Beckoning

Was walking the trails below Clingmans Dome in GSMNP when this happened…luckily, it lasted long enough for me to get my camera out and on a tripod!

Specific Feedback Requested

Is there too much clutter on the trail that impairs “visual flow”?

Technical Details

Is this a composite: Yes
Two images @36mm, f/13, 0.4 sec. One polarized and one not. The polarized shot was used to block intense glare from the rock at the base of the sunrays.

jim_mcgovern_photography
12 Likes

My! This one certainly works. So warm and inviting.

Beautiful capture, Jim! I really like the rocks on the trail, it feels like they guide the eyes towards the sunbeams. Awesome!

I love this image. It speaks to me. It’s actually very spiritual.

You mean the four small rocks at the very bottom? No, they’re not offensive. If you mean the bigger rocks I interpret them as obstacles in a journey. They improve the image by adding complexity.

I did some work on it. I don’t know if you’ll agree. The mid ground is warm but the distant is cool. I cooled down the image. That made the greens cyan so I warmed them up. I raised the shadows and the highlights. The shadows more than the highlights. It gives a bit more detail in the darker areas.

1 Like

Jim, what beautiful light. It leads my eyes to a mysterious future. Seeing this light and playing with it is real photography .

Jim, this is a very expressive image, and as @Igor_Doncov said, it does have a very spiritual look to it. I think your relatively warm processing of the colors adds significantly to the emotional impact of the image. And I think you have thre perfect luminosity and color for the foggy light rays at the back.

I don’t think so. While they are not a deal breaker, I could see cloning away or burning down the very small rocks along the bottom edge in the middle of the path. My other suggestion would be to burn the rock in the middle of the path just before it goes back into the trees. I think its luminosity competes slightly with the light rays.

Jim, Really nice work capturing this scene. It has a great look and feel and I like how that path leads you back to those wonderful sunrays. Not to cluttered for me at all. Nice work!

Thanks @Ronald_Murphy and @Vanessa_Hill for commenting!

@Igor_Doncov … I really like what you did…it was what I was trying to do but felt I was pushing too hard and you carried it further. Lifting shadows further and taking out the cyan in the greens was a great help!

Thanks @Ben_van_der_Sande - your comments are greatly appreciated!

@Ed_McGuirk thanks for your perspective - super helpful. I agree with burning down the rock face a little more so will move forward with your suggestion. Thanks!

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Jim,

Wow! I don’t think this could have been scripted or created in painting or a movie creation any better than what you have captured here! Magical, dreamy with a little serendipity tossed in. Love this image.

The lead-in with the path - and just as important, I think, are the large rocks that also are spaced and positioned to lead the eye thru the scene and to the “light at the end of the tunnel.” The light throughout is gorgeous - from the obvious foggy light rays up top, to the illumination of the path itself. Just wonderful.

To your question, NO there isn’t too much clutter. At least for me the visual flow is beautifully understood and seen. There’s nothing I would change with the composition, no cloning needed either.

I really like Igor’s adjustments, especially giving the shadow areas a tad more light - but not so much that it takes away from the light on the path.

Wonderful image.

Lon

What a sweet, delicate, fethered, soft separation of the 9 tones. Beautiful.

What incredible light Jim! Glad you had the time to make this image.

Thanks Lon! I’m glad this image has resonated with some viewers! I agree and have revised the image to lift the shadows in the rocks just a touch and take the cyan out of the grass. Thanks for the EP too!

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Wow…thanks @Giuseppe_Guadagno !

Thanks Craig - I’m grateful as well.

I can’t believe I missed this one earlier! It is sheer magic, both the light and the composition! I don’t find it cluttered at all – the trail is so inviting.

I do like the cooler feeling of Igor’s changes.

The EP is SO deserved!

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Thanks @Diane_Miller !

No problem with clutter at all, this is what a trail looks like and the light that you captured here is one of the many reasons to walk these trails. A great, inviting scene and as @Ben_van_der_Sande commented, the light leads the curious eye to a yet unknown future. This resonates with the hiker that I have been for years, and hope to stay some more years :slight_smile:
I prefer the original post to @Igor_Doncov 's edit. The cooling down of the image does harm to the mood i.m.o., and the raising of the shadows and highlights removes a bit of the mysterious contrasts that are present in a wood. But apparently I stand alone in this opinion. No problem.

Beautiful image, Jim. Stunning light!