One of my favorite things about winter scenes are the compositions that are available without the leaves. Here is one I made by the side of the highway on a day that threatened rain all day. This was cropped from a vertical so I planned to reshoot it under better conditions but they just haven’t come so I’m posting this for now. It’s pretty chaotic but I tried to capture the essence of winter willows.
There is something oddly captivating here, Igor. You have removed quite a bit of the willow but you definitely add a lot to it being a “willow”. I am intrigued by the addition of the sky in the image; not sure if I like the image more with or without it (I tried doing a scroll crop).
I agree with @Adhika_Lie, there is something oddly captivating about this image. For me I think it’s the subtle contrast between the yellow, orange and green colors. This is one of those images where I think the texture derives as much from the colors as it does from the shapes of the grasses. Similar to Dan Kearl’s recent post from the Columbia Gorge, I’m also amazed by the degree of color in winter in Oregon ( assuming this is Oregon). Where I live, winter turns everything gray, dull brown and white.
Similar to Adhika, I also initially wondered if the small bits of sky peeking through the grass added to or detracted from the scene. In the end my opinion is that they are additive. The extra bit of blue in the URC elevates this above just being a shot of the radial pattern of the grasses in the center. My only suggested tweak would be to crop a sliver from the right, to reduce the amount of grey branches pointing out to the edge in the LRC.
Thank you for your thoughts. The image just looks too phlegmatic somehow and that’s not the intention. Please compare the rework and see what you think.
Igor, I prefer the second version, feels a bit brighter and shows more texture. Love all of the soft colors and the movement. One can get lost in this photo. Very nicely seen.
Igor, the rework enhances the texture so that’s a good move. The increased contrast and color saturation is an improvement in most of the image. But, I might slightly dial back the yellow saturation in the URC of the rework, for my taste it went slightly too far there (but okay in the rest of the rework).
Thank you for your suggestion. I’ll consider it. I need to be with it a bit longer. The whole right side was extended because I liked the yellow so I need to think that maybe I did overdo it. I’ll see what other have to say (assuming there are others).
Here’s an attempt at your suggestion. I think it might be a valid point. I do understand where you’re coming from:
This most recent rework is exactly what I had in mind. The reduced yellow saturation in the URC also also makes it so the yellow doesn’t overwhelm the blue sky either.
I’m coming around to the opinion that this image calls for exaggerated colors. Perhaps I’ll feel different tomorrow. I don’t know. The idea was to make it look ablaze.
I love winter willows and their varied colors. Have you considered dialing back the green saturation and brightening just the yellows? It just feels too much to me (but I do prefer less saturated images, so YMMV).
Is there any color in the spectrum I got right? I think only the blues are left.
No, I haven’t considered it. I did warm the entire image originally but didn’t like it. The orange lines in the front are intended to offset the cooler lines in the back. If I make everything warm then the intent starts to fall apart. It’s snowing today and too cold to give this another try.
Is there any color in the spectrum I got right? I think only the blues are left.