I love the redwood forests, I could and did spend days roaming around them. Unfortunately I haven’t been back since I took this photo in 2005. It was taken with my first “real” digital Nikon D70 (a whapping 6.1 mega pixels!).
I have no clue about the specification I used for this photo since the camera data did not record any, however, any and all comments are welcome.
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Any and all comments are welcome. Thank you.
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
N/A - however, I do know that it was a typical misty/foggy day, giving me really nice lighting condition coming through the canopy.
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
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Linda, I would also love to go back (it was 1995 for me). You did have good even lighting, which is what you need in a forest. It could be just me, but it seems a bit over saturated on my monitor. See what others say. I love the red soil, and the brighter tree in the center and deeper into the scene. Well seen and captured.
Thanks Shirley for your thoughts. Although, I definitely feel that the color saturation was how I saw and felt it on that day. . . . .but, sadly, I don’t have the original photo to compare and would guess that I did do some saturation adjustments. I did a quick “de- saturating” for comparison.
While I am a fan of saturation, the first image seems too saturated. I do prefer the second although maybe a touch more saturation? We visited the redwoods some years ago in the off season and found ourselves alone most of the time. Loved it!
Linda, maybe I was wrong. I like your first shot best, but still feels like it was a bit over saturated, but your repost seems way too dull to me. If that is how you remembered it appearing it is probably best to go with the first image.
Hiking in the redwoods is so nice, isn’t it, especially on a foggy day. I’m with the others on the super-saturation of the first version. The second looks much more natural. Colors look more saturated on foggy days, especially warmer colors. Trying to translate that in a photo isn’t always easy, though.
Linda, this is a fine view of the redwoods, with the soft light showing off the details beautifully. I too was struck by the saturation, especially the redness of the path and ground in your original post. In your repost, the path and ground look much better, but the rest of the image seems undersaturated. One possible fix is (assuming you use software that allows you to mask individual layers) is a hue/saturation layer that uses a mask to limit where it is applied. Then you can pull the red down, but only in the lower left.
Wow, pretty striking what edits my comment needed… This is a nice improvement, but I think the ground is still a bit too red. You can work on that by decreasing the saturation or by letting more of your sat./desat. adjustment through the mask. In Photoshop, I will overdue the saturation adjustment on the entire view, create a black mask everywhere, then slowly paint in white on the mask (using a very soft brush at 20 - 30 % opacity) to get the right amount of change in the places where I want it.
Thank you @Shirley_Freeman, @Jim_Gavin, @Bonnie_Lampley and @Mark_Seaver for all of your thoughts and comments. Although I love walking in the woods when it’s foggy, I had not considered how the fog effects the photo, thanks for that thought Bonnie. And @Mark_Seaver, I like your technique about over saturation and using a black mask then painting back into the image. Giving that a shot today. Thanks again.
HI Linda - This photo gives a lovely feel of walking through a forest of massive trees. The composition feels immersive and I think it works overall. Aside from the saturation, the main thing that catches my eye is the dark tones. Since this file is from so long ago, I am guessing that you do not have a lot of latitude with processing. While I do not mind deep, dark shadows, one things that catches my eye here is how dark the trunks are and the shadow on the lower left. It looks like a lot of the detail in those areas is gone (like a levels adjustment where the black point was pulled far to the right). I think a little more detail and light in those dark areas could help the processing feel a little more balanced. Just a little thing to think about…
I like the grouping of the trees and the foreground, Linda. The saturation was the first thing that struck me and you’ve gotten some good advice on ways to address it. I think the real take away from this is that it’s an excellent excuse to go back!
I’m liking the final version even with the red duff. It has more impact, and if realism is not the goal, the saturation works well. There is blood on the ground in many of these forests, and the saturated version communicates that damage and threat.
ML
Some final thoughts and thanks to; @Mark_Seaver, @Shirley_Freeman, @Dennis_Plank, @Marylynne_Diggs, @Sarah_Marino, @Jim_Gavin and @Bonnie_Lampley for taking the time to help with this forest. I have played and experimented with many of your suggestions and posted a final version, just fyi. Also I am taking to heart what Dennis about scheduling another trip out there. Great idea. Through all of this I remembered taking a photography workshop one time where we did much analysis and critiquing and finally the instructor said: “you know sometimes the photo just won’t be fixed and the best thing to do is leave it and go take another one.”
