Hello all, I’d love some feedback on the composition and processing of this please. I’m still not comfortable with the long lens so would appreciate some guidance if there are any glaring issues.
I was actually on my way to another location when I saw the clouds being dragged across this forest on the hillside in the Lake District. I pulled over into a layby and started shooting, fearful that the clouds would disappear. An hour later and I was still there!
I tried various compositions and exposure lengths (hoping to how the movement of the cloud in a silky smooth way but it didn’t work out). I settled on a fairly quick (1/15 sec I think) shutter speed and this composition. I like the way the trees form almost a crown shape or something that resembles a rocky outcrop like the Old Man of Storr. It reminded me of Ivor the Boneless’ crown on the TV show Vikings (rather random) and I like the aggressive look of the peaks as they break through the cloud.
Again, I’m on a bit of a monotone tip at the moment so went for a dark muted green in the trees and dragged any other real colour out of the scene. I think that adds to the atmosphere and mood.
I like this shot a lot. Great mood, no complaints except for the signature thing pulling my eye down. I wish it were not there to blemish the cool shot.
Wow! Fantastic shot. Well balanced composition and beautiful light in my opinion. You can try to desaturate a little bit the greens but it’s beautiful as processed. Thanks for sharing.
Well seen and captured, Chris. I would recommend taming the bright patch of fog on the left to even things out a little bit but other than that it is quite spot on.
I agree with comments above. Great scene, composition, and light. If there is enough green in the trees, leave the photo in color. Otherwise, convert it to black and white. If the logo is distracting to some, perhaps you could drop the transparency to…50 or 75%? I’m assuming, of course, that the logo is currently at 100%. Nonetheless, this is a great shot!
I think this image is great, the mood and atmosphere are terrific. I prefer seeing this image in color as opposed to B&W, I like the inclusion of the low saturation greens in this image. I think you also have a very nice arrangement of the trees here, their placement and spacing looks very well thought out. I agree with @Adhika_Lie about balancing the exposure a bit, especially the bright cloud on the left. I also think it might help to burn down the brightest highlights in the fog near the bottom edge, to keep the viewers eye focused on the dominant trees above.
Thanks everyone. Yes I completely agree with those patchy highlights in the fog, I’ll sort that. I’m torn with the green to be honest. I really like monotone images tm the moment but not black and white. I like it when the image are devoid of colour other than some desaturated colour of what was already in the image.
Moody and mysterious; wonderful image, Chris. I really like the spacing of the trees in this scene as well as the greens. I could see a couple of areas of fog toned down; the one on the left and along the bottom that kind of spot lights the leafless tree. Small tweaks, but this image is well worth it. Beautifully done IMO.
I love this image Chris. And I love the green. I agree with the comments about toning down the large patch of fog on the right, and slightly darkening the brightest trees in the lower part, to keep the eye centered in the middle of this fabulous, moody photograph. Here is my take on the edit suggestions:
