees, why break it up? If you crop out the bottom I think I’d also crop just a hair off the right for balance.
Hi Donna,
The vertical provides a strong colorful foreground, followed by the gray leading upward to the white bark that really stands out making it the center of this composition. D/B is a challenge in this type of photo due to the details within the branches, but you did an excellent job. This type of woodland photography is very challenging and you allowed this tree to be the ‘star’ of this photo story.
Kerry, thanks for pointing out that soft area in the LR. I corrected that in my copy, but won’t repost. I did try cropping out the grass and I thought it looked too cut off at the bottom. I did darken the grass. I’ll take another look at cropping. Thanks
@Donna_Callais - One way of seeing cropping out the grass is, as you say, cutting it off at the bottom.
But to my way of thinking, in cropping, it is as though those birches are floating in a cloud-like field - an ethereal feel that takes the image to another level.
Yes, yes, yes Donna, the full horizontal image is best. I do not think you need to change a thing, and I for one, would not crop anything off the bottom or top. The brown/orange grass on the bottom works wonderfully as an anchor while the gray BG trees serve as a wonderful border highlighting the sycamores. My real only concern is that you hand held the camera for this photo, which might or might not provide enough sharpness for you to print this really big, as it definitely calls for it.
I just now looked at the ss – 1/40 sec handheld is really thin ice for the gorgeous detail here! Noise from higher ISO is easier to fix than a soft image. I think you have a very special one here, and, for me, the crop from the bottom makes it amazing!
I’m also applauding the first horizontal shot. You have beautiful separation between the sycamores and background trees, making a delightful composition. I think you nailed this one. I wouldn’t crop out all of the foreground grass as @Kerry_Gordon suggests as I think some of that grass adds depth and dimension; maybe I’d crop half of it. Great shot, Donna.
The wider angle version for sure, Donna. If you crop the grass section out you certainly lose the presentation of a nice mage of a field and hillside with fall Sycamores. But in return you get an awesome image of just the Sycamore tree family dancing, celebrating and boldly mocking the Winter they know will come. They are such great trees to capture this time of year and your image is truly wonderful. It sounds like you have some special spots along your bridge crossings. On the image, it is that much of a difference to me…I would buy the Dancing Sycamores for my wall and I bet others would too.
@Youssef_Ismail@Larry_Greenbaum Thank you very much for taking the time to view my image. I love when I can just happen on a shot like this. Here in the NE, it’s hard to find separation in our woods.
@Kerry_Gordon@Diane_Miller@Stephen_Stanton I very much appreciate that you saw a small change in this image that would make it better than just a nice photo. After I cropped the bottom and compared the 2 for a while, I could see what you saw. I had tried cropping the grass off this image when I was processing it and I thought it looked cut off at the bottom. I spent some time this morning going through a lot of the Editor’s Choice photos on NPN. The photos that always catch my eye first are when the photographer has taken a nicely composed image and then turns it into something very unique and special. I’m putting a lot of work into composing good compositions and I think that is starting to pay off, but my skills to turn that image into something unique are lacking. I know the tools in PS fairly well. I keep adding more techniques to my tool belt, but knowing what to do with a photo to make it special is where I really fall down. I can process a nice picture, but how do I learn to take it beyond that? How do you have very vivid colors that look so great and not be totally over saturated! Are all those abstract photos with bright, vivid colors actually in the photograph and just intensified, or are the colors being changed. How do you learn this? I’ve watched hundreds of processing videos on YouTube and have purchased some. These are some of the questions I find myself asking. Anyway, sorry for rambling just to say that your critique has made me realize that I’m not thinking outside the box yet with my processing. So many things to learn in photography and that’s exactly why it’s the best hobby I could have at age 72. Thank you.
You’ve found a great place to learn! I think the best way to learn is just to post an image and get feedback. Tackle one tool/technique at a time and you’ll have it ready for next time, and will likely learn to recognize when it will help an image. I’m thinking simple tools like Clarity (which can be overdone), or Texture, or Vibrance. But so much learning is just experience, like the best way to crop, and there’s a lot of leeway there for creativity. The same for things like Shadow and Highlight balance.
And that box – it’s hard to get out of.
We once had a very determined cat who had to be taken to the vet. He said NO WAY. We didn’t have a cat carrier yet (he was a brand new arrival in the family) and managed to persuade him to sit in a cardboard box in my lap in the car (my husband was driving). I gently reassured him and closed the lid just far enough he couldn’t jump out. We got about halfway down the driveway and his GPS told him he was getting out of his territory. So he used one claw to literally rip a vertical cut in the side of the box! The box is only a temporary barrier.
