I spent a beautify day on the mountain recently, and loved this simple scene. The name is from an obscure song lyric, but it reflects my feeling of that day - warmth and happiness in the frosty environment.
What technical feedback would you like if any?
Any is welcome. I was playing around with different depths of field, but liked this one the best for the details on the leaf.
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Any is welcome. I wanted to reinforce the wintry feel, so I tried to bring up the highlights/whites quite a bit but then I was clipping the highlights too much. Any changes that you would suggest for that?
Also, I am curious about the composition with the branches in the upper left corner - are they distracting? Would you crop the image differently or clone any out?
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
Panasonic GX85, 14-140 mm lens @ 55mm. F7.1, ISO200, 1/30.
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
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Becky, this image has such an elegant simplicity to it, I just love it !!! Even though it is a relatively minimalist image, it still tells a powerful story about seasonal transitions. The dusting of snow on the branches and leaf is beautiful. I feel like I can reach out and touch it.
I think the high key processing is a very important part of the image, While it is close to clipping in some spots, it is not clipped. I tried reducing the very brightest highlights (TK Lights 5), and for me it ruined the mood of the image. Thus I would not change the luminosity. But I would clone away the OOF branch in the ULC that’s underneath it’s companion branch. This is a minor nit, but your instincts were right to get rid of it.
I love this! I think the composition works really well with all the parallel branches and echoing structures. And I like the chosen depth of field and high-key processing. Fantastic work.
I do think the image is improved with a quick cloning job on the more vertical branch in the top left corner. The longer one up there is fine and actually complements the other branches, in my opinion. Here’s an example of what I’m imagining.
Oh, this is lovely! Your high-key treatment looks perfect to me. Definitely agree with everyone on getting rid of that branch in the ULC. Really an excellent photo.
Thank you so much Nick! I love your edit, and agree that keeping the top branch works well. By the way, funny enough, I just finished reading your latest article and really enjoyed it!
This is wonderful! So simple, yet with great impact. The background is especially complimentary and I love the separation it brings to the snowy branches and lone leaf. Excellent job with selective focus and getting the detail in all the right places.
to your question about the ULC, I think Nick’s edit really cleans things up and makes this even better.
Great job raising the highlights - the processing looks fantastic!
