Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I’ve always wanted to spend some time in a Cyprus swamp and photograph those stately trees in dramatic fog. I am also a big believer in finding beauty close to home. I enjoyed the fading evening light at Mammoth Hot Springs, some steam from the hot water, and the character of these trees. The ghosts of a former forest stand watch in the background.
Specific Feedback
I’ve included images with two darkness levels. I shot this after sunset, so it was fairly dark. I like the dark, but I also think the lighter one reveals the fog better. Is it distracting to not have included the tops of the trees. There wasn’t much of interest to add up there. I have lightened the trees a bit and darkened the background. How do you think it all works?
Technical Details
Nikon Z8
Nikon 70-300 f/4.5-5.6
ISO 100, f/6.3. 1/80th, 190mm
Processed in Lightroom Classic CC
This is a very haunting scene Paul. I like both, but am leaning toward the lighter one. (Maybe a version in between ?) The muted colours of blues and greys are perfect. I like your opening words; “the ghosts of a former forest”.
I don’t find the missing tree tops distracting at all. What I find a little distracting is the snow bank? on the opposite side of the water. Maybe a very slight rotation? The two white parallel trees behind the main subjects draw my eye a little. Take my comments with a grain of salt, Paul. It’s a gorgeous scene, well captured and processed.
This is a nice scene and very well captured.
Usually I lean towards darker pictures but here I prefer the lighter one.
The snow covered trees and area in the background are a bit distrating but not much.
Paul, I prefer the darker mood of the darker view, it’s more ghostly, which I think fits the dead trees subject. I would suggest some dodging of the darks in both of the upper corners. The extra blue tones in the lower left are a nice addition to the lighter view, that you might be able to add carefully to the darker view. It seems that the two versions are emphasizing different aspects of the scene; 1) the fog, and 2) the hot water killed trees.
Tought decision but I think in this case the lighter is more appealing. It just seems as though the subject calls for less dark processing. There is enough tonal separation between trees and background without having to add further contrast. I really like this image. It has a haunting look to it. I can’t decide whether those browns help or hinder the image. I might try to reduce them and see the results.
I’m with the lighter version too.
I feel it captures the mood better.
Love the composition too.
Just now getting to this – I think it is absolutely gorgeous!! I love the whole thing – composition, color and detail on the trunks. Both are wonderful but I lean toward the darker one as it feels more mysterious. There seems to be more of a vignette, which suits the scene. But maybe lighten the upper corners a bit? Maybe a tweak of Clarity would bring out more detail in the fog? Gorgeous in any case!!
I get a quiet spooky feeling from this. I like the exposure and colors of the foreground trees in the lighter one and the rich tones of the background in the darker one. So maybe a merge somehow?
