The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
The shuttle bus left the Lake Louise Shopping Center at 4 am. Dawn at Moraine Lake was at 6:15 am on June 17, 2024. The recent snow frosted all of the trees and the ridges of rocks and left a fresh white coat on the ten peaks. When we first arrived, the clouds were almost down on top of the lake and we could barely see the snow at the bottom of the peaks. Just before dawn, the clouds started to rise and it just got better from here.
Specific Feedback
I was brilliant, and forgot my tripod, not just for the morning, but for the entire trip. Just left it sitting next to my computer at home when we drove off for Canada. . . I had an old bean bag that I set on top of the rock wall and timed the shutter release at 2 seconds. I know it drove the people next to me crazy hearing that beep, beep, beep, click about forty times that morning when all else was pretty hushed and quiet. I had to rotate this image about four degrees, hopefully it was enough.
Technical Details
Canon 5DMiii, f14, 1/2s, iso 100, 24-105 lens at 24 mm. Cropped for composition and straightened.
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Hi Ed, Wow! What a lovely image you have shared here. I really like the composition, how you have really nicely brought out the mountains with their reflections, and how you have framed the view with the pine trees that echo the lone fully in the frame and located at the thirds location and hitting the notch between mountains(!). So many details brought together with a really natural feel. Really well done!
The only thing that gives me pause is the left edge. The very dark tones keep drawing my attention and I could do without the slanting tree trunk. You might want to consider cropping the tree trunk out and bringing the blacks in that area up a bit. Or not.
Hi, well done, 1/2s, no tripod, nice performance.
I really like color and tonality in the image: I can feel the cold temperature, just looking at the image. The contraste in the mountain gives a nice 3D looking.
Where I’m not convince is about the pine tree on the left: too much on the left to my taste.
I’m thinking the best place for it will have been in the intersection of the two moutains on the right. Easy to say so in front of the computer, but I’m pretty sure on location it was not easy to make a move slightly on the left with the camera.
On e the image in the camera, I think the choice you made for the cropping in development is the best. The frame in the frame.
This scene is flat out gorgeous and I love the subdued color palette Ed. You certainly came away with some beautiful images from your trip. Bummer about the tripod; thank goodness for having the beanbag as it certainly saved the day. This is great as is, but the two cut off trees on the left and right sides bother me a little. If this were mine I would crop them off as I think it would focus even more attention on all that goodness in the rest of the frame. I hope that you do not mind, but here is a rework with what I was thinking. Just my opinion of course.
Ed, the turquoise in the lake really stands out. I don’t mind the framing trees, but they do make the tree nearer the middle stand out. Ed’s crop lets that tree play a more constructive role in the view.
I just want to say thank you to everyone who has commented on this and given me their suggestions. Especially @Ed_Lowe. I decided to go in between your suggestion and the original and I think I like the result, definitely better than the original. Thanks @guy, @Don_Peters, @Dave_Douglass, @arnaud, @Ed_Lowe, @Michael_Lowe and @Mark_Seaver.
Man I love the tones in this image. Really nice exposure! The soft white and the turquoise water make magic together. I’m sure the lack of a tripod affected your ability to be too creative with compositions, but I agree with others that the tree on the left is distracting. I’d like to see even more foreground around the lone tree on the right. Maybe this would eliminate the lone tree on the lower left and help use that protruding shoreline on the left. Someone once told me that a subliminal way to enhance a composition, is to have lines pointing down at the top edges when you can. @Ed_Lowe accomplishes this with his crop. I’ve been playing around with this thought when in the field. I find it works most of the time.
thank you very much @Paul_Holdorf. Interesting thought on the lines pointing down from the top edges. I will have to start looking for that intentionally. A lot of what I do is by what feels right at the time, and often I miss a lot of very obvious issues.
