The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Haven’t been out with the camera much at all in the last 4 months or so due to one thing and another. So since it was a warm day in the low 30s yesterday, I walked a section of trail that I manage for the Ice Age Trail Alliance. It’s a short out and back to a river you need to ford since there is no bridge. You could ford it and continue on the trail, but I never do. Maybe one of these days. Anyway…I love winter minimalism and tiny things in snow so when I found this tiny seedling I had to stop.
Not sure if it holds any interest for people or if it’s too pedestrian, but I thought I’d put it up because it was so cute and I haven’t been out for so long I wondered if I’d forgotten how to do anything. Oh and interestingly, while I was stopped I heard a bird I’ve never heard before - the Merlin app tells me it was a White-winged crossbill. Probably there were two of them, but I didn’t get a look. Still neat and it was nice to be out.
Specific Feedback
Sorry to be annoying, but I’m not looking for anything specific. If you see ways I could have done better, have at it!
Lr for all processing including a boost for whites, highlights, shadows & exposure. Added some texture, clarity and sharpening. Cropped for 16:10. Slightly warmed wb.
Critique Template
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Hi Kris. I love the title and it fits the image perfectly. I also like the image. I may be messing with your vision as I suspect you were looking at this tiny little seedling in a vast whitescape, but the extra space on the right was messing with my mind. I downloaded, recropped and added a curves layer through a lights 2 mask to try to make the snow structure pop and this is where I ended up. If it doesn’t fit you vision, just ignore it.
Oh Kris, I like this, and as @Dennis_Plank said, I like the title and it does fit. I too am waiting for warmer weather (spring), but I must say, you and I have a much different idea of what Warmer is (not in the 30’s for me). I too haven’t been out to shoot in awhile. It sounds like a nice walk with the camera though. I used to love to ride my horse down an old road through a wooded area especially while it was still snowing. I don’t know that I would enjoy it so much now as I think I don’t manage the cold weather as well, and I was cold natured even when I was young. Thank you for sharing this little scene.
Thanks @Dennis_Plank & @Shirley_Freeman - your edit is a nice lift Dennis. No vision for this one, just saw something cute.
Cold is relative - today it’s 12 degrees, but much sunnier. Tomorrow low single digits below zero and for the next few days with overnights about 20 below. Then it warms up to the teens and twenties. Those temps are not so bad if it’s sunny, but the below zero stuff is best to be avoided.
I can definitely relate to this little tree poking its head out to see of it’s spring yet. (I feel like that peeling the covers off my head in the mornings.) I could see going halfway between your crop and @Dennis_Plank’s. This could be a cousin of the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree.
Cold is so related to humidity – wind chill aside, it can feel colder here in winter at 50 degrees than someplace with low humidity at 25 degrees.
Thanks @Diane_Miller & @Ed_Williams - I hope this little one can survive not doing much in the way of photosynthesis under the snow. I suppose it’s adapted for that circumstance, but it still makes me wonder.
True about cold and humidity - it’s worse when it’s a damp, clammy cold even if the temps are higher. This am it’s 10 below. Colder tomorrow. Poor hubby has to walk from the truck to the terminal at the airport in the wee hours tomorrow.
I like Dennis’s edits because the crystalline features of the snow are enhanced. Overall, the image shows winter cold quite well. The snow does provide insulation to the little spruce and hopefully a deer will not trim the exposed parts. Well done…Jim
I like it. Sure, it’s a simple composition but I think it tells a great story. I think your just slightly off-centre composition is perfect for this and the only thing I would do would be to brighten up the snow a bit to make the image pop.
Kris: We may be getting some of that white stuff here tomorrow. It only takes about 3 snowflakes to paralyze Houston so I’ll try to get out and do something with it if it happens.
I like this as well and love how you find simple subject matter and make it into something special. My first impressions were in regard to it’s position in the frame and the brightness level of the snow. I’ve offered my alternative too.
I love a minimalistic image, and this one fits the bill. I probably would have moved the subject more to the lower left, as others have suggested. I love the thought that we really have no idea how deep the snow is! The contrast of the textures of the flakes and needles against the more obscure fore and background is lovely!
