The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I’ve photographed this mountain so many times before, but never from this exact spot - it was almost like seeing an old friend in a new light. Getting here wasn’t exactly easy. The wind was brutally cold, and the ice was downright sketchy to navigate, not only because it was slippery but because it had huge, deep voids beneath it and one had to be extra cautious not to break through. The river was alive, rushing and freezing all at once, while the mountain just loomed above it, calm and unshakable. I wanted to capture that - how winter can be both harsh and stunning, with the cold biting at you but also showing you something so beautiful it’s hard to look away.
Specific Feedback
I’m relatively happy with the composition given what I had to work with though I had hoped to have some nice cracked ice in the foreground but the only ice that fit that bill compromised the framing of the mountain too much so I went with the line of the river leading to the mountain.
I am curious though about your thoughts on the post processing of this. I wanted it to help convey the coldness and the misty atmosphere.
Technical Details
Equipment: Canon 5D mark IV with the Canon 45mm TS-E lens tilted for max DOF and shifted up to keep the trees vertical. Tripod, No filters.
Exposure: 1/6 sec at f/13, ISO-100 (three vertical frames stitched).
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Nice Tom. Classic composition. I love how you used a midrange focal length to keep the mountain fairly large in the frame. I was gonna ask you if you focal length blended until I read the specs. It would be nice if that spot of sky wasn’t showing on the right of the treeline on the right but if you crop it off you lose the nice curve of the shoreline.
I realize you were going for a “cold” feeling, but I feel the blue/cyan in the FG is a tad strong. Just MHO of course.
I’m really liking this one, @Tom_Nevesely. As @Michael_Lowe noted, the mid-range focal length doesn’t diminish the size and presence of the mountain. It’s not quite a portrait of the mountain, but certainly not a grand landscape. I enjoy the sky glow and the predominantly cool colors with just a touch of golden light on the mountain shoulders. This is great work!
Dear Tom Nevesly, thank you for sharing this image. You have captured the cold and harsh environment, and the blue colors convey that mood very well. There is an interesting dynamic between the triangular shapes (the top of the trees in the middle ground and the mountain in the background), on the one hand, and the curve on the right side leading into the wood, on the other.
When I first saw the image, my eyes were attracted to the shimmering reddish area on the left bank, probably because this is one of the strongest color contrasts in the image, and because it is an area that challenges the otherwise centered image, but first of all because I could not make sense of it: What was it? It was not before I downloaded and zoomed in that I realized that the reddish area consisted of reddish bushes. In terms of luminosity, I wonder if the rather dark forest (zone 2 or 3?) could be re-worked? The curve leads my eyes into the dark forest, after which they have difficulties moving from there to the prominent area in the image, namely the sunlit summits of the mountains. Some sort of transition connecting the forest to the mountains would be helpful.
Capturing waves in rivers is tricky and down to personal preferences. I would normally choose a slightly slower shutter speed than 1/6 sec., namely between 1/15 and ½ second, in order to avoid a blurry rending of the waves, and in order obtain an image that conveys the texture and power of the water. Alternatively, I would pick a shutter speed faster than 1/250 sec., in order to freeze the movement of the waves. Again, thanks for sharing an interesting image.
Hi Tom,
This is wonderful. You should be happy with this as it does portray the coldness that you were striving for. The scene is predominately cold with the cool tones throughout, but it does have a splash of warmth with the red bushes along the river and the sun kissed areas on the mountain. I like the way the river draws me into this the scene toward that impressive mountain with it’s jagged peaks. My only suggestion would be to dial back the cyan in the water just a touch as it looks a little strong; at least for my tastes. I can see why you view this mountain as an old friend as this is a wonderful portrait of it.
I like creating shot like this that I call, for lack of a better term “Moderate Landscapes” - not quite a grand landscape and not an intimate one either and I really enjoy using mid range/ normal focal length lenses for landscapes because often a wide angle prioritizes the foreground over the background too much. Looking back over the years, I’m creating more and more of these types of images and now in recent years, they actually make up the majority of my work.
Back to this image though, upon looking at it again this morning I agree with you guys about the blues/cyans being a bit over the top so I’m adding a repost that addresses that.
Leo, also agree with you about the forest being a little too dark - so I also lifted it a bit in the repost. Your comments about the shutter speed and it’s effect on the water have given me some thought. The 1/6th I chose was a conscious decision I made in the field. When I reviewed the image on my camera I looked at the water and was happy with how it looked so I went with it. Though to be fair, I probably should have taken the time to experiment more and try a few different ones because they may have been better. Also, I’m reminded that I’ve been carrying a couple ND filters in my bag for years and have almost never used them so need to think about that and maybe try them next time I go out.
Wonderful composition. The leading line of the river takes the eye right into that ‘V’ formed by the tree line, which then meets the ‘V’ of the ravine in the mountain taking the eye further. I think you executed the composition and exposure perfectly. However, I do feel I like the original color rendition better than version 2. While the cyan color cast is heavy, I think you took to much of it out. It loses the “cold” feeling. The sky was clear and the whole scene of the river and the trees and most of the mountain are lit by blue sky light. I would bring some of the cyan back in, maybe somewhere in between the original and version 2. But that is just my preference.
I like your “moderate landscapes” and this one is so beautifully composed. A lot of rich texture, which makes me think this could work very well in B&W as well. The general blue cast of this image is nicely complimented by the yellow-orange highlights hitting the peaks that, I think add even more to the sense of coldness of the day. I much prefer your second version for the reasons you chose to redo it but I wouldn’t mind if the blue of the water were a little less rich still, which could be addressed possibly by toning down the saturation a bit or maybe playing a bit with the hue.
Tom, this is a beauty! Your color adjustments add well. I especially like the cluster of red willows and the rugged details in the main peak. The kiss of late light is good. I think the repost hits the spot of chilly but inviting.
That’s quite a mountain face. The detail you’ve captured in it and the trees and bushes is marvelous. The nearest part of the river is I think the weakest part of the image. The rework is considerably better than the original due to the intensity of the blue water. I like the composition and wouldn’t crop it in any way.
Very late to the party on this one but I have to say that the rework is certainly better. I was looking at the thumbnail and my eye caught the reddish stripe in the middle of the image and at first I thought this was some sort of mistake but when I opened the image and blew it up it became apparent that the red
was from some shrubs. After looking through the scene, I notice quite a bit of color on the other side of the river in the rock slide and even in the aspen grove. They are subtle but super sharp focus brings them to attention when you blow the image up big and really let your eye wander. And boy is this image a feast for the eyes. There are a couple of things that catch my eye. One is the little bit of mountain behind the trees on the right edge. The second is the riverbank along the bottom right of the image. It comes into the image going left and then makes a sharp 90 degree turn and goes back to the right and then starts to curve. I hope you don’t mind but I cropped some off the bottom and some off the right side to help eliminate both of the issues. I also felt that the river held too much weight for this image so cropping off the bottom I think helped some. YMMV!
Thanks for your comment @David_Haynes and I must say, I really like your crop. I cleans up the image perfectly and I’ve already updated my master file in Lightroom with it!
