The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I was first drawn to this scene by the tree on the right with it’s fantastic curves, it took me two visits to find a composition in this cramped, rocky woodland that I was happy with and even now there are things I might try and do differently on another attempt.
I’ve called this The Thing - I like the idea that the trees on the left are a group walking through the woods and they’ve stumbled upon this gnarled, twisted Thing and are leaning as if taken aback by it, perhaps scared.
Specific Feedback
First off, I’d like to admit to a degree of nervousness in posting this - I’ve only recently started to attempt woodland photography and this is one of my first serious efforts. I don’t think the image is perfect, there are things I think I would change but I’m interested to see what you might notice without giving that away to begin with!
Thank you for taking the time to have a look at this, interested to hear what you think.
Technical Details
F8 (and focus stack)
ISO 64
60mm on Nikkor 24-70 F4
1/3 sec
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Welcome, Dom!
This is a great first post. It’s very intriguing and the more I look at it, the more I like it. Your interpretation of the trees being taken aback by the weird thing in front of them is exactly what I thought as well.
You have excellent DOF, great detail, and the soft greens are very lush. Lots to look at!
The foreground rocks add a lot, and the overall feel - to me - is one of quiet, green, solitude.
A very fine image !
I’m looking forward to more of your images, and your telling us more about you, in your profile
Hi Dom and welcome to NPN! Being a little nervous is normal, but hopefully that subsides with time and more submissions. This is certainly an arresting scene with so much going on that I’m not surprised you stopped for it. An intriguing sequence of shapes and textures. You don’t talk about your editing process or software, but it’s possible that you could emphasize all the amazing attributes here with some light sculpting that can be done in any robust editing package. By utilizing masks to direct contrast and color, you can keep eyes on the main tree and rock in the foreground, while deflecting us from moving to the back with those other trees. Not that those aren’t interesting, too, but are they what you want us to look at?
Let me know if you’d like to discuss further. I use a combination of Lightroom and Photoshop and can work up an example if you’d like. And if the whole light sculpting thing is just a mystery, I can expand, but didn’t want to assume you don’t know. Jeez, listen to me ramble. Anyway, quite the great Thing you have here. Hope to see you around the site in future.
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Hi @Kris_Smith, thanks for taking the time to write your response.
I use photoshop and Lightroom, I first focus stacked the image in photoshop and then did the remaining work in Lightroom. The image was quite dark (I guess minus half a stop or so) to retain the highlights in the background and I used several masks to try and subtly draw attention, hopefully first to the foreground rocks and then through the the main subject and the across to the trees on the left - I do want those to be part of the story here.
I also did quite a lot of colour work to attempt a nice green shade and also gently draw out some of the other colours, yellows, oranges etc.
Maybe I’ve been a little too subtle with the dodging and burning, it’s a tricky thing to balance - I personally dislike images that look too obviously manipulated so I think I err on the side of a light touch approach, but maybe too far here.
I guess overall I’ve tried to make the image look as natural as I can, but as I say - it’s a tricky balance to strike and maybe I need to go a little further.
Dear Dom,
Thanks for posting this image. What caught my eye was the curve of the tree almost filling up the frame. I like the tension between the curve of this tree and the three smaller trees further back. Woodland is chaotic, and it is often a challenge to find structures, but you have managed to do so. Well done.
Absolutely. It’s quite subjective and hard to get right at least according to how you feel at the moment of editing. Over time I’ve changed quite a bit in terms of my approach to editing and my ideas about what looks “natural”. The biggest difference is that for people who weren’t right next to me when I took the shot, what they don’t know about the scene doesn’t really matter. For me the key is separating myself from the taking of the photo to the presentation. Preserving the feel and the moment is most important, but second is aesthetics and enhancing mood. If I can do that well while maintaining the mood and intention of my image, I go for it, even if it means altering the details like light, white balance and using dodging and burning to direct attention. Just more thoughts for the stew.
Hi Kristen - really appreciate your thoughts and agree completely - the moment you press the shutter it’s your image and however you want to interpret the scene is up to you, I could have qualified this better above - I guess what I was going for was something that to me looks ‘natural’, and yes that’s highly subjective.
I have another photo I’m thinking about posting here where I’ve done a much more dramatic edit to try and create something interesting from a scene that was very tricky and uninspiring from the RAW image… and I’m honestly not sure whether the ‘finished’ article is something I like or not, I need to let it sit for a while and go back to it in a week or so.
For the photo above, I will have a play with a slightly more dramatic edit, one of the criticisms I have of it is that I think it feels quite flat - the light is very uniform throughout - there’s a part of me that likes that though.
Overall… it’s a bit like cooking… I seldom enjoy a sandwich I make as much as one made for me by someone else.
Welcome to NPN. I have two suggestions but neither is ‘fixing’ anything. They are just slightly different interpretations.
Make the entire image darker. The subject is mysterious so why not add to that mystery.
Do the rocks add to the story? You could argue that they do but you could also argue that the point is better made without them. Try cropping off all the lower large boulders.
I love the shapes and textures in this Dom. It is interesting to see/read so many ideas for different and interesting interpretations of this scene. Welcome to NPN. Hope to see a lot more of y our work, and hear your thoughts on others’ work.
Dom, I do agree with others that suggest the photo is a bit flat so I darkened the entire photo with the exception of the tree and the two leading line rocks. For me, the change adds depth and a clearer subject.
Photographing deep in forests is always difficult and I think you have a good one here.
Thanks @Rob_Sykes yes, I agree that does look better - I think I’ll do an updated version taking this on board and a couple of points others have made. Thanks for your feedback.