I was going to put up a trail shot from my snowshoeing adventure, but this one just spoke to me once I got it in for processing. It’s from the other day as I rambled around the countryside and was struck by the light here. Good thing I live in the sticks because sometimes I stop rather suddenly and pull over.
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
Fallow fields have just now really struck me on my rural rambles. Most of the time they are messier than this because we don’t get this much snow all the time and the stubble is visible. While to many eyes it might appear bleak, this is actually a healthy field that will yield yet more crops come summer. The sky isn’t particularly ominous to me, but I wanted it to have presence. The balance was difficult and this kind of scene is easy to over-process. How did I do?
Processed in Lr for this crop because the cornfield was so blank and some work with masking to get the right look. Also some HSL & Calibration work for colors. Global sharpening, but that’s it for any kind of detail - no clarity or texture since I wanted a softer look. Some taller stubble stalks made to disappear.
I love these kinds of wide open, simple vistas. I’d stop in my tracks too. I’m definitely not in the camp that would view this as bleak. To me it is quiet beauty, big and expansive. I think your framing and processing works well. I really like how the sky is dominant, with just a sliver of beautiful empty land. Thanks for bringing this to us.
Thanks @Mark_Muller - you’d have a million choices like this up this way if you ever came for a visit. Probably wouldn’t get very far in a single day. Too many stops. Glad the balance looks decent between sky and snow. If we ever get some more clouds, I’ll head back out. Maybe next week.
Hi Kris, this is excellent. A simple composition that emphasizes the light, the island of trees, and the wide expanse. The Pano crop works well too, as does offsetting the tree island. There’s enough detail in the sky to help frame those trees too. Well done.
Not bleak at all!! The snow is new and fresh against the winter trees. I love the way the nearer ones are warm and the BG ones are gray. A lovely composition and the sky has enough very pleasant detail to justify the room it’s given and make things nicely balanced. I love that the white clouds echo the snow. No hint to me of over-processing.
I agree with the others that this doesn’t look bleak to me. I don’t feel that it’s over processed either. The colors are nice and stand out in the snow. I don’t think the sky is that bad. It feels like it goes with the photo. Nice job.
Hey the Three Ds! Thanks @David_Bostock, @Diane_Miller & @Donna_Callais - ok, so not bleak - excellent. It was windy as hell so maybe that’s why it feels a bit that way since I remember it being not so calm. Glad my processing works. I can see more of this type of thing on the way, at least before the snow melts and then the fields will be full of sandhill cranes. Saw one fly overhead in the next county south.
