The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
The bus driver said to remember to look behind you. He was absolutely right. as the dawn arrived at Moraine Lake in Banff NP, Alberta, Canada. I happened to glance behind me and discovered a whole new wonderful morning. It had just snowed the day before leaving this wonderland of frosted trees and rocks. The clouds were breaking up after the storm, leaving some beautiful little clouds and mist on the mountain. With the kiss of dawn light, how could you go wrong?
Specific Feedback
This is a very slim, vertical image, but I felt it fit the trees and the steep mountainside. I appreciate any suggestions for improvements or considerations for future opportunities like this one.
Technical Details
Samsung Galaxy s20 FE, f1.8, 1/218s, iso 40, 5 mm. Cell phone. Vertical panorama mode. My wife just informed me that we have newer phones than a Galaxy 5. . . .
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Hi Ed. The layers of snow-dusted trees leading up to the majestic mountain create a captivating sense of depth and scale in this shot. The way the foreground rocks and trees frame the imposing mountain draws the viewer’s eye into the scene and up towards the sky. The soft, muted light of the sunrise or sunset adds a gentle warmth that contrasts beautifully with the cold, wintry landscape.
This image conveys a profound sense of tranquility and rugged beauty, capturing the raw, untouched nature of the mountain wilderness. The composition tells a story of serene isolation, inviting the viewer to imagine standing in that quiet, pristine environment. The mood is calm yet awe-inspiring, thanks to the interplay of natural elements and the gentle color palette.
Considering your question, a wider crop might include more context and offer a grander sense of the landscape, though the vertical composition effectively emphasizes the steep ascent and the towering trees. I don’t mind the slim image anyway, nice one Ed!
Hi Ed, You have made a really wonderful image! I don’t mind the narrow vertical format. It reminds me of the classic asian landscapes that use similar aspect ratios. Really pleasing…
This is beautifully composed. I find it very coherent in the sense that everything you’ve done both in making the image in the field and what you’ve done in post serves the mood, which to my mind is peaceful awe. The subdued colour palette is perfect and the clarity and texture accentuates the feel of clear mountain air. I typically don’t care for long vertical formats but I think because of the verticality of the trees, it works nicely here.
I do have one suggestion, which has to do with the haloing that is evident between the mountain face and the sky and between the trees that are backed by the sky. Haloing often happens at the edges when we add contrast or micro contrast (i.e., clarity/texture). There are different ways to deal with it. After the fact, if you are using Ps, you can use the clone stamp tool but change the setting from “normal” to “dark” and then you can paint along the edges. Because it is set to dark, it won’t change, for example, the mountain face but will paint in neighbouring sky effectively cloning out only the bright halo. That would be easy to do with the mountain face but very time consuming around the trees. A better way to deal with it, again, in Ps (though this could probably be done in Lr too) is, when adding contrast or clarity create a mask and soften the edges so it blends better, if you follow my meaning. If you did your work in Ps you can easily go back through your work flow to where you added the contrast and just create a white mask either above or beside and soften with a low opacity black brush.
Ed, you spotted a wonderful moment and came up with a terrific composition.
I see you were using a phone. Phone photos are remarkably good these days. They’re often a little too sharp for my taste, though, and I get that reaction here. You might want to consider a softening layer (duplicate base image, add gaussian blur to maybe 34, reduce layer opacity to maybe 20). Or not. It’s a lovely image as is.
@Saundie thank you so much for your thoughtful review and kind remarks.
@guy I really appreciate your comments, especially about the classic asian landscapes being long and narrow.
@Kerry_Gordon thank you so much for your assessment and your solutions. Unfortunately, I didn’t shoot this in camera RAW in the cell phone and so the camera itself did the haloing for me. My wife is my computer tech aid, and we’ve figured out how to burn down the haloed edges after the fact. I am going to take the time to do that for both the mountain and the trees. I feel it is worth the time and effort. I appreciate your giving me a solution.
@Don_Peters thank you for your comments. I think the extra sharpness may be, in part at least an effect of the haloing Kerry pointed out. I will see what effect that has on the overall image when I get the work done on reducing the haloing.
Oh yeah, now I’ve figured out how to put my cell phone camera in pro mode to keep both the jpeg, and the RAW files.
Wonderful composition. I love the opposing diagonal lines of the foreground and the background mountain. Added to that the wonderful vertical lines of the trees moving the eye from the foreground to the background. The touch of color in the sky is perfect in adding just the right amount of warmth to this cold scene. Captured on a phone? Wow!
This is gorgeous! Minor issues already noted aside, this is such a fantastic landscape. For me, two reasons. I don’t think this one has been mentioned, but the light is sublime, gorgeous! The dusting of snow of course ties it all together. Compositionally, this is fantastic too; I especially like the layering and depth created by the near/far composition - rugged boulders up front, then the trees, then the mountain and then the beautifully lit sky/clouds. The warmth of the light contrasted with the coolness of the snow and conditions… melded beautifully together.
No suggestions really, although I could see cropping out the tip of the brush at the bottom - but that’s pretty picky.
Thank you very much @Lon_Overacker for you assessment and the EP. I am going to work on the haloing when I get back from my annual insect expedition in So. Arizone with my son.
