Tough Guys on Tuff + Rework

Image Critiques Landscape Critiques
1

REWORK (increased midtone contrast, overall vibrance):

EastSide_033121_1247_v2
EastSide_033121_1247_v22048×1668 1.39 MB

ORIGINAL:

Tough Guys on Tuff
Tough Guys on Tuff2048×1668 1.37 MB

Here’s another in my “harsh light of day” series, all made while hiking in the environs of the eastern Sierra Nevada. This was along the road into the middle gorge of the Owens River. In this case, the angle of the rock was such that the light shows some of the texture. I loved the plants hanging onto life in the fractures of the Bishop Tuff.

Specific Feedback Requested

Any comments welcome.

Technical Details

Is this a composite: No
a7r3, 51mm, f/11, 1/400s, ISO 400.

bonnie_lampley
2

Harsh light indeed. It emphasises the difficulties these two plants will have surviving there. I like the diagonals accentuated by the black shadows. The side lit faces of the rocks show lots of structure. My guess is that toning down the highlights a bit would do two things: 1) reveal more structure on the parts of the rocks facing the sun and 2) provide some more colour saturation. The pink of the rocks and the sea green of the plants make a great combination. Well seen, nice image.

3

Thanks for your thoughts, @Igor_Hoveijn . I went back and increased the contrast of the midtones, and I think that brought out more color and texture.

1 Like
4

Bonnie, your rework made it much better in my eyes. Now it’s more obvious to me what you want to show in this image.

5

I like the richer color and more pronounced texture in your reworked version. It has more of a visual impact.

6

Another :+1:t3: for the rework. The color is deeper and I think helps reduce the overall harshness we know was there. The darker shadows seem more mysterious and they are less distracting eye sinks. A productive trip for sure!

7

The rework makes for a nice improvement, the bush separates better.

I think this image would also be worth exploring as a B&W conversion, given the strong lines, shadows, and textures in the rocks.

8

Thanks for the repost. Increasing the contrast of the midtones did it.

1 Like
9

Like the image and I think the rework is an improvement. What I love about this image is the ambiguity of scale. When I first looked at it, I thought it was a cliff with small trees hanging on tenaciously. In any case, great use of light, line and texture. The aspect ratio is perfect.

10

Thanks, @Kris_Smith, @Kerry_Gordon, @Ben_van_der_Sande, @Eva_McDermott, and @Ed_McGuirk for your thoughts. Perhaps I could even take this a bit farther.

11

Oh yes, the rework is much nicer, Bonnie. You nailed it in the rework. The texture becomes much more apparent. Well done.

1 Like