Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This image is captured in Troldeskoven (literal translation: wood of trolls) in the Northern part of Zealand, Denmark. The wood is old and close to the sea, and wind and sand in the soil may explain this peculiar growth. The gnarled trunks and branches, sometimes growing almost horizontally, caught my interest because of their expressive character.
Specific Feedback
Woodland is normally chaotic, and this scene is no exception. I chose a perspective favoring the three trunks in the foreground, because they form a curve stretching from the lower left corner to the upper right corner; my idea was to use this figure to produce compositional unity. In post processing, I reduced the contrast and luminosity of the background, in order to direct focus to these three trunks and enhance this composition. Does the composition work for you?
Technical Details
Camera: Nikon D850
Lens: Sigma 35 mm
Capture: 1/5 sec. at f11, ISO 500
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Leo, the trees in your forest remind me of the twisted, stunted cypress trees that grow along my native central California coast. Bringing order and artistic vision to such chaos is a challenge. I feel you have successfully accomplished your goal with this photograph. Your treatment of the tonal values in the image are spot on. I like that by highlighting the trunks you have created a luminous path through the labryntine forest which leads your viewer into or out of (I’ll let each viewer decide which) the tangled wilderness. If I were to get nitpicky, I might suggest cropping in from the right as there are some branches that make my eye want to wander out of the frame. Thanks for sharing.
Leo, my first thought on seeing this was “Lord of the Rings” and the kind of twisted forests where nasty mythical creatures hang out. Your “main” trunk does a good job of leading into the maze of trunks in the mid-ground. The mostly lighter tones with only a few blacks lets my eyes roam the entire scene.
The twisted branches and their repetition gives them an animated quality. One feels as though they are moving. There’s a lot of emotion in this image. One idea I had was to slightly drop the highlights on the middle trees and emphasize that checkerboard crusty thing on the nearest trunk. I would make that my primary point of focus.
Fascinating, Leo. Well done.
I find this image very playful. In fact, the first thing I thought of was seals and dolphins swimming fluidly through the water, twisting and turning like they do. Particularly those front trunks that are highlighted and the big curving branch. Very playful to my eye. I love the tonal range and the way you’ve processed this although I find the highlights in the center of the image maybe just a tad on the bright side BUT…I was immediately drawn to those branches and it’s what made me think of seals and dolphins frolicking in the water so I wouldn’t tone it down down all that much. Just a smidgen.
I have to say I’m less excited about the bottom right center/corner and it’s emptiness but you’ve placed a rock in the corner that adds some visual weight which helps and I guess you could say that it lends a calming spot in a chaotic image. I am drawn to the very dark branches that look like they’ve been burnt in a fire In the upper left portion of the frame that look a bit odd. The trunk is very light colored only to turn almost black and it doesn’t look like shadows to me. It’s at the very top of the frame about midway between the center of the image and left side of the image. It almost looks like a pitchfork if that helps direct you to it. Anyway, it could be totally natural but if not, it’s something that could be easily fixed.
This really is beautiful chaos, Leo. I really am enjoying this one.
Leo,
This is wonderful! I love the sinuous shapes and flow of all the tree trunks. I think you’ve done very well to compose this and showcase these fascinating trees.
I’m not bothered by the open space (or emptiness to others) in the LR; I think it gives the scene some room and space for the meandering trunks. The only nit/suggestion I have would be to dodge or otherwise mitigate the dark shadow area along the left top edge; it draws the eye a bit.
Otherwise, great b&w processing. Love the tonal range and contrast. Beautifully framed and presented.
@Paul_Dileanis , @Mark_Seaver , @Igor_Doncov , @Don_Peters , @David_Haynes , @Lon_Overacker ,
Thank you so much for your time and thoughtful comments, which I will definitely take into consideration.
