Guy, in woodland you have to see the light and the dark and find with that a good composition. You did it with this well made image. My remark should be to burn the light green on the right and the tree trunk on the left a little. For the whole image a vignette will help. In my humble opinion.
Hi Ben, Thanks for your kind comments. It actually has a modest vignette already! I’m working at delivering a more subtle image that brings out the feeling of respect for such a holy place as where Henry David Thoreau lived and wrote. Walking the paths he tread is always a special experience. A soft glow of morning light breaking through the clouds is more in keeping …
Guy, this does a good job of showing off an Eastern woodland. You’ve got a good feeling of depth and a well balanced group of trees, with the larger tree on the left being a nice lead-in. I do find the brushy area in the lower left corner and the small dark trunks in the upper left corner distracting. That has me thinking that a view rotated slightly towards the right might be better, depending on what the path is doing over there… Alternative, a slight crop from the left and top (if you want to maintain the frame shape) may also work.
Hi Mark, I’m glad you liked the image. As for the “distracting elements”, I actually think the branches in the upper left provide important enclosure for the light streaming in from behind them. The dead branches in the lower left provide some cycle of life balance as well as visual balance to the swirl of living branches above. Moving the view to the right would loose the light streaming in from the left and dissipate the feeling of depth and uplift.
Hi Guy,
I have to say that I love the soft subdued light along with the processing of the greens in this woodland scene. I also quite like the graceful curve of those two trees. I like this as is, but I could see this as a horizontal also; a twofer if you will. I hope you do not mind, but I did a rework with what I was thinking. I have passed by signs for Walden Pond when heading north on the interstate, but have never stopped. I see what I am missing.
Hi Ed, I’m so glad you like the image. The Walden Pond of today is a complex set of realities: a monument to a historic figure, an international tourist attraction, a state park (with all the implications that brings), an over-popular swimming beach, a good trout fishing spot and a network of pleasant hiking trails. It is also a place to contemplate and commune with the life and writings of the man who “lived deliberately” here for two years in the 1840s and wonder what his reaction would be to all that has gone on since then…
Guy, Thoreau would appreciate your contemplation of nature that the image illustrates. You have a nice relaxing image. I too , find the upper left branches distracting as well as the LLC . The reddish brown on the forest floor is interrupted by that muddier brown in the LLC and the horizontal log adds to the distraction. I took the liberty to offer the edit below. Of course, your vision is what matters.
Hello @guy! I used to live near Walden Pond, which I loved to visit. It’s been too many years… I’m heading to Connecticut soon and may continue on to revisit Walden Pond and other places in Massachusetts. I’m not sure that I want to see what’s been done recently, although there were swimmers when I lived there many years ago.
On to business! I love this image. The lovely curves of the trees really do make the image. The composition is well done. Although I’m not an advocate of cropping to fix issues, I could see you cropping up from the bottom to just above that light log on the LLC — or removing it with the remove tool in Photoshop. And either removing the two dark, vertical branches in the ULC (again, possibly using the remove tool in Photoshop) or cropping in from the left would eliminate the issues cited by the other critiques.
I hope these ideas are helpful. Thanks for sharing this little bit of Thoreau!
Hi Susanna, I thank you for your kind comments. Despite the changes in recent years, it is still a special place. I am glad folks can feel some of that through the image.
I like the simplicity of your image here Guy. It is a peaceful forest scene that has some nice open space to wander around in or just sit and take in the peace and quiet. I really like the crop that @Ed_Lowe has crafted, but I think your original version is just fine.
