Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
View from Pendleton Point in Blackwater Falls State Park, WV.
Any and all critiques welcome.
Nikon D200, 80mm, 1/45 @ f/16, ISO 100
Mike, this is a fine mix of fall colors and fog/clouds with a good sense of depth. I do feel like the orange trees in the nearest slope are a bit oversaturated.
Hi Mike,
Pendelton Point hardly ever disappoints does it? You have a wonderful mix of autumn color and the layering with the ridge lines adds some nice depth to this lovely landscape. Of course the fog/clouds are the finishing touch IMO. I also like the outcrop of rock as it adds a little something else to the scene. Beautifully done.
Lovely fall landscape, Mike, though just leaving winter, I’m not all that anxious to reenter it. The clouds work very well with the brilliant fall colors. I really like the element of the rock outcrop, but I find myself wishing it were a bit more off-center as my eye seems to lock onto it in that position. Of course, I have no idea what the surrounding area looked like so repositioning may not have been a viable option.
Thanks @Ed_Lowe, @Mark_Seaver, @Dennis_Plank. @Mark_Seaver you’re right about the saturation. Actually, looking at it now, the whole image is too saturated. Side effect of too much highlight control and dehaze in LR. @Dennis_Plank, I think I have a million 
crops of this scene to choose from. This was just the first file in order, so I started with it.
Beautiful scene, nicely composed Michael. The intersecting ridge lines and the ridge in the back right give a the image a nice sense of depth. I like your choice of saturation in the trees. My eye kept going up to the ULC and I wonder whether making that less bright would take some emphasis off that, especially since the mountainsides are not sunlit. I originally thought about a crop that would make it smaller but I think that creates compositional issues. I like that amount of fog in that corner to balance the foreground mountainside. The only other very minor thing I saw was a dark spot, that appears like it may be a dust spot, on the middle of the mountainside on the left, just below the fog. Great capture with the fog , really well done! I’m going to be moving East in a couple months, I can’t wait to shoot the colors out there next fall.
Thanks @Scott_Fricke. Good eye on the dust spot.
Man, you get some amazing color on that side of the country. We need to switch places one of these falls.
This is beautiful as is, but if I was tweaking it I would play with knocking back the clouds a bit and increasing contrast of the trees by brightening them. (As is, the clouds tend to overwhelm the trees.) Regardless, as I say it’s beautiful.
Great scene.
For me, saturation, trees, and clouds are fine. Tweaks suggested by others seem acceptable as well. I would lean in to that rocky outcrop, however, and make it more obvious. It gives the eye something definitive to land on.
I think the trees could use some contrast, to add some drama. But I like contrast, so… another option is to dodge the trees on the left slope, to give that portion of the image more weight.
Or, one could lower contrast and add some anti-clarity to soften things up. Make it more ethereal.
The single off-center rock makes for an apt resting point to me, that allows me to explore the whole composition. The cooler shades and clouds in the background add an appealing contrast to the comforting warm colors of the foliage in my opinion.
