Luminous Landscape Forum

The Art of Photography => User Critiques => Topic started by: Jeremy Roussak on February 02, 2009, 10:12:29 am

Title: Lake District
Post by: Jeremy Roussak on February 02, 2009, 10:12:29 am
[attachment=11337:treeslope.jpg]

Taken last year. Criticism welcome!

Jeremy
Title: Lake District
Post by: LoisWakeman on February 02, 2009, 10:27:29 am
Hi Jeremy, this caught my eye as I have some similar ones from Dartmoor - the rich moorland colours one can get on overcast days (i.e. a lot of the time!) is rather pleasing, I think. I especially like the strong diagonals here, which make for a lively composition.

I am not so sure about the tree though: I find the crop an bit uncomfortable to look at and want to look past it at the textures of the wall, bracken and rough pasture. To my eye, a "less is more" approach taken a step up or down the hill to exclude the tree might be more appealing.
Title: Lake District
Post by: new_haven on February 04, 2009, 03:12:11 am
I liked this one especially because of the color and thought it could be a little more vibrant. Lois' comment is a good one so maybe the idea or subject can be directed toward the tree (since the tree is nice also) by cropping away some of the right side and bottom with the fields as the background.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/glenngaryglenross/treeslope_Y.jpg)
Title: Lake District
Post by: brianrybolt on February 04, 2009, 05:33:08 am
[attachment=11364:treeslope.jpg]
Quote from: new_haven
I liked this one especially because of the color and thought it could be a little more vibrant. Lois' comment is a good one so maybe the idea or subject can be directed toward the tree (since the tree is nice also) by cropping away some of the right side and bottom with the fields as the background.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/glenngaryglenross/treeslope_Y.jpg)


Jeremy,

For what it's worth -


Title: Lake District
Post by: Eric Myrvaagnes on February 04, 2009, 09:41:12 am
Jeremy,

I like Brian's tight cropping the best. I think he has kept the essentials and strengthened the original. After the lushness of color in the original, the bleakness of Brian's is a bit unsettling. But perhaps it fits the mood of the tree and wall better. I do like the tree (sorry, Lois!)

Eric

Title: Lake District
Post by: LoisWakeman on February 05, 2009, 11:48:14 am
Quote from: EricM
(sorry, Lois!)
Hey Eric - diversity of opinion is good - the world would be pretty dull if we all saw and thought the same  
Title: Lake District
Post by: john beardsworth on February 05, 2009, 01:47:51 pm
Have you thought of cropping out the sky altogether?
Title: Lake District
Post by: Eric Myrvaagnes on February 05, 2009, 01:58:22 pm
Quote from: LoisWakeman
Hey Eric - diversity of opinion is good - the world would be pretty dull if we all saw and thought the same  

Hey Lois - This time I agree with you completely!  
Title: Lake District
Post by: button on February 05, 2009, 07:55:34 pm
Quote from: johnbeardy
Have you thought of cropping out the sky altogether?

I'm with John here.  I like the lines in this shot- the tree looks like it's surfing on the ground, with the fence providing the backdrop of a rolling breaker.  However, the lighting makes things look pretty flat.  You might want to burn the background (relative to the tree) and crop out the sky and fern (just below the tree) to try to create a bit more motion.

Cool shot!

John
Title: Lake District
Post by: alainbriot on February 06, 2009, 06:02:24 am
Another interpretation:

(http://www.beautiful-landscape.com/OPP/treeslope_Y-AB.jpg)

Alain
Title: Lake District
Post by: Ray on February 06, 2009, 07:41:58 am
The colors are gorgeous, but there's a glaring flaw in my opinion, a flaw which Alain Briot has addressed in his crop.

That small, bright, blown section of sky in the top left corner, draws the eye for no good reason. It draws the eye off the page, which is not good.

An alternative approach to Alain's, might be to replace that small section of sky with deep blue. That would add to the over all effect of a colorful image.

Title: Lake District
Post by: john beardsworth on February 06, 2009, 08:56:06 am
Thanks Alain, that's the crop I was suggesting. Knowing the region pretty well, the colours are also believable.

John
Title: Lake District
Post by: Jeremy Roussak on February 06, 2009, 02:44:26 pm
Quote from: alainbriot
Another interpretation:

(http://www.beautiful-landscape.com/OPP/treeslope_Y-AB.jpg)

Alain
Thank you all very much for your comments. I'd posted the image completely uncropped, partly (if sneakily) in the hope that I'd get some cropping suggestions from you.

Alain, I like that very much. You've boosted the red saturation far more than I'd dared to do (it was already about +50 in LR!), but I think it works very well indeed. You've also removed, by your crop, both the blown-out white sky and the hanging branch to the right (at the top, about a third of the way in).

I'll try Ray's suggestion of making the sky blue (it was a miserable, rainy, cold day up above Ambleside), but I'm not sure that my PS skills are good enough to clone out the branch. Time will tell.

Jeremy
Title: Lake District
Post by: john beardsworth on February 06, 2009, 04:05:00 pm
Forget the sky. Firstly, just because it's a landscape doesn't mean it has to have sky. Secondly, you've got the bracken and the greens, so you don't need blue just to make the set. Less is more.
Title: Lake District
Post by: alainbriot on February 06, 2009, 09:24:41 pm
Quote from: kikashi
Thank you all very much for your comments. I'd posted the image completely uncropped, partly (if sneakily) in the hope that I'd get some cropping suggestions from you.

Alain, I like that very much. You've boosted the red saturation far more than I'd dared to do (it was already about +50 in LR!), but I think it works very well indeed. You've also removed, by your crop, both the blown-out white sky and the hanging branch to the right (at the top, about a third of the way in).

I'll try Ray's suggestion of making the sky blue (it was a miserable, rainy, cold day up above Ambleside), but I'm not sure that my PS skills are good enough to clone out the branch. Time will tell.

Jeremy


Hi Jeremy,

Glad you like my interpretation of your image.  Yes, I increased the saturation of the reds.  I also removed a slight green cast that was present over the image and rebalanced the grey point to the grey branches on the tree.  I also opened the shadows slightly.

I really like the colors in this photograph.  Greens and reds with some browns and neutrals in the tree branches.

To me the strength of the composition are the diagonal lines formed by the wall and the hill behind it. Some of the tree branches also go in the same diagonal direction.  There's also a Z pattern at the top right which adds movement.  The branches also add movement:

(http://www.beautiful-landscape.com/OPP/treeslope_Y-AB2.jpg)

Alain
Title: Lake District
Post by: Jeremy Roussak on February 09, 2009, 03:52:04 am
Quote from: alainbriot
Hi Jeremy,

Glad you like my interpretation of your image.  Yes, I increased the saturation of the reds.  I also removed a slight green cast that was present over the image and rebalanced the grey point to the grey branches on the tree.  I also opened the shadows slightly.

I really like the colors in this photograph.  Greens and reds with some browns and neutrals in the tree branches.

To me the strength of the composition are the diagonal lines formed by the wall and the hill behind it. Some of the tree branches also go in the same diagonal direction.  There's also a Z pattern at the top right which adds movement.  The branches also add movement:

(http://www.beautiful-landscape.com/OPP/treeslope_Y-AB2.jpg)

Alain
Alain,

Thanks again: it's very interesting to like something and then to be told why I like it!

Jeremy