Winter Scene, Hog Lake

I have no idea how Hog Lake (in Tehama County, northern California) got it’s name, but it’s such an inelegant name for such a lovely setting. It’s really a very large vernal pool, that only contains water in the winter. These are my favorite rocks in Hog Lake, and I liked the way the gnarled oak branches and their reflections framed the rocks.

Specific Feedback Requested

Any c/c welcome. I often convert Hog Lake photos to b&w, but I liked the bit of green moss on the rocks. There’s also that faint brownish line of the far shore. Does the color detract? I’m thinking now that the brownish zone could be desaturated.

Technical Details

Is this a composite: No
a7r3, 39mm, 1/10s, f/16, ISO 100

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Nice image to build on. Personally, I think the shoreline is a little distracting and I quite like it without the reflections. JMHO

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I do like the subtlety of color but also think the crop of @Michael_Lowe is a stronger image TME.Really like the three branches and their graphics as well.

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I like both versions and can’t decide which one I like more. I have never shot such an image but can appreciate it. Don’t know what to suggest.

I like this image a lot. IMO you could keep the green as well as the brown colors. Eventually, you could try to crop a part of the length of the reflected branches but not all of them. They are an important element, but as of now they may take up to much of the attention (of course a matte of personal taste).

Added a try, do not know if it is better!

This is a very very interesting scene. I think I like Mike’s repost a little more but I can see the appeal of your composition, Bonnie.

Funny, before reading any comments or scrolling down, I did a scroll crop of this one and found I quite a version with the top trees cropped out, leaving the reflection, the opposite of what Michael posted. A lot of ways to approach this one and all work, some better than others depending on preference and one’s eye. Fine scene.

I think your original post works, but here’s another vote for preferring the crop by @Michael_Lowe. I think you were possibly going for the contrast of sharp vs. blurry in the trees and their reflections. But I think Mikes crop offers more simplicity, and there is still nice sharp/soft contrast, but just in the trees/rocks vs. the fog.

One concern I have with the original presentation is that it feels unbalance vertically, in the sense that the distance between the trees and the rocks is much shorter than the distance between the rocks and the tree reflections. If this had been more symmetrical vertically, I might have liked it better.

Thanks for all your thoughts, @Michael_Lowe, @Mario_Cornacchione, @Igor_Doncov, @Ola_Jovall, @Adhika_Lie, @Harley_Goldman, and @Ed_McGuirk.

I figured this would be a “challenging” composition. I liked the idea that the distances from the various elements wasn’t symmetrical. Clearly there is something about the balance that feels off for everyone. I think that it is because the size if the trees and reflections is the same, but the overall spacing is not the same above and below the rocks. I rather like Harley’s idea to crop a bit off the top. I’ll give some other options a whirl.