# Young Elm and Old Oak (+revised) **URL:** \ **Category:** Image Critiques\ **Tags:** landscape, plant-life\ **Created:** [October 28, 2026, 8:11pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/young-elm-and-old-oak-revised/52761 "2026-10-28T20:11:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jimmajure](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/jimmajure/32/90689_2.png) [@jimmajure](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/jimmajure)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2026, 8:11pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/young-elm-and-old-oak-revised/52761/1 "2026-10-28T20:11:56Z")
## Revised Version ### Revision 1 (latest) ![Revision 1 - DSC_4293-HDR.jpg](https://images.naturephotographers.network/original/3X/9/7/9710aad179c2e5d4b065dfd80b07626746710dc6.jpeg) **What changed:** I toned down the brightness on the trees in the top left of the photo. _Added after receiving feedback from the community._ * * * ## Original Version ![Original - DSC_4293-HDR.jpg](https://images.naturephotographers.network/original/3X/1/e/1e6f6f4729479e4dea77b2bb80ec9e303068f7fe.jpeg) **Critique Style:** Standard The photographer is looking for thoughtful feedback on the image as a whole, especially around the areas noted below. **Feedback Focus:** Artistic + Technical ### About This Image This image was taken in a park near my home. The setting is a small hill overlooking a pond. This location is a frequent subject of my photos, so I’m very familiar and endeared to it. The picture was taken just as the sun was rising, so the upper part of the image is illuminated while the bottom is still in shadow. I used an HDR composite of 3 exposure-bracketed shots to capture the variation across the scene. I feel like there are 3 parts to the photo: the red elm, the yellowing oak which is starting to show its age and the grassy hill. All three are important, at least to me. ### Feedback Requested I’m interested to know if this composition works. I don’t have a specific flow in mind, except perhaps that the brightness of the oak and its radiating branches capture the eye first. ### Technical Details Camera: NIKON Z 7\_2 Lens: VR 70-200mm f/2.8E Focal length: 165mm Shutter speed: 1/20s Aperture: f/13 ISO: 100 ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Seaver](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/mark_seaver/32/231_2.png) [@Mark\_Seaver](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Mark_Seaver)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2026, 9:17pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/young-elm-and-old-oak-revised/52761/2 "2026-10-28T21:17:44Z")
Jim, the view is nicely balanced between the old oak and the red tree. You’ve also got a fine variety of colors throughout. The view seems reasonably natural with respect to the lighting, although it does feel more like overcast lighting as it shows off excellent details and minimal shadows. I do think that the greens touching the left edge and along the top left are too bright. That pulls attention away from the red leaves. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/system/32/86481_2.png) [@system](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/system)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 12:11am UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/young-elm-and-old-oak-revised/52761/3 "2026-10-29T00:11:19Z")
The original poster added a [revised version](#post_1) of their image. ---
**Author:** ![Karl\_Zuzarte](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@Karl\_Zuzarte](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Karl_Zuzarte)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 12:54am UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/young-elm-and-old-oak-revised/52761/4 "2026-10-29T00:54:47Z")
Nice pallet of colors - to me the focus of attention is the red tree with good spporting elements around. That said, i wonder how this would look toning dpwn the brown in LLC ---
**Author:** ![Marylynne\_Diggs](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/marylynne_diggs/32/87403_2.png) [@Marylynne\_Diggs](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Marylynne_Diggs)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 5:10pm UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/young-elm-and-old-oak-revised/52761/5 "2026-10-29T17:10:57Z")
HI Jim, Lovely scene. The red tree is definitely the star of the show here. I consider myself a happy cropper (which some see as my super-power and others, perhaps, as my toxic trait). I thought I would give this one a shot. To me, it reduces the distraction of the limb near the left edge and the weight of the lower left browns mentioned by Karl. I do like the browns, so I don’t think I would change their luminosity, just the amount of the frame they occupy. Here’s my effort a a slightly tighter crop. I’m not sure it’s better, and perhaps it reduces the energy within the frame. I now see a few bright bits along the left edge that might need a bit of a burn. Of course, this is all to be taken with a grain of salt. What matters most is that it works for you. ![JMajureDSC_4293-HDR-MLDCrop](https://images.naturephotographers.network/original/3X/c/0/c0a652cf0c64c89f79a1a218d1bf7ae10254184a.jpeg) Hopefully you will get some other feedback. ML