The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Just a few weeks ago as I was coming into the Teton Valley, anxious to photograph Fall colors in both Yellowstone and the Tetons, the storm I had been driving through started to break up allowing some beautiful shafts of light to poke through the thick clouds. I pulled off the road and grabbed a few shots. I continued on and just couldnât help myself. I pulled off the road again, and again, and again. It seemed like it was getting better and better each time I stopped the car. These were not epic takes on a grand landscape with the Tetons in the background but simple grab and go images right off the road of some willows along the snake river and some mountains in the background. Because these shots were so simple and I didnât have to work for them I feel less than great about them even though I like the images. I much prefer images that I have to earn. That I have to work through with thought and meaning. I wonder if you have had the same experience. You havenât yet arrived at your shooting destination and yet circumstances put you in a spot to grab some beautiful imagesâŚright from the roadsideâŚwith no thought to composition, the foreground, or the background. Light happens so quickly and disappears so quickly that you have to grab what you can and hope for the best. Most of the time, at least for me, there isnât enough in the image except exceptional light with no other interest and I usually round file them. Let me know your thoughts on this.
Specific Feedback
Does this image hold your interest or is it just great and lucky light?
Too much sky and not enough foreground? Crop some off the top and make it more of a pano?
The foreground is mostly just farms with some homes and cabins on or near the snake river which I cropped out. This is a few miles outside of Jackson and about a half an hour or more from being able to get the Tetons in the shot.
Technical Details
Z8, 24 to 120mm lens @120mm, ISO 200, f/9, 1/800, hand held, manual exposure
Critique Template
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Hi David,
Granted, some images that you really have to work for might give you a greater sense of accomplishment, but I personally have no problem with those images that just seem to fall in your lap so to speak. You still need the skilset to capture that particular scene; exposure, framing etc. Sometimes you may need to tweak them a little due to having to react so quickly with the rapidly changing conditions, but that could happen with those images you have to work for as well. The rays are definitely the star of the show and the amount of sky works just fine for me. For my own personal tastes I could see a little more landscape at the bottom, but it sounds as though you did not care for the buildings dotting the FG. My only real suggestion would be to lighten the FG landscape just a little; maybe something like this. Just my opinion of course. I would be happy if this were mine.
David, you and @Ed_Lowe both raise some valid points about our images and their worth in our minds. In the end, the viewer doesnât know the thought process and time we spent on an image. It still takes talent to âgrabâ a shot like this. You pointed the camera and framed the image in your mind as to what you wanted to include. It basically becomes instinctual. Is it your best image ever? Probably not, but certainly doesnât belong in the âcircularâ filing cabinet. A famous photographer, way better than me, once said, âfind the light and shoot whatâs in it.â Might have been Galen Rowell. My last two shots I posted from Trap Pond were nothing but pointing the camera at the light and theyâre two of my favorite images. I would boost the luminosity of the FG trees even more than Ed and maybe crop the top to accentuate the vertical shafts a little more.
Those rays are definitely the star of the show. My initial thought matches that of Michael and Ed; I want the FG to be brighter. Even though the rays are the star, thatâs some real nice color and I think it deserves a little more attention. I prefer your original composition to Michaelâs cropped version as those heavy clouds at the top add more drama and really prevent my eye from wandering too far north of the sun rays. Beautiful image, David!
Why argue with serendipity? This is a lovely image. And most people certainly wouldnât have stopped a bazillion times. I especially like the yellow-blue contrast. The sky seem a little on the cool side to me. Personal preference, but I wonder if you might play with warming it a bit. I think itâs a keeper!
David, this is a fine catch of a clearing storm, in a fine location. I agree with the others that dodging the foreground trees will add nicely to the scene. I wouldnât crop as those dark clouds at the top show why youâve got those great crepuscular rays.
Thanks so much @Mark_Seaver, @Cathy_Proenza, @Bret_Edge, @Michael_Lowe, @Ed_Lowe, for your comments and suggestions and also the reworks. I like the luminosity boost that Michael gave to this image but I think I still like the original crop. Thanks again for the suggestions and your feelings on just getting lucky with light.
I agree. I often pooh pooh praise given to images I havenât âearnedâ. I donât know why that is, or even if it should be. My theory is that people can see âunearnedâ images and recognize them as such. If I were to lighten up the image I would work on the yellows in the central area and not at the bottom. I do like the blue vs yellow composition and would not try to make it more natural. To me the feeling this image conveys is similar to one I took in the Yukon a couple of years ago. Nice job.
