Here is another tamarack image from late autumn 2019 in New Hampshire. These yellow tamarack trees turn color well after the maple trees have lost their leaves. I liked the lone splash of color against the barren hillside of mostly bare maple trees. The stark serenity of stick season has sort of a haunting beauty to it.
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Any critique and comments are welcome
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
Canon 5D MKIV, Canon 70-200mm f4 lens, at 97mm, ISO 400, 1/6 sec at f16
A beautiful fall photo. I love the contrast between the background trees and the colors on the shoreline. The right side seems a little lacking in those colors and is a bit distracting. Maybe a little more green in the one(s) on the right edge.
Beautiful late autumn scene. I would not mind seeing the reflection a bit darker, adding a bit of contrast to the image while retaining the understated look. Minor stuff, a very enjoyable image.
This is gorgeous - exceptional. The natural framing with the “stick landscape” surrounding the larch, pine and bare trees just makes for a wonderful scene. Add symmetry to the equation and you’ve got a winning combo. Love this image.
Two minor comments. I would agree with Mr. H., about adding some (micro) contrast - a good candidate for a simple blank Curves/Levels Layer at 5-10% opacity using Soft Light blend mode. At least that’s one method… My only wish really though would be just a skosh more room at the bottom to really increase that symmetry - oh, and here’s another example of when a 50/50 comp works wonders. Personally, I like just the slight variation in luminosity between the two halves. Wouldn’t change that.
Gotta be one of my favorites from your autumn images.
You’re really killin’ it with these fall images, Ed. I love this as presented. Looks like there could have been some nice opportunities on that hillside too. One of the best mirror reflections I’ve seen. Love the subtle processing also
Ed,
This is absolutely gorgeous even if it is stick season. There is just enough color on that far hillside to compliment the lone tamarack rather nicely. With that mirror like reflection there must have been no wind, in fact I think it is one of the cleanest reflections I have ever seen. I just love all those textures and details along with the subdued color palette on that hillside. I hope you were able to get some images from that as well.
@Jim_Gavin@Lon_Overacker@Ben_van_der_Sande@Harley_Goldman@Michael_Lowe@Ed_Lowe thank you for your kind comments, I really appreciate the input. The leaf peeping tourists have all departed by the time stick season rolls around, but I think late autumn can be just as beautiful as peak foliage season itself. Mike and Ed, you might be interested to know this is from the same pond in Franconia NH as my recent post, the one we visited last spring.
As usual, this group has suggested a few tweaks that add value to the image. Here is a rework where I have followed Harley and Lon’s advice to add some more mid-tone contrast, and added canvas at the bottom. I like the luminosity of the reflection as presented, and chose to leave it that way.
Ed,
Very late to the party and not much to add, but in some ways I like these minimalistic fall color scenes more than the explosion of peak season. With that in mind, I see some potential telephoto extraction images on the hillside in the URC. Maybe a future post?
Ed, just when I don’t think it could get any better, I scroll down to your edited image, and I like it even better. That reflection is really nice. The mist of fog, the splash of color, really makes this image pop.
Ed, As a late-comer to this image, I want to offer my accolades. I like the softer look of the image that is lost a bit when contrast is added to the reflection. I think your introductory remarks perfectly match the image itself. “Haunting” is the word that sticks on me. Haunting, yet delicate and beautiful. The softness of the misty stick trees with the colored ones sticking up in the background balances the punch of the primary group of trees that are perfectly reflected in the water. You display the seasonal changing faces of nature perfectly.
Michael you asked “Pardon the question, what is the virtue of this technique @Lon_Overacker versus using TK Panel Mids adjustment?”
Both methods would produce a similar result. Lons approach would increase micro contrast globally across all tones. If you you did a Curves layer set to Soft Light aplied through TK midtones mask, it would protect the brightest highlights and the darkest shadows from receiving any increase in contrast. Sometimes this is desirable, but in this case, my image is almost exclusively composed of mid-tones. So Lon’s suggestion would produce a very similar result to using TK. If an image already had a lot of deep shadow areas, a TK midtones adjustment would prevent them from getting further blocked up, which is a case where TK may produce a better result.
