I’m sure I’m not the only one but I’m really struggling the last couple weeks to find motivation and creativity to process my images. This image is from a February trip to Jackson, WY. I have so many wonderful images from that trip but I just can’t seem to get my brain to function.
Does the “horizon” bother anyone? It’s not quite in the middle but close. If I crop, I lose the two trees on the edges that frame the lower part of the image. I print all of my images so I crop with the aspect ratio instead of free hand crop. To be honest, when I composed this image in the field I didn’t even realize that there was a dark horizon formed by the trees at the base of the mountains. I shot this pretty tight at 68mm so the scale of the mountains was there but no maybe I should’ve gone a little wider.
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
I’m struggling if I really like this image or I’m trying to like it because it was so beautiful in person.
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
Single, ISO 100, 68mm, f14 1/80sec.
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The horizon is.fine by me. This image is gorgeous, I do wonder how the colour version could be.
It’s very balanced and light lead the eye thru the image very nicely, even in B&W.
The only thing I would change is the sky, maybe not darken it so much, just a tad brighter
Thanks @João_Ferrão, I appreciate the feedback. The color probably would be ok, too contrasty though. I pretty much only shoot and process for BW, it’s my passion so I shoot the scene with a little later in the morning to have more contrast. The sky was actually a little darker than it is now but I lightened, maybe I’ll try lightening just a little more. Glad to hear the horizon isn’t a bother. Thanks again!
@Nathan_Klein I know what image you’re talking about. There was so much snow when I was there that you couldn’t access that area safely. This was the best view I could get on my trip, hoping to get back again.
The shot is just fine. The horizon pretty much needs to be close to center as there is equal foreground and background. I think the problem you are having is that your brain is comparing it to one of Ansell’s most iconic shots. Hard to live up to that. Ive tried that shot on a few occasions and haven’t printed one yet. Good work.
Lovely scene, and it’s good you didn’t reach the same viewpoint as Adams. Duplication is easier from posters.com!
The horizon line doesn’t bother me, but the tall trees at each edge keep grabbing my eyes. I see the thinking (natural vignette) but I like an emphasis on the river and pass between the peaks. This is just a rough crop in my iPhones photos editor, but it might give the whole more punch through excluding the edges. Here’s a possible example
Hi Andrew, I think sometimes it can be really hard to convey beautilful scenes in a photography. I have done the same with some of my images, where there has been an amazing scene and light, I have shot the image and really tried to like it.
Answering first question, the trees on the horizon don’t bother me too much. Yes they are flat and striking but they are what they are and there is nothing you can do about it. I also think that you have processed the image reasonably nicely.
To me the image is very busy and also feels very bottom heavy. By that I mean that the trees in the foreground are quite doimnant and distract from the mountains. The slight curve of the river also gets lost in the sea of trees. I would maybe have foucssed on placing the river more prominetly in the frame. One way of simplifying this image would to have shot with a tighter crop. I have made a very crude crop of the shot to show what I mean. You could even do this in post if the resolution of your file allows. I think by going wider here, you would have made the shot even more busy. I would maybe consider cropping some of the dark sky out as I did in the examples here. The dark opposes the lighter tones of the scene and draws your eye away from the mountains.
The other part of the image that is really striking are the snowslopes between the flat line of trees and the foreground trees. A tight pano style shot could have worked nicely there with those features as the foreground.
There is a lot to look at in this image and all of it is beautiful. But I think that strength is also this picture’s weakness. I think you need to be clearer on what it is you want me to be looking at and how you want me to get there. As it is, it feels to me like you’re leaving it to me to figure out how to negotiate the frame rather than you, the photographer, taking charge. It isn’t your job to tell me how to feel but I believe it is your responsibility to direct and, in a way, guide me through the image. Of the various suggestions, I think Marylynne’s 4:5 crop works best for me. It maintains the horizontal orientation, which suits this image, but it also directs my attention from the river up through the snow field and through the pass to the distant peak.
Hi @andrew_hertel, i like this monochromatic shot, i think it’s well processed. I wouls remove the tree in the right corner just cropping a little bit. Thanks for sharing.
