Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I was walking back through the forest to my car after a morning photoshoot this past Sunday. It rained the night before and the spruce trees still had so much water between the needles that my jacket was thoroughly soaked from me trying to squeeze through the dense brush and I was cold. As I was walking, I noticed a clearing to my left. Even from a distance it looked promising so I decided to quickly check it out and came upon this view. This was shot hand-held with my 100-400mm lens (at 100mm) only because I already had that lens on my camera, the camera was in my hand and I wanted to quickly take the shot and move on. In retrospect, I really should have stopped, set up my tripod and spent more time fine tuning the composition. I think I’m going to have to come back and who knows, maybe catch some nice morning light on that peak!
Specific Feedback
Is there anything that jumps out at you that you think could have been done better?
Technical Details
Canon 5DIV with a Tamron 100-400mm lens at 100mm.
Exposure: 1/400th of a second at f/8, ISO-800… handheld…
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
- Vision and Purpose:
- Conceptual:
- Emotional Impact and Mood:
- Composition:
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- Depth and Dimension:
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- Technical:
1 Like
I like this a lot (wanna BE there). I think it really works as a B&W too. The only thing I would consider would be to lighten up the upper lefthand corner of sky just a bit. Well done.
Tom,
The only thing that could make this better is to see it printed big. It is such an inviting composition, the river leads you right in and the trees take you up and the mountain just holds you. Wonderful. Unless there is any issue with sharpness, I don’t think the tripod would have made much of a difference.
Tom, this looks like a great spot and your b&w treatment looks good. The rainy sky adds interest above the mountain. This works very well as presented. I do wonder if there’s a way to shift the mountain further left, keeping the stream on the right but shifting the peak towards the left…something for your next visit.
Thank you @Dave_Douglass , @Youssef_Ismail , and @Mark_Seaver for your comments! They are most welcome and appreciated!
Dave - I’ll have a look at that part of the sky and maybe I’ll lighten it up a touch.
Youssef- You’re right that a tripod probably wouldn’t have resulted in better image quality. I’m just so used to using it and I like that it helps me to fine tune my composition. 
Mark - I’m not sure I can can shift the placement of the mountain but I’ll definitely try to perfect the composition the next time I go back there. If everything works out, I’m planning on going back there this weekend so fingers crossed. I want to take advantage of the higher water level because when I first shot this location last October, the water level was really low so I know this stream can dry out to a trickle.
This is such a nice view! I’m with @Mark_Seaver in wishing the mountain was just a bit to more t the left - maybe one step right of where you were standing? The leading lines and framing certainly appeal to me.
Lovely photo. Great composition! I like the mountain where it is. I think more to the left would great annoying symmetry.
Thank you @Denise_Dethlefsen and @Tony_Siciliano for taking the time to comment. It is much appreciated. I went back to this spot a couple days ago and tried out another composition. I will post that image shortly.
