Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
The pastel colors and shapes in many areas of Valley of Fire are magical. I wanted to give the viewer a taste of this in a more intimate scene.
Applied a slight vignette and a linear gradient to darken the very bottom. Added some saturation (mostly blue) in the calibration panel.
Nice looking image here! I would be tempted to crop a little off of the right, especially since there’s that small niggling section at the upper right.
Hi Andrew!
Great subject! I like the soft pastels and the visual pull from left to right through the frame. This image also works flipped horizontal.
Processing: I cloned out the snippets at the upper right corner and at the upper left edge of the frame. Afterwards, I darkened everything but the hole by about 1/3 stop. The I selected the hole and slightly added exposure, contrast and opened the shadows for separation. I cloned out the small black pockets on the wall of the opening and on top of the entry way.
Outstanding submission!
Here’s my edit
Hi Andrew. I had an opportunity to visit Valley of Fire several months ago and was so fascinated by this place. Your image brings me back there instantly! The colors are sublime. I really like the way you included and balanced the lines and shapes in this smaller scene and how it reminds me of the larger surrounding landscape. My eyes move along the lines and curves in the scene gently and smoothly; such a beautiful visual wave.
Hope you share more of your images from your time there.
Karen,
Thank you for your kind words. I’m pleased that it helped you recall the magic of the place. I think Tony Sweet’s edit improved on the overall flow of the image.
Andrew
