The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I’ve shot here several times over the years and I always seem to struggle. I love the shape of that mountain but I always have a hard time placing it into a pleasing composition. This time I chose to place a juniper bush and bright Western Wood Lily in the foreground, which is OK, but I still think that a better shot is there waiting to be found. The way this mountain face is oriented it’s more suited for evening photography but as I was there for a very short time so I went out at sunrise instead. I hoped that the clouds in the sky would light up a bit more but this was the most colour they got.
Specific Feedback
I’m curious what you think of the processing. I think the scene needs a bit more life so I’ll most likely play with it a bit more tonight.
Of course as always I’m open to any and all comments or suggestions.
Technical Details
Canon RP with the 24mm TS-E lens tilted to get both the lily and mountain sharp at f/11.
On a side note, this was my first real shoot with my (new to me) Canon RP that I recently got as a lightweight hiking/travel as well as second (backup) camera but after using it all weekend I have to say that I still very much prefer using my Canon 5Div DSLR. What frustrated me most was that so often when I put the camera up to my eye to scope out a potential composition the viewfinder was black because the camera had gone to sleep. With an optical viewfinder I can always see and it doesn’t matter if the camera is on or off. What I did love (and I wish my 5D had) was the flip out screen that allowed me to more comfortably shoot with the camera very low to the ground.
When I first saw this, it reminded me of a religious hymn titled “The Lily of the Valley”.
I really like the composition as presented!
There may be other compositions that work better but for me, this is fantastic!
That sliver of river on the right adds a lot to the scene and it helps with the overall depth in my view.
The way the tree line just past the river is shaped frames the mountains very nicely!
I really like the Juniper Bush and the Wood Lily as well!
Finally, I really like the lighting and the cloud action!
I’ve thought seriously about purchasing that same tilt shift lens and seeing this is adding to my desire to make that purchase!
Nice image, Tom! The base of the mountain/middle of the scene just feels a bit washed out. I would either paint in some contrast or darken that area so it feels more natural and gives you some more separation. The top of the mountain should be brighter than the base since it’s closer to the light source.
Beautiful place! For me, my eye goes to the bright sky first and only later finds the red flower (but I do have a red/green deficiency, so maybe that’s just me). I would be inclined to crop much of the sky, but people here often tell me I crop too tightly at the top of my images, so maybe don’t listen to me. @Eric_Bennett’s comment about the brightness/contrast range on the mountain side is interesting; I wouldn’t have seen it without his prompting, but is quite apparent now. Thanks for sharing the image.
Thank you @Merv for your feedback! I wasn’t familiar with that hymn but I just looked it up on YouTube. The title of the image was actually inspired by a book I read recently called “The Moth and the Mountain” which really has no resemblance to the image because in the book the Moth is a type of airplane and the mountain is Everest.
I’m a huge fan of tilt sift lenses and use them quite a bit for my landscape photography. I know that you can do all sorts of things in post nowadays - make verticals vertical, focus stacking, etc. but honestly these lenses make me enjoy photography that much more.
@Eric_Bennett thank you too for your comments, feedback, and suggestions. It’s always great to get another set of eyes on one’s own image and I think your point are valid. I’m definitely going to revisit the editing.
And thank you @jefflafrenierre for your comments as well! My dad also has a red/green deficiency and I have a hard time imagining what that must be like, how different everything must look.
I’ll have to have a look at the book you referenced, it sounds like it might be a good read.
Edit: I meant to add that I know about the Moth airplane mentioned in the book title, I’ve flown a Moth (AKA: de Havilland Tiger Moth), it’s an early 20th century biplane with an open cockpit that is very slow by today’s standards but it’s loads of fun to fly!!
The hymn I mentioned was something I had heard many times when I was young (many, many years ago). I’m not really sure how popular it is in current times though.
My main interest in a tilt shift lens is probably inline with yours (I think), I have learned to handle landscape and architectural images in post with relative ease and usually with multiple images for focus stacking but I prefer to do most of the work in the field with one exposure, setup takes a little longer but it’s very satisfying to see the overall results in the camera monitor. I’ve used a tilt shift lens before but it was a loaner from a friend just to see if I would like it.
As for the image, I try to never disagree with other comments but to me the light on the mountains seem natural as presented, my reason for saying that is the heavy cloud cover with only minor openings, so to me those clouds would be filtering the majority of direct sunlight (the sky almost looks like an overcast day IMHO).
That said, I suppose making the suggested highlights and shadows adjustments would improve the overall visual appeal regardless of cloud cover.
I’m never afraid to make edits if they can improve the visual appeal and if the edits seem plausible enough to not be automatically questioned by a typical non-photographer viewer.
Anyway, just my 2 cents worth (and probably not really worth 2 cents )
Either way, it’s a very pleasing composition and my only wish is that I could have the chance to see it for myself someday
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