Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I recently photographed a stream I’ve photographed many times before. I was thinking of ways to suppress irrelevant detail and simplify the images. I decided to try camera movement. The camera was on the tripod with the ball head loose so that I could exercise some control over the movement. This was the result.
Specific Feedback
I’m mostly interested in an overall aesthetic reaction rather than suggestions about details but I welcome any constructive comments.
I was shooting at f/32 to slow the exposure. That had the side effect of putting the lines in the background in focus. I wouldn’t have done that intentionally but the result doesn’t bother me.
Technical Details
ISO 100, 74mm, f/32. .4 sec.
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:
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- Technical:
I like this a lot, Don. The change in colors from green through brown and back to green at the top work very well. I also like the way it seems as if the vegetation rises directly from the water, similar to cypress swamps that are so stunning. I don’t see anything I’d change here.
Thanks for the comment, Dennis.
Hi Don,
I really like this image. I am a big fan of ICM myself, and still trying to get my vision onto the sensor in this forest scene genre. Many forest ICM images feel somewhat similar to each other (some difference in color, tree type being aspen v. fir, etc.), but the stream here (and reflection, I think?) make your image feel like a fresh take on the subject and method.
Overall, the aesthetic impression is quite nice. To be more specific, I especially like how dark and ghostly the foreground trees are, as well as their distribution across the frame, and the way the browns in the middle separate the scene and give it a three-dimensional quality, especially with the lighter trees further back.
Nice work!
ML
Marylynne, thanks for the thoughtful response. I think you’re seeing what there is to see in this one.
Well done Don! ICM seems to unlock the soul of a place and amplifies the voice of small details that often go unnoticed. For example, the light at the bottom of the frame is mirrored by the light up top. Each tree no matter how mundane they may appear without motion applied help provide critical structure to the image. Aesthetically and expressively, your image just works on many levels Don.
This is lovely, Don. Rather moody. I like when the background lines are more in focus. It gives these kinds of photos more depth.
Maybe I’ll need to use small apertures more often. Thanks.
Beautiful ICM image !!! I love the tone and over all vibe …
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Very nice!! I love this sort of ICM with strong verticals. And I love what the water has done – or what you have done with the water. But my first impression is a little strange for a forest scene – I feel I’m looking out thru bars on a window or something. OK – not really that bad, but a very dark FG and lighter BG usually feels a little odd to me. I wonder about a version with the shadows lightened and the highlights darkened, both quite a lot. But maybe that brings out too much detail or is too conventional – just a thought.
I did a quick and dirty revision along the lines you suggested, Diane. I would need to rework the colors if I went in this direction. To me, though, it doesn’t have the mood of the initial version. Thanks for the suggestion.
