The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This is an image from the Painted Hills in Oregon taken in November of 2020. It was a rather bleak day and lightly snowing. I’ve tried to keep that fall moving to winter mood.
Specific Feedback
My college math professor used to write the spread of grades on our classroom blackboard after each test. He would list the number of As, Bs, Cs, Ds, and then the number of “Also Ran.” I believe the term comes from horse and dog racing.
I have a bunch of images that didn’t quite grab me when I first took them, but that I can’t quite part with and keep coming back to wondering why I initially considered them “Also Ran.” This is one of those. It’s grown on me a bit, and I’d love your initial impression.
As always, any thoughts and suggestions are most welcome.
Technical Details
FUJIFILM XF 18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS at 55 mm (83 mm equivalent) cropped a little.
1/8 at f/5.6 and ISO 160
I can also appreciate the concept of “Also Ran”; I too have a number of them in my catalogues. As we progress in our vision and PP techniques, we can see a better image.
Personally, I like the composition with a little help. My thought on your image is that the focus should be on the foreground. First, I added some texture / clarity, and a little more color , then I thought to blur the background and cropped the image.
Oh you’re so lucky. I’ve always wanted to shoot those hills with snow on them. I just love this image. My idea was also to use the colors fully together with the snow. Here’s how I would do it. There are many more options: even more color, brighten the snow, numerous crops.
Hey John, snow in the Painted Hills. How awesome is that!? I don’t consider this an also ran. It’s a strong image that has compelling lines and angles. The dusting of snow is what really pulls this into excellence. I also like that you didn’t go overboard on the contrast/saturation. As you said it was a bleak day so the images should reflect that. Well done.
I like the image as is, but also like what @gDan52 did. It strengthens the foreground. And I like the square format.
Not to sure about @Igor_Doncov’s version. It feels too colorful and unrealistic for me.
If this is an Also Ran, I’d sure like to enjoy the Selects! Seriously, I think this is wonderful, with the snow providing a wonderful element! I could see punching up the midtone contrast and colors a bit more, as there is so much wonderful detail to bring out. @gDan52’s treatment and crop is interesting – I think you have leeway for several different crops here, and you might go even farther than he did on the color and contrast.
Definitely deserves to be put back on the display shelf! And even on the wall.
You could always go a few different directions with crops or color, but your original post works perfectly for me John. I The colors look very natural; exactly how I would expect them to look on a gray overcast day. For me the top half of the image is needed as it compliments the bottom half both with the ridge lines and the way the snow sweeps into the frame.
Oh my, this is definitely not an “also ran”! It’s lovely. I would love to see the Painted Hills in the snow.
Considering your desire for a fall-moving-to-winter mood, I wouldn’t increase the saturation too much. I could see taking down the exposure a bit, but keeping the whites. I tried that with a gentle S curve in ACR. You lose the delicate, low contrast look of the original, but I think the richer colors are more fall-like and the darker mood looks more moving-to-winter to me. It’s good however you want to present it!
Sorry, John. Just now seeing this superb image. Definitely not an also ran by any stretch of the imagination. I love the sweeping and curving lines traveling in slightly different directions. It’s what makes this scene work for me. I didn’t know the painted hills got snow. It certainly provides terrific contrast. I really like what @Bonnie_Lampley did to take down the exposure just a tick. I also like what @Igor_Doncov did but perhaps just a smidgen too far with the saturation. Very different takes on this scene. I do love the original as well, John. Just different moods with each.
I wanted to add a comment about my rework. It’s clearly not a rework that shows your intention. I do, however, remember a post where you stated that you wanted to work on images that go beyond the subject as it is. I feel there is perhaps no better place to do that in Oregon than the Painted Hills which are plastic in their forms and colors. I never try to make them look like they are. This area is one of the few places in Oregon where the earth is exaggerated in the manner the O’Keefe paints it. Another words, make Painted Hills look like they’re painted.
