The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
The flat shelf rocks with the water flowing over grabbed my interest. I sat on a rock and experimented with slowing down the shutter speeds. I tried to resist putting the snagged log in the center put I wanted it to be the focus. My thoughts were the water is time flowing and the log is stuck momentarily but the journey will continue with the spring melt and higher water flowing. I know the waterfall is just ahead. Will it survive the falls and gain a few scars and travel on, time will tell.
Specific Feedback
Is the image interesting, why or why not. Thanks.
Technical Details
ISO 100 f/16 3 sec 135mm
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Hi @Steve_Diephuis - to answer your question - I think it is interesting for sure! It’s honestly one of those images that needs to be looked at on a larger view to appreciate what’s going on in the frame - the stair-stepping effect of the rocks is really interesting!
The left rock is so close to the edge that it pulls me over there, so if you could get more room there, that would help the flow a bit more.
I find this very interesting, Steve. The pattern created by the flowing water is super. I had a couple of thoughts. The first was that darker ULC - it really pulls my eye that way. I think a 5x7 or even a 4x5 crop would work to still tell your story while eliminating that dark corner.
The second was that it felt a bit dark. I could see brightening it just a tad (say, with curve in PS pulled up just a bit). Alternatively, you could go darker, to accentuate the light bits. I had a try (hope you don’t mind) to see what that would look like. I darkened the midtones and darks, but not the lights and liked that the log in center became more prominent. Since you said you wanted the log to be the focus, I thought that the darkening worked to do that. I also dodged the lights a bit on the log and around it it bring it out a bit more. Not sure whether this level of interpretation would be acceptable in the NLPA, though.
However you slice it, it’s a wonderful photo. I like that the sense of scale is unknown. At first glance, I thought this was a small scene and that the log was a small branch. You say it’s a log, though, so this must be a fairly large view. Very cool!
Matt and Bonnie, thanks for your kind comments and suggestions. I think Bonnie’s aspect ratio works better than my original so I will do some editing. Thanks!
I find the image quite enjoyable. The diagonal flow and the interplay and contrast between the rocks and water is quite nice. I think I would crop from the top to eliminate the dark ULC.
