The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This was a cold and windy early morning looking for a unique view of Torres del Paine in Chile. If was not quite the sunrise we hoped for but when the clouds did lift the mountains came into view behind the wind-blown trees.
Specific Feedback
I am uncertain about the composition and if the mountains and trees are in conflict for the viewers attention. Any suggestions on how to resolve this issue would be appreciated.
Technical Details
ISO-160
f/6.3
shutter 1/125
EV +0.7
Focal length 105
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
The light on the mountains is glorious. I almost feel like the foreground trees are blocking the view but they still work in the photo. My only suggestion would be to dodge the light on that overly bright cloud near the top. It keeps pulling my eye up there.
I agree with Youssef that you could darken the clouds a tad. I would also disappear the centre vertical branch of the two saplings, left of centre, as they distract from those glorious mountains.
I agree with the others here Peggy, this is stunning! I love the light on the mountains. I love the character of the wind blown tree. Yeah, the clouds could use a bit of taming down, but not a deal breaker. I would love to see a bit more of whatever was a bit further to your left, but that would probably have taken away the import of the tree. So many great elements in this. I hope you took other images with focus on different aspects of this amazing scene. Everything was probably changing by the second with the clouds too. Beautiful.
Hi, Peggy, - excellent example of the interesting Krumholz effect.
I like having the entire tree branches shown, but would like more of those beautiful mountains too. Do you have the room for a more pano-like crop, showing much more of the moutains to the left ?
Nice find here, great detail and sky.
I absolutely love this imge. I also absolutely love the fact you’ve made the trees the focus of the image and not the mountains . I would have never thought of doing that in this world famous, iconic location. The only way this works is because of the haze in between the FG and the mountains. Otherwise they would be competing with the trees. The only thing I would do is fix the white blob in the clouds.
Hi Peggy, Super shot. What immediately caught my eye is the way that the whole composition of clouds, trees and the profile of the mountains on the left all appear to somehow rotate on in a clockwise direction.
This is an outstanding image and meets the criteria most important to me: it makes me want to be there. There is a sensation of grandeur with the mountains looming and the clouds overhead, there is a sensation of movement with the twisting of the tree branches and the angle of the trees and there is the presence of life within the tree sand the undergrowth .
I can’t say the image is the “best” image I’ve seen recently or ever - I’m not qualified to make that judgment. I can say it is the favorite image I have seen in a long, long time. It has a “poetic” quality to it.
What Michael L. said - the hazy mountains are the backdrop for the trees. I love the repeated curves of the trees and the light on the left-most mountain. I’m with the others on wondering if you had any more room on the left - just a tad for that striking mountain.
Peggy I was in Torres del Paine a couple of years ago and agree that the wind blown trees are very dramatic (along with the mountains and glacial turquoise lakes…) I like your mix here, especially helped by how the mountains show strongly but are slightly shrouded. I agree that a bit more on the left would overcome your 50"50 split of trees/mountains. I would also suggest some burning-in of the bright cloud near the center right edge.
Peggy, First, Torres Del Paine has to be one of the world’s most dramatic parks. I agree with most of the comments here. I tried out some - cropped from the top, which changes the look a bit (you decide if it’s good); cloned out some of the branches per @Mark_Orchard ; and tried to reduce the saturation on the greens. You have done a great job of seeing. Perhaps your original with treating the blown out cloud and my crop both work as different images. ed Wind Blown.tif (14.3 MB)
Hi Larry
I had already tamed the bright cloud but had not tried cropping the photo. The crop it certainly changes the feel of the image, and I am not sure which I like better. I have left the branches as they were as I don’t think it makes much difference to the impact of the image.
I like this because the lhs mountain dark to light transition echoes the first central-ish tree shape (not the saplings). This first tree has snow and clouds behind it, emphasizing the tree itself. The wind blown branches of the most rhs tree echo the mountain line further to the right. The trees are nice and sharp, while the mountains are hazy, less distinct and of lower contrast which results in great 3d depth to the photo.
