One day previous to this visit I scouted the location in the afternoon. Conditions were very flat, so much so that I knew an additional trip would be necessary. I returned the following day in the early morning. I had not scouted this POV the day before, but found this as I traveled around the lake. In truth, it wasn’t the image I was looking for, but I will take what the Universe gives me. I feel the image is successful, but have some concerns. (see feedback request.)
Specific Feedback Requested
William Neill writes, “Including too much has the effect of diluting the composition.” I am concerned that statement may apply to this image. I am quite aware that the viewer’s eye needs to be directed to one point of focus, one primary element, for the image to work. I believe the lake reflections achieve this. That said, I wonder if the subject would be better served by a more distilled presentation or, in other words, simplified. It did not occur to me then how to do that. It doesn’t now, either. Any insights you care to offer are welcome.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
This is a panorama achieved by stiching five images together in LR. Each image was a 24mm verticle, f / 9.0, 1/40, ISO 64.
Oh … that’s marvelous. Well, that’s what Mr. Neill writes, and for many images I agree completely. But sometimes including too much around the central point of the lake with a reflection is just right.
A point of focus isn’t always “a point”. Imagine this image printed to 30’ across and hanging alone on a big wall in a big room.
I wonder two things. Why did you go to black & white? Color would be interesting, but I suspect that the sky didn’t allow making it stunning, but would dull down a color image.
Second pulling back a bit on contrast, clarity, and sharpness would be an interesting move. It’s not too much big detail, but maybe too much fine detail. My opinion of course.
A specific question. Do you make the exposure in manual mode, and how do you pick the exposure when part of the scene is over, and part under? I generally attempt to avoid burned out whites in the lightest frames, but would like to hear how other handle the conundrum.
I don’t agree with Mr Nell’s quote. It actually sounds like a rule and there has been so much written recently about the futility of following rules.
Your composition is a fine one. One thing that I would say is that the processing is at odds with the subject matter. I’m assuming that the goal is to show a peaceful, tranquil setting. But you do the opposite when you process a subject in high contrast. The other thing is the sky. The repeating pattern of clouds adds tension to both the sky and the water. It’s actually hard to look at without getting tired after a while. That’s just how I react to it. BTW, I’m very familiar with this spot as the road goes right by it on the way to the boat ramp. Like I said, the composition is excellent.
Hi Pual,
Thanks for your input. Firstly, I almost never shoot with color in mind. I much prefer black and white, which provides the greatest opportunities for interpretive processing. I can push visual limits in B&W that would never be acceptable in color. Next, if the sharpening draws attentioin to itself, then it is too much. I think I have it about right here. The idea is to allow for quite large reproductions. Afer all, the file size is 1.18GB. Regarding exposure, I manually determine the appropriate exposure for the “hottest” frame and use that exposure throughout. Like you, I want to avoid burntout highlights.
Hi Igor,
My sister and her husband live in Bend. (He owns and opperates the Bend Rock Gym.) I was visiting them earlier in the month. I wanted a treatment of Sparks Lake. I have never photographed it before… and I am sure I will go back again.
I wonder if it would benefit the image if I reduced the tonality of the sky. Perhaps this would be less confusing/fatiguing for the viewer. It was that way originally, but I decided to lighten the tone so it didn’t mimic the lake quite so much. Possibly if the whole sky across the frame was brought down by a stop or 1.5 stops, focus would be better taken by the lake reflections.
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Hello again Igor,
For the sake of clarification my emotional response to this Sparks Lake view was not one of serenithy. Rather, I found this landscape to be quite striking. In depicting as I have it was my intention to do likewise.
Yes, that’s your vision. The sharp and highly textured lava rocks around the lake do support your vision. Thank you for considering my comments though.
I’ve been looking at this image since you posted it, because I really love it. Didn’t really know what to say as I’m no expert and also didn’t want to just say I like it but at least why I like it! I think it caught my eye because of the black and white which I really think brings out all the shapes and textures of the trees and clouds and reflection more than if it were in color. Color is beautiful, but can also distract from seeing certain details. I also really like the composition. I think it’s neat that you hiked or walked, not sure, around the lake to get the best perspective, I think shows in your end result! Beautiful capture!
Many times, one’s initial instincts are often good ones. I’m going to go against the grain of the other comments, but I just think there is a lot going on here. For me, it’s approaching visual overload, there are so many things here that I’m not sure where to look. Although the logical conclusion maybe is the mountain. Yes, the fallen log and circular shoreline lead to the mountain. But to me the relatively small mountain gets dominated by the bright clouds/water and the sharp textures and shapes of the rocks and trees. Viewers get pulled to bright areas, like the left shoreline, the lake, and the clouds. The high level of texture and contrast in the foreground pulls me to that area. The viewer has too many places to look IMO.
My subjective, honest opinion is that less would be more . I’m not going to offer advice on how to simplify this, because I don’t know what you as the photographer considered to be the 1 or 2 most important elements in the scene. But I think we as photographers need to prioritize those things and simplify our images and compositions accordingly. What part of this image resonates most with you? Once you decide that, then it’s easier to “distill” the image.
Hi Ed and Igor,
Your feedback is valued and appreciated. I have reworked the image. The lake is the focus of the image in my mind, so that is what I have attempted to present. Hopefully, this doesn’t fall into the lipstick-on-a-pig category. I showed a print of this to a photographer friend. She made a comment that struck home. “Maybe you are too attached to the pano technology,” she said. “Bingo,” I though. Guilty as charged. So I have cropped a bit and enlarged the canvas. Your thoughts are welcome and invited.
