Hi All - This is my first request for a Critique. I am looking for you to be brutally honest. Learning is how we grow. I simply want to know what you think of the image technically (Focus - Noise - Lighting, etc), and what you think of the composition.
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
Nikon D810 - f/8 at 1/200 - ISO 100
Lens: Nikon 24-120 @55mm - On Tripod
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Oh, wow, Tom, this is really nice. I love that tree, it sure has character. The bushes to the left lead my eye to the trunk of the tree, and with itâs curves and shapes, through and up to the top of the tree. Then my eyes seem to go to the clouds, and back down through the landscape. I really do like this. I am not as well versed in landscape as some on here are, so maybe someone else may see something to help improve it. To me, it looks great as presented.
I think the tree is perfectly composed in the scene. Well done. For me, this is an âalmost but not quite keeper photoâ. I have some problems with the foreground. I must admit often I am the lone voice not liking the foreground. I think the large empty space of sand on the right is distracting. My eye goes right there, rather than to the beautiful background. Also, I would consider slightly darkening the brightest spot of the sky on the left. As a general principle, itâs usually not good to have something really bright on the edge of a photo because it draws the eye to the edge rather than to the center of the photo, where the main subject usually is. Thanks for sharing and thanks for being brave enough to ask for brutal honesty! You will go far with that attitude.
Tony - Thanks very much for your critique. You make some terrific points! The one that really hits home is the one about the âempty space of sandâ. I never even saw / considered that. I wonder if will ever be able to UNsee it now! LOL I am going to try to crop it out and compare the before and after. Thanks Again! Tom
Yes, indeed, this has lovely lines. The expanse of sand is a bit much, but you could crop off some of the right side and make it less prominent. The colors also appear oversaturated to my eye, but that may just be a matter of taste. At any rate, this is a fine photo.
Tom, I am really enjoying this first post for critique. The tree is a fine subject and you have positioned it very well. I do agree the empty foreground on the right is a bit oversized but I think it helps that the leading line of brush on the left does a nice job of drawing the viewer to the main subject. Also I do find a bit of balance between the empty foreground on the right and the empty space in the mid ground leftâŠif that makes sense. That said, I would crop it a bit as @Bonnie_Lampley has suggested.
Tom I think this is a beautiful image with very good compositional organization. I donât have any problems with the color balance or saturation. I do agree with Tony that the large foreground distracts from the central character. I think that can be easily solved by cropping right below the grass at the base of the bush in the center of the image. If I were processing this I would also see how it looks burning the corners for a little vignette which would I think focus more attention on the beautiful tree.
Overall wonderful image.
Tom, I think the original post works very well. The sand on the right sets up the shrubs coming in from the left corner as a great leading line that pulls eyeballs right to that gorgeous spiral of tree. The colors also look good. The repost also looks good. For me, it raises the philosophical question, âAm I shooting what is there or what I wish were there?â There is no right answer, itâs a choice that we all make and may even change from shot to shot.
Hey Mark - I hear what youâre saying. @Alan_Kreyger noted he felt the empty space on the left helps to balance the empty space on the right. So, as often is the case, various takes on a photo are pretty much the norm - often with it coming down to what each individual finds appealing. I can also interpret it as life - the juniper tree - springing up from a dry, barren area - the bare soil surrounding it. Thanks for chiming in!
This is quite nice. I like the original, but to my eye, the sky color look off, maybe oversaturated and little too cyan. The plants look good to me though. I prefer the composition in the first. The ground and plants lead me through nicely.
Tom. I think you did a really nice job incorporating everyoneâs suggestions. The cropped version looks better to my eye. I think the foreground colors look good but I agree the sky appears over saturated. I wonder if burning the tree just a little bit would help it standout more from the surrounding bushes. Again great job.
Tom, Iâm late coming in here, but these are my thoughts. I prefer the overall processing of the original post to your rework. The rework looks too warm, and too saturated for my taste (though color and saturation is a very personal thing I admit). The contrast in the original looks better to me, the rework has gone too HDR-ish looking, and lost richness in the shadows.
I think Tony is right about too much empty negative space in the lower right corner. I took your original post, did a square crop (minimizing empty space in the LRC), and added some vignetting.
Hey Ed - Thanks very much for your input! I did indeed bump up the saturation a bit in the rework. In the future, I wonât do that, since a lack of saturation was not one of the factors identified as needing to be addressed. I feel I should have ONLY employed the suggestions given. But, yes, I totally get what youâre saying, and, like most photographers would agree, saturation is very much a matter of personal taste. I like your rework. I actually like my original and my rework as well. These realizations kind of make me shake my head and ask, âHow the HECK do I decide which one Iâd hang on my wallâ?! I could certainly have much worse problems. Currently, I have the original on my Dinning Room wall, as a 20 X 30 canvas. Thanks again Ed!
I simply want to know what you think of the image technically (Focus - Noise - Lighting, etc), and what you think of the composition.
