Twins of the Forest +RP

Image Critiques
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Reworked based on feedback:

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Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

Captured just a few weeks ago on Sonora Pass. I hadn’t been out photographing or out in nature for that matter since my last visit to Yosemite in early May.

I spent more time just wondering around the woods close to camp. In fact, this scene is probably less than 50yrds from my tent. (I’ll include snap in comments for reference).

Pretty simple, if not ordinary composition. I was attracted initially to the twin towers of this Western Juniper. But the surround greenery and yes, the soliday boulder nestled up against the tree was a bonus. Or is it? Does the boulder add or detract from the scene?

Specific Feedback

Other than the question about the boulder, I’m curious how the colors, sat and processing in general come across. Most times I like to push the color/sat/vib, but always with the intention of keeping it believable.

As always, all comments and suggestions welcome.

Technical Details

Nikon D800E, 28-300mm @56mm, f/9 1/4s iso 200. 2-image focus stack for top to bottom details.

2 Likes
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Just adding for fun and reference. My campsite was just about 90deg to the left of the posted image. I spent a bit of time wondering around the forest around camp.

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Hi Lon,
what a great image. There are so many beautiful textures and patterns to explore.
The rough bark makes the main trees stand out nicely from the background.
I also like the bolder. The bolder and the young conifer frame the main trees nicely.

I really like the processing. The colors look very natural to me. I wouldn’t have guessed that you pushed the colors and saturation.

Just as an alternative to your wonderful editing: Have you considered a b&w conversion?

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Wow, This is a first-row accommodation. :slight_smile: That must have been awesome to spend the night there.

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Lovely! And what a great campsite.

I think the boulder totally makes the scene. We can see that the tree has grown partially around it, making for more of a story. My first impression was that the location of the boulder in the frame felt off balance, but the more I look at it, I’m not sure. I thought maybe lightening that little tree on the left to give a lighter spot for balance would be good. I tried it, but, again, not sure it’s necessary.

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1 Like
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Lon, thanks for challenging us with this exciting composition. I like the depth of color in the trunks, but the green seems just a tad too intense. I am unsure if it’s the warm hues or the lack of much difference in the various greens that bothers me the most. The campsite picture you posted has a very nice play of the various shades of green that seem to be lacking in the Twins picture. The cooler greens play off the warmer shades of green in exciting ways in the campsite photo. By the way, I find the boulder an excellent addition to the composition. It breaks up all the green. Not that I have anything against green.

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Lon, I always learn from you. I love the texture in both the trees and the green surround. As Bonnie says, the boulder makes it. Thanks.

1 Like
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Are you kidding, Lon. Love that boulder. It completely makes the image for me by breaking up all of the green. The V pattern of the tree is awesome but I find the relatively uniform branches on both side of the V really balance this scene out. I might play with trying to create different shades of green as @Barbara_Djordjevic mentions but it is a very, very minor nit. There is a small dark area to the right of the rock on the right edge of the frame that could be dodged slightly but I’m really struggling to help you improve this image in any way. I think this is terrific, Lon!
PS I love your campsite. What a beautiful area. Is this in Yosemite?

8

Gorgeous!! I LOVE these stately old junipers, and this one looks like the king of the forest! The twisted dead branches are so amazing with their rugged beauty. The boulder is an excellent touch and the younger fir (?) on the left balances it nicely.

@Barbara_Djordjevic has a good point about the greens – more color separation could be good if possible. And that’s my idea of a campsite!!

9

I thin I recognize this camping area. Is this above Kennedy Meadows?

This is a very Overacker image in subject, color, and processing. The colors are never over the top and the contrast is also just right. The rock really stands out due to it’s shape and difference in color. I think that’s a good thing because it adds variety, but I can also see it as an object that’s out of place. I’m sure you’ve thought about all that already. If I try to imagine it without the rock it’s also a good image.

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Thank you for the comments and suggestions @Jens_Ober , @Bonnie_Lampley , @Barbara_Djordjevic , @Larry_Greenbaum , @David_Haynes, @Diane_Miller and @Igor_Doncov . Much appreciated!

I’ve re-worked almost from scratch based on the “color separation” feedback. I definitely agree after reading the comments there are a lot of greens (and yellows), but the variation and separation of those colors and hues could be better.

I brought this back in to ACR (don’t use LR) and first I cooled the WB a bit. Not sure why if it’s the camera or my set up, but I find many of my images are on the warm side. Next I basically took the greens and yellows and played with hue, sat and luminosity. Along with some selective burning, dodging to emphasize yellows over greens and also play with the cyan a little in those greens. I also cloned out a few distracting elements like the black spot David mentioned.

Jens - I had not! Thanks for the idea. Yours almost looks like IR (although admitedly I’ve no expertise there…)

Thank you Bonnie - subtle change, but I like it. Although not intentially, my rework appears to have produced a slightly darker sapling on the left. I’m wondering if either lightening it OR darkening helps that little tree stand out. I’m unsure.

Thank you for mentioning this. I appreciate this because it made me go back and try things in post that don’t always get to tinker with. And WB, colors, hues, sat… as we all know are mostly subjective, but I think we all try and process what we believe to be natural colors - and this goes to show how subjective colors actually can be. Hopefully the rework is an improvement.

Not Yosemite David, but one state highway north of Yosemite’s Tioga Pass, Sonora Pass. And Igor you know your spots well. Just under 5 miles east of Kennedy Meadows, about where the canyon bottoms out coming down from the top of the pass just another 5mi east from Chipmunk flats. One of the best things about Sonora Pass is that there are NO SERVICES, no power lines, no buildings unti you get pretty much to winter Marine base. It quite literally is all wilderness, except with a gorgeous stretch of asphalt between Kennedy Meadows and the 395. It’s a much better drive than Tioga - IMHO.

Anyway… thank you for the comments and suggestions. Not sure if the edit is an improvement, but was a great learning experience attempting to make it better. thank you!

1 Like
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Edit: The “green greens” are too much in the rework. Back to the drawing board…

12

Wonderful image to play with! A factor in color separation and slight casts is the Adobe profiles, and they do vary subtly between cameras. Have you tried different ones to see if one has a better starting point? Or TK’s linear profile might be better. Selective Color in PS can be good for teasing out a bit more separation between yellows and greens.

13

Superb image, Lon! I love the simplicity of this, and your composition is right on the mark. I agree with Bonnie on the boulder being a huge element in the image. Everything within the scene works so well together,

I don’t know if what I’m going to say is actually the truth or just what I perceive, but the greens in the west seem to be different from the greens here in the south. There “west” greens seem to have more blues in them versus the greens here seem to have more yellow. Both are beautiful, and I don’t favor one over the other, but I always enjoy the western blues since I don’t see them very often. Again, I don’t know if that’s an accurate statement or just something I imagine. Give me your thoughts.

Anyway, I love the image.

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Hey, old friend!

First, I instantly recognize this as one of yours!
Simple and complex at the same time, if that makes any sense. The boulder really adds something to the overall composition too. Reading the comments regarding color. I can’t really say it struck me as being “off” in any way. Not too much or too little, or too yellow or too blue. I enjoy the the rendition at the top of the post without any reaction to anything about it that I would suggest needs adjusting. But, I enjoy a little boost of color, or not necessarily documentary color pallets. So take anything I say regarding color with a grain of salt!

15

Lon, I like the subtle elegance of the twinned tree and the boulder. The color differences between the two versions are subtle, but the extra green saturation and darkening does a fine job of improving the tonal separation between the trunks and their surroundings.