The Mantis

This image was taken out in Olympic National park on a great workshop w/ Alex N and TJ Thorne. I really enjoyed the form of the tree - it’s what drew me in.

Specific Feedback Requested

Would be curious to hear how others take in the composition. Would also appreciate any critique on processing and colors within the scene.

Technical Details

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Hi Martin. The shape of the tree is really wild. You picked the perfect name for it. All the green and brown hues work really well together. The top left space just under the green leaves bothers me though. I’m not sure what is. Maybe it’s the blue tint. I would try adding a little yellow to warm it up. I would crop a small amount off the bottom. I also warmed up the overall image a small amount.
Please excuse the broad stroke edits
I think you did a great job bringing order to a rather chaotic scene.

Love this tree, Martin, and the name really fits. That must’ve been quite a workshop too! This is a wonderful little scene. I like how you handled the colors and I think the comp works well overall, but it feels I’m pulled over to the ULC and my eyes would like to see a little more light in the lower half of the image to balance it out and bring out more of the shadow detail in the lower part of the mossy maple. I was going to slap a radial filter in the that area to demonstrate but I couldn’t attach an image right now.

Addendum:
Here’s what I was trying to describe. I think it looks fairly similar to what Bonnie posted. In LR mobile I also lightened up a bit of the right upper portion of the tree and dodged some of the darker areas in the ULC that I thought were a little distracting. I shifted the color just slightly towards green as well, not sure if it’s even noticeable


. Lon’s idea of a slight crop sounds interesting. You could even get a good crop of the bottom portion of the image as a 4x5, but you’d lose the upper branch—not sure if that would work with what you’re trying to portray.

There’s a lot going on in this image but it holds together pretty well. It’s also pretty creepy. Part of that is due to the darkness of the tree. I’m wondering if the darker tones should be lifted a bit. The overall mood feels heavy. I was filming this area about 2 months ago and had the same feeling about the moss draped maple trees. It looks as though the moss is much drier now. But the image does have a sort of wondrous look about it. All that glowing green.

Yes, this is a wonderful tree. As Igor says, there’s a lot going on, but that tree has such strong, interesting lines it brings everything together. I agree with Jack on the darkness of the lower right quadrant. There’s a lot of interesting texture down there, with that hanging moss, but it’s difficult to make out and it’s not competing so well with the upper left quadrant. The upper left has the most contrast, from the colors, shapes, and light. I took a crack at bringing up the lower right (radial gradient to lift exposure and lights in ACR, then dodging in PS to further bring up the lights; didn’t bring up the shadows). See what you think. At any rate, it’s a wonderful scene and you framed it well.

Martin,

Wonderfully seen and beautifully captured. I really like the structure of the mossy tree branches - although I can’t unsee the Preying Mantis… which isn’t a bad thing - it does resemble one! I also like the visual balance between that tree and the rest of the light and dark vegetation.

My very first observation was the darker gray areas in the upper left. At first glance I thought it was granite or a rock wall behind, which I thought was a cool setup. Then realized nope, it’s another tree, I suppose with dead branches? At least they’re gray. Now that’s not a bad thing in this imaage but has been mentioned as an area to maybe work on? Honestly, I like the bluer toned area for some color contrast to the rest of the scene.

I think your original looks good, but I do really like Bonnie’s interpretation, especially bringing up the shadow areas.

Hasn’t been mentioned I don’t think, but maybe even a crop off the top, maybe like 15% or so to remove the upper reaches of the mossy tree. Not sure how that would look, haven’t tried. The only logical reason is my bias against the tall digital format.

In the end, I think you did an excellent job creating a cohesive image from the depths of the forest - Order from chaos done well.

Lon

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Martin, I think I recognize this tree. :slightly_smiling_face: Great image and wonderful color. Processing looks fine in my view.

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Hey Andre - Thank you for taking the time to take a look and offer such great critique! I really like how you made the blue tint blend in a bit more with the rest of the scene. I’d have to agree that this makes for a nice homogeneous back drop of the trees form.

Appreciate it!

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Thank you every one for the wonderful critique! @Jack_Krohn @Igor_Doncov @Bonnie_Lampley @Lon_Overacker

I think some of the main takeaways is to really work on the shadows and strike a nice balance between shadow and bringing out the detail.

I’ll also have to figure out what to do with the backdrop that is a bit bluer toned.

I’ve just come back from a trip to the Redwoods so I am still reeling from seeing green every where. I’ll have to work in all of your suggestions this weekend :slight_smile:

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