A few weeks ago, I was shooting waterfalls along the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was perfect conditions with light rain, very light winds and warm temperatures. While making my way up to Skinny Dip Falls, I had to pass through this tunnel. just loved the hazy/foggy tunnel exit and it resonated with so much of my mindset over the past year from parenting to faith to creative expression. I’d be interested if others feel the subject matter is adequately demonstrated and I’m open to any recommendations. Thanks for your time folks!
What technical feedback would you like if any?
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
Single shot. D850, 24-70 f/2.8 at 48mm, 1.3sec, ISO50 f/11.
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The mood in this image is wonderful. The fog in the tunnel may also denote uncertainty in these times of COVID. Looks like you pulled over and took this from the middle of the road.
The atmosphere of the fog and the hillside intrigue me. Well captured!
For me, the size and brightness of the line into the tunnel conveys one set of feelings, while the fog and light at the end convey others. Yellow is a color that the brain does not ignore, so in this image it wants to be the star of the show
As with any really interesting composition such as this, alternative possibilities exist.
I worked a bit with it and tried to listen to the evolving image …
cropped out a lot of the line and the foreground expanse of relatively uninteresting grass
decreased the saturation of greens a bit and tried to punch up oranges (not successfully, I think)
lightened the yellow to reduce the impact of the line.
This image is dripping with mood, Jim! The atmospherics with the fog impart an air of mystery as the viewer descends into the tunnel toward the dim light at the end as they wonder what is on the other side. I think the road and yellow lines do a nice job of directing me into the mysterious tunnel. FWIW I prefer your original color balance. I only have two small suggestions: #1 would be to clone out the lighter toned areas on the right side of the tunnel wall as they tug my eye just a little and #2 would be 0.8 degrees of CW rotation as the tunnel looks a little off kilter. Of course that may have been the way it actually was. I hope you do not mind, but here is a rework with what I was thinking. Great job on this.
This one has a great mood and sense of mystery as to where the tunnel goes and what lies at the end. I like @Ed_Lowe 's subtle changes. Real nice image.
Thanks @Larry_Greenbaum, @Dick_Knudson, @Harley_Goldman and @Ed_Lowe for your comments. I too am comfortable with the original color balance…I previously decreased warmer tones in the image in order to simplify the colors. I agree with cloning out the reflectors in the tunnel and have done so as shown below. I also cropped the image from the left side just a bit to place the tunnel entrance/exit centrally.
Ed…the grass is higher on the R. side of the tunnel…I think that’s what gives the appearance of rotation. I think it’s pretty level as presented. But you may be on to something, as I had to do a bit of warping of the image to center everything up. The road had more of a subtle curve in it that I hadn’t appreciated when taking the shot. I’ve attached the original RAW image so you can compare.
I noticed that you added contrast in the rework. There parts of the image where the flat look looks better in my opinion. I’m just curious how things would look if you added contrast to just the road. I actually like the in your face yellow line. It seems to emphasize that this isn’t just a picture of a tunnel but a path to something. I might also darken parts of the center of the tunnel. Anything to emphasize the story you’re trying to convey.
Thanks for your observation @Igor_Doncov …you know, I did darken the tunnel a bit more in the repost…you were right, I had added a bit more contrast. also, I like your observation about the yellow line drawing the eye more in to the tunnel to the light on the distant side. More of a reason to leave it in place. Thanks again for having a look.
I’m coming late here Jim, but I like your rework a lot. I love the way you used the lines in the road here, those yellow lines just make the image pop. Everyone has heard of the cliche “there’s light at the end of the tunnel”. What’s neat about this image is the light (and fog) are at the near end of the tunnel, and not the far end.
