This is taken at Zumwalt Park at Fern Ridge Reservoir. I went out before daylight just to see what I’d find and was pleased to have some low fog creep in.
I keep going back and forth between having the image lighter and a little softer or bringing in more detail and contrast. Thoughts?
ISO 200, 20 sec. at f11
This is a very attractive image Chris, soft, dreamy, and well-balanced. I like the foreground grasses and their reflections, then my eye goes out to the centered opening and shoreline in the distance. As for processing, I would really have to experiment myself and see results before deciding, but I think increasing the detail would make it less dreamy…just my thoughts 
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Chris, I’m enjoying the shape mimicry between the foreground reeds and the mid-ground shoreline. While I could see softening the reeds and their reflections slightly (or maybe reducing their contrast) I’m not sure it would be an improvement. As presented, the clarity of the reeds lets them be the major attraction with the softness in the background adding to the feeling of quiet that fog so often produces.
I rather like the contrast between the well-defined reeds and the soft background as you presented it.
Love the very soft - first morning - feel to this, Chris. I can seen going back and forth about the processing and agree. But it really depends on what you felt and wanted to capture at the time, IMHO. For me, I do like it as you have presented. Totally worth your being up before dawn to capture it.
Really nice, Chris. I go back and forth on fog scenes, also. I think you got it just right on this one. More contrast and detail would detract from the mood, IMO.
Wonderful image, Chris. I love the horizontality of it. People often say you don’t want all horizontals, it blocks entrance into the picture. As a general rule that is probably true. But after a while general rules can be a real bore. This image is laid out in bands - the grass, mist, tree line and sky and has a very interesting graphic appeal for me. My one suggestion would be to bring down the brightness of the central mist quite a bit (I don’t mean adding detail or contrast, just brightness). For me, it carries too much visual weight and doesn’t let me roam around the image as much as I’d like.
Thanks. Good point about brightness.
@GregVaughn @Ronald_Murphy @Jim_Lockhart @Mark_Seaver @linda_mellor Thank you very much for your helpful comments.
Chris, This is wonderful just as you have it. I really like the soft mood and the high key look. The FG works perfectly in drawing my eye into the fog beyond. Terrific!
