The Sun's First Kiss - Edited

Image Critiques Landscape Critiques
1

MtTempleGlowingEmberTDS
MtTempleGlowingEmberTDS1471×2000 1000 KB

Denoise Applied

MtTempleGlowingEmber.jpg
MtTempleGlowingEmber.jpg1471×2000 999 KB

Original

MtTempleGlowingEmbersTDS
MtTempleGlowingEmbersTDS1678×2000 1.01 MB

Denoise Applied

MtTempleGlowingEmbers
MtTempleGlowingEmbers1678×2000 958 KB

Original

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

This is Temple Mountain above Moraine Lake in Banff NP, Alberta, Canada. It had been a cloudy overcast morning and when the first rays of the sun broke through it lit these rocky spires on the top of the mountain like a kiss.

Specific Feedback

Full disclosure, I cloned out an unruly branch at the very top of the mountain on the right. I hope it isn’t too obvious. Any comments or suggestions are welcomed. Not sure about the overall balance of the composition. It feels a bit centered and off balance to me. Maybe a little different crop would work.

Technical Details

Canon 5DMiii, f18, 1/125s, iso4000, -0.7ev, 24-105 lens at 105 mm. Cropped and cloned.

Critique Template

Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.

  • Vision and Purpose:
  • Conceptual:
  • Emotional Impact and Mood:
  • Composition:
  • Balance and Visual Weight:
  • Depth and Dimension:
  • Color:
  • Lighting:
  • Processing:
  • Technical:
2

Ed, the kiss of early light looks great and the tighter crop lets the sunlit spires stand out more. The sky could use some (more??) noise reduction. My testing of the 5D3 showed good noise characteristics up to about iso 800 and tameable noise up to 3200, but it gets challenging above 3200.

3

Thank you Mark. I applied Topaz denoise to both.

4

Ed - both images are excellent. I prefer the looser crop, with more of the sky and left tree brances, to balance the amount of greenery at the botton. The light on the mountains is exceptional
The edits are a good improvement

5

Cool, thank you @SandyR-B.