On my first morning at Bryce Canyon a couple weeks ago we received about 8 inches of fresh snow overnight. This was on top of the roughly 3 feet of snow they had already received in the prior several days making for a winter wonderland. With my crampons attached to my boots, I decided to make my way down the trail that has Thor’s Hammer on it just to get a lower perspective of the canyon. The snow had stopped, the canyon was slowly revealing itself from a thick layer of clouds and fog and I was just taking in the quiet of the place. I only saw two other people on that trail so I pretty much had the place to myself. The wind was not yet blowing hard but rather whispering and I was just enjoying the peacefulness of being in a spectacular setting nearly all to myself. As I made my way down the trail, these 2 small pines covered with fresh fallen snow grabbed my attention as if whispering to me, “Take the shot.” I’ve been down this trail several times and I’ve never noticed these two little pines. Maybe it’s because there wasn’t fresh fallen snow on them. Or maybe it’s because they merged into the busy background at other times of the year. Whatever the case, I took the shot before the wind would later knock all of the snow off of the branches.
Type of Critique Requested
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
Any and all comments and suggestions, please. Thanks for taking the time.
Technical Details
Z711, 24-70mm lens @ 26.5mm, ISO 80, 1/40th @ f/11, manual mode on tripod
David! This shot is spectacular. Let me tell you why I like it. I find it very hard to shoot in snow because it can seem so cluttered. While there are areas of the rock peeking through, it shows a nicely framed set of trees in the foreground completely within the rock structure. If it intersected the rock, the photo wouldn’t work as well. Way to nail it!
There is a wonderful feeling of depth here, with the receding features nicely separated/isolated by the snow. The scene just goes on and on!
For me, there is a lot of tension created by the steep dropoff in the LR – probably because I can see myself at the bottom of that slope by having taken one step too far in trying to compose. I’m not afraid of heights, just justifiably afraid of my own common sense, so I don’t know if that is a valid “critique” or not! Looks like it was an incredible experience and that shows in the image.
Such a beautiful near to far shot. it’s the type of image you would see in the Sierra Club Wilderness calendar. The type shot with large format cameras. In addition to snow you had great light conditions. The snow has great yet subtle texture of light and shadow. Yeah, both the sky above and the snow in the lower left add a lot to this image.
I saw that trail going down but decided against going down due to icy conditions. Good on you for having those crampons. And being prepared. I never posted my images from up there.
This is an incredible image. I think the two pine trees in the FG really make this a unique photograph and they add a lot of depth. I think you nailed the color of the beautiful background peaks. I especially love the contrast of the blue mountains and sky against the white and orange… This is a wall hanger for sure. Grate job!!
@David_Haynes, I really like this image! It has a tranquil quality that I find very pleasing. The relatively low contrast and subtle colors help create that effect. The positioning of the two trees within the rocks is just right. My only comment is that the sky itself is rather bland. I’d suggest cropping just a little bit off the top, maybe just above the diagonal line created by the brighter areas in the sky.
Fantastic image David, snow at Bryce is always such a treat. I love the composition and the overall processing, it has a very nice mood to it. There are some odd spots that I feel could use some work though. There are three dark spots that stand out from the rest of the image, and I think if you could brighten up the shadows in these areas it would help to balance everything out. Did you do any burning and dodging? It seems odd that these areas would be different considering the even lighting. The tree on the right is particularly odd since they are right next to each other, why is one bright and the other dark? If you clean these little distractions up you will have an absolute wall hanger!
This really is a wonderful image, David. I knew immediately it had to be Bryce Canyon even though it’s been forty-five years since I was there. The light is soft and the colours subdued, which highlights the orange rock. I love the depth of the image. I thought @David_Kingham 's observations especially astute. Something didn’t feel quite right and I think he has put his finger on it. I would love to see a rework that addresses those dark areas, it could really put this image over the top.
P.S. There is nothing more spectacular than canyonland under snow. I remember cross country skiing right on the Grand Canyon’s rim and then walking down fifty feet and taking my shirt off to sun bathe. An, the days of my youth!
Wow, this is stunning David! This had to be a real treat to view first hand with the reds of the canyon walls and the clean whites of the freshly fallen snow. I do like the small tweaks @David_Kingham suggested as they would elevate an already outstanding another notch. This makes for wonderful viewing from FG to BG. Beautifully done.
@linda_mellor , @David_Johnston , @Diane_Miller , @Igor_Doncov , @Donna_Callais , @Patrick_Campbell , @David_Kingham , @Kerry_Gordon , @Ed_Lowe …Thanks so much for your input and observations and mostly positive feedback. I say this often here but it’s rare that you guys don’t find a way to improve upon my images. That’s again the case here particularly with @David_Kingham observations. David, thanks for seeing what I certainly missed. I’m posting the original raw image in jpeg form so you can see what the original image looked like. I did not do any dodging or burning on the three areas mentioned. However, all three areas are oddly darker that it appears they should be. Maybe the dancing light? I don’t know but you can see that the two trees are indeed lit differently with the left tree being more lit and also more yellow than the right tree. I applied all of the tweaks that David suggested and I feel it is far more balanced and without obvious distractions now. I also cloned out a dust spot in the sky, and two edge distractions, one on the LRC of the frame and one on the middle left edge of the frame. Let me know if the rework comes close to what you may have envisioned, David.
Interesting! That must have been some very subdued dappled light. The rework looks so much more balanced now. I think you could lighten the top of the right tree just a bit more, but otherwise it’s fantastic now, well done!
I really appreciate your insight and help with this image David. I totally missed everything you pointed out and now the image is WAY more balanced. Thanks again. It really is incredible what we don’t see sometimes in our own images.
I think the darkness in some of the cliffs are natural shadows. I experienced them as well as you can see. Personally I think they add to the mystique of the place. But in some cases they may be worth correcting. For those who are less familiar it might be worth it. It’s subtler in your image because the cloud cover was thicker. Even the snow is darker further back.
Wonderful image. I think the rework helped. You might consider using the GND tool in PS to darken the sky a bit. It would help keep the viewers eye on the subject. Your image gives agreat sense of place and time. I wish I could have been there
Don
Your final edited version is perfect, David. I appreciate that you resisted the temptation to jack up the saturation of the rock pinnacles, as the soft light and muted colors work together to give this a very crisp mood. You nailed the composition, too. Love this!
