What changed: I toned down the bright areas at the top of the frame and re-cropped from the top and left sides; and I darkened the leaf while sharpening it and the rain drops. All of these tweaks caused the leaf to be more of the hero of the shot, which of course is a good thing! Thank you for your review, Jim Majure, Dennis Plank, Ed Lowe, Mark Seaver and John Williams… much appreciated. The other benefit of receiving these recommendations is it helps me continue my Capture One Pro learning.
Added after receiving feedback from the community.
The photographer is looking for thoughtful feedback on the image as a whole, especially around the areas noted below.
Feedback Focus: Artistic / Expressive
About This Image
I shot this after a recent rain… this close-up woodland scene captures a weathered log covered in neat rows of violet-toothed fungi. A single oak leaf, beaded with fresh raindrops, sits right in the middle against all that rough texture giving your eye a peaceful place to land while highlighting the quiet, beautiful cycle of nature’s renewal.
Feedback Requested
I’m wondering whether the mood or feeling I was aiming for comes through. I wanted to capture a quiet, slightly melancholy feeling, with the fallen leaf and the fungi on the log suggesting the passage of time and the cycle of life in the woods.
I love this type of fungi as a subject of photography. Capturing the fresh droplets does leave a peaceful feeling.
I have a couple of thoughts. First is framing; I might try placing the leaf a little to the left. You don’t have to a full rule of thirds, but slightly off center might help.
I also think some areas of the photo are a little too bright. The row of fungi at the top are a little distracting. A linear mask could easily de-emphasize them. The subject leaf, itself, might also be toned down a little bit without detracting from its importance in the photo.
Both the fungi and the leaf clearly fit the theme of the challenge. Nice work.
I’d echo @jimmajure on toning down some of the brighter areas, Tom. You don’t mention whether you were on a tripod, but if you had that available, stopping down some more might have enabled you to get the main leaf fully in focus. the arrays of fungi going out of focus work reasonably well, but in that main leaf, I think it would be better if it were all in focus. The mood does come through very nicely.
I really like your idea behind this intimate landscape and IMO the mood you were attempting to convey comes through rather nicely. @jimmajure and @Dennis_Plank have already suggested a couple of small tweaks for you to consider. I have one more. That patch of green along the top edge does catch my eye a little and draws attention from that wonderful fungi and oak leaf, so I could see a crop to get rid of that and zoom in a little more on that leaf. I hope you do not mind, but here is a revision with what I was thinking. Just my opinion of course. Beautifully done.
Tom, the wet leaf and the mushrooms do look good. I agree with the suggestions already made, particularly abou burning-in the bright, oof mushrooms along the top and making the green bits go away. I do like that second leaf as a supporting character for the main leaf, so I’d suggest cropping from the top and the left. The raindrops on the leaf do make for a melancholy feeling.
