This was from my second day in New Hampshire. Similar to my first day, the weather in the notch was foggy and rainy. I was impressed by how these trees extended up the talus slope, right to the base of the cliff at Cannon Mountain (4,100 feet, big by NH standards) . Fortunately the fog left some of the cliffs visible, which is usually not the case on rainy days in this location. Zoomed out to 200 mm, I was able to extract an interesting pattern of trees.
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Any critique or comments are welcomed, have at it !!!
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
Canon 5D MKIV, Canon 70-200mm f4 lens at at 200mm, ISO 100, 0.5 sec at f16
This turned out well. I really like the mood created by the clouds and it contrasts well with the color. Getting picky, I would be inclined to desaturate the golden tree at the top of the grove on the left, just to clean up that edge and avoid a slight eye magnet there. Like I said, really minor. No other suggestions here.
The scale of what we’re seeing here is really intriguing. At first I thought we are looking down a canyon that winds back and to the right. But we are likely looking upwards at a talus that flows down the side of a cliff. It’s a different image coming from New Hampshire where we usually see trees, rivers, and ponds. I really don’t have anything significant to add as a criticism. One thing I might mention is that the rocks on the talus seem to be warmer near the bottom than the top by a very small amount particularly in the llc. That gives me a processing idea. What if all the rocks and cliffs were coof and the vegetation was warm? Would that color effect add to the image?
I agree with @Igor_Doncov, this is a very different take of the New England fall color. Almost feels like something from the Sierra Nevada; only that we don’t really have red leaves here. I am really intrigued by the red trees clinging on the cliff about 1/4 way of the way from the left side. Very very cool to see something like that. My critique is that the image feels a little tilted to the left (right side up, left side down). Not quite sure how to address it because the mountain looks vertically straight…
Ed, I like your use of diagonals in your composition and the muted fall colors created by the fog. I also like the perspective and isolation created the 200mm .
Great mood in this image. I find the large area of the cliffs have some impact on the balance of the image. I personally like to try different aspect ratios typically from 1x1, 4x5 or 16x9. I experimented with a few and here is your image cropped at 16:9 which removes some of the top of the cliff. I tend to focus on colors personally so I’ve also used a curves level with a mask to add a bit of contrast and brightness to the low section of the image and another to decrease the contrast at the top. I also cloned out a small yellow tree on the left that was going out of the frame.
Wonderful contrasts … austere cliff vs. brilliant leaves, sharp talus vs. puffy trees, fog vs. light … cool imagery, I think. I also enjoy the sweeping curve of the talus slope. The fog seems to simultaneously hold the viewer into the frame and invite thoughts about what lies beyond. The light falloff or vignetting in lower left, center and right is gentle and effective, I think.
I just had to play with it.
Since I read from left to right, I wanted to flip the image so the downward energy flowed to the right. The leaves seemed a little softly focused so I tried to sharpen them a little; the effect seemed to increase the visual contrast with the foggy upper portion of the image. The granite seemed amazingly pink, so I desaturated its reddish hues, and that also seems to add contrast between rocks and vegetation, but maybe your desire was to accentuate the foggy softness of the scene.
Really nice Ed. The cloud enshrouded cliffs really make the image. Great minds and all that stuff, eh. Ed and I tied this section a couple times. Once in the summer we had fog but just green colors and then in the fall with no fog.
Thanks you all for your thoughts, I appreciate you taking time to provide me with input.
Yes, this was actually shot at a relatively steep upwards angle at 200mm. I was at a viewpoint on the opposite side of the valley, and I was actually a pretty good distance away from the cliff.
I enjoy shooting grand landscapes in the mountains out west. But frankly we just don’t have a lot of those type of views in New England without doing some serious mountain climbing. The cliffs of Cannon Mountain remind me of Yosemite, so if I can give Cannon the Sierra look, then I’m pleased.
There were a lot of great comments here suggesting tweaks, and I’m using them for a couple reworks. The granite here is naturally pinkish, but I used Igor’s suggestion to cool the cliffs and the talus (but not the trees). I was aiming for a softer look overall, but I decided to add some clarity to the trees (but not to the talus), and reduced clarity in the upper cliffs. I did not add much contrast below, wanting to retain the softer overall look. And @Dick_Knudson, it is amazing how different the image looks flipped horizontal. In my original post, my vision for the image was that the trees were flowing up, and reaching for the clouds. In the flipped version, the trees look like they are flowing down, and I actually prefer the way the cliff looks flipped. I think it works both ways, flipped and not. But I prefer it flipped, if I had to choose.
Back up top I have added two reworks, one with all the changes, and another with all the changes plus flipped. I’m curious to hear what people think about the reworks.
Ed,
I’m late to this one, but that gave me the benefit of all of the reworks and comments. I prefer your original post and the soft tone you chose. I think this is a personal preference, but I like the softer warmer mood in this case. I also prefer the original version of the mass of colorful trees flowing up and reaching left to right. The horizontal flip does give a downward feel to the flow.
Regardless, a wonderful image that brings back fond memories of a foggy morning looking at a mountain face in New Hampshire last fall. It seems like a 5 years ago.
All the reworks are nice, but I actually prefer your original post, Ed. For my tastes I seem to prefer the flow of the autumn trees from left to right; I guess that has something to do with reading from the same direction. I also prefer the warmer tones of the granite as I know that is the way they actually look in person. The fall colors look spot on to me without being overdone. I see that Mike mentioned that we stopped in the same location for a couple of images back in 2019.
