The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
With all our rain this year, my favorite ponds are full again. The fallen, burnt trees and brush that have sprung up since the fire (5 years ago, now), make for some great scenes.
Specific Feedback
Any critique appreciated. If you have an emotional reaction to this, I’d love to hear it.
I have fiddle-faddled with the processing on this to get it to a state I like. The difficulty that I’ve had most likely reflects my lack of vision for image. B&W just didn’t do it for me, as it has done for similar images I’ve made in the past. Subdued color felt right for the mood of the dead trees and muddy water.
Bonnie, I had to look at this one for a while. I like it.
It seems unbalanced. There’s a lot more subject matter on the right side of the image than on the left. And it seems to be opening up just as we get to the right side of the image. But these things don’t bother me. The fact that this one doesn’t comply with all the rules is one reason I keep looking at it.
I’m not sure what you were after in this image so I’ll just write my reaction to it. Dead trees and muddy water seems to be a statement. What I find intriguing is the separation of forms. The tree seems to be floating in visual space separate from the rest of the image, which all hangs together in a related manner. So I keep going back and forth between the log and the real world. It’s like two planes of understanding. One just overlaps the other. Water images often have this characteristic.
Lovely!! The subdued colors and highish key are perfect. I love the layers!! I have the feeling of wanting to see a little more at the top, to move the log more out of the center – or crop just a little from the bottom. Also wonder about a little fading of the reflected stem that exits the bottom – just a little, graduated, on the bottom segment. But wonderful in any case!!
Bonnie, my reaction to this it creates a feeling of quiet melancholy. It’s very contemplative with its single colored, quiet, light green water and the mostly white branches. If you have quality space above, have you tried lifting the frame? Having those two logs lower would be a more conventional view…not sure it would be better…
I prefer the original Bonnie. The most compelling part of the image for me, and I had to look at the larger view for it to really sing, are the myriad small branches and their reflections. The crop removes some of them, and I like the balance the bring to your first post.
