Luminous Landscape Forum
The Art of Photography => User Critiques => Topic started by: JeffKohn on August 14, 2009, 03:41:55 pm
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Still working on the images from our Eastern Sierra trip in July. While staying in Mammoth Lakes, we drove up to the high country in Yosemite National Park twice. The first time was to hike to Gaylor Lakes, and the second time we visited Olmstead Point and a few other stops along the Tioga Pass Road.
Critiques & feedback always welcome. There are some more pictures in the gallery here (http://www.pbase.com/jkohn/2009_eastern_sierra_yosemite). Click on any image below for PBase page with exif and lens info.
Twilight Reflection of Mammoth Peak, Dana Meadows
(http://www.pbase.com/jkohn/image/116073279/original.jpg) (http://www.pbase.com/jkohn/image/116073279/original)
Triplet Juniper Tree
(http://www.pbase.com/jkohn/image/116073282/original.jpg) (http://www.pbase.com/jkohn/image/116073282/original)
Half Dome From Above Olmstead Point
(http://www.pbase.com/jkohn/image/116073285/original.jpg) (http://www.pbase.com/jkohn/image/116073285/original)
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I'm a complete sucker for landscapes, and thus am very partial to the first image. Wow, what a picturesque scene! Very pretty.
The second one...it's entirely possible that it's just my monitor, but some of the rocks in the foreground seem a bit bright or bleached and I'm losing a little detail. But, as I said it could just be my screen.
Nothing to add from me on the last one. I don't really care for b&w most of the time, so I have nothing constructive to offer. It is a neat scene though!
Elby
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The second one...it's entirely possible that it's just my monitor, but some of the rocks in the foreground seem a bit bright or bleached and I'm losing a little detail. But, as I said it could just be my screen.
Elby
I particularly like the second one; I'd hug a tree everyday if I could. I do see what he means by the overbrightness of those foreground rocks on the left bottom of the photo.
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Congratulations Jeff, perfect, nothing to criticize! Stunning, balanced views where I would not want to change or alter the slightest bit. Pleasing, and for my eyes careful processed colors. I knew there was some more to come after your last post
These are outstanding, my favorite is #1, for the graphical look you created.
It looks like the first two could be equally good in b/w, and the last also good in color. I could imagine these (and maybe a few more??) wonderfully good as a series.
Still working on the images from our Eastern Sierra trip in July. While staying in Mammoth Lakes, we drove up to the high country in Yosemite National Park twice. The first time was to hike to Gaylor Lakes, and the second time we visited Olmstead Point and a few other stops along the Tioga Pass Road.
Critiques & feedback always welcome. ...
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The first one is nice, pleasing, peaceful, but I prefer the other two. I love the trees (I'm with Pup on that one), and I think the B&W image has great tones.
Mike.
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I like the 2nd. It's an interesting tree in good light. However, the 3rd is my favorite. Its layered composition is beautiful and the b&w conversion is very nice. I would love to see a large print of it. Thanks for sharing.
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Still working on the images from our Eastern Sierra trip in July. While staying in Mammoth Lakes, we drove up to the high country in Yosemite National Park twice. The first time was to hike to Gaylor Lakes, and the second time we visited Olmstead Point and a few other stops along the Tioga Pass Road.
Critiques & feedback always welcome. There are some more pictures in the gallery here (http://www.pbase.com/jkohn/2009_eastern_sierra_yosemite). Click on any image below for PBase page with exif and lens info.
Twilight Reflection of Mammoth Peak, Dana Meadows
(http://www.pbase.com/jkohn/image/116073279/original.jpg) (http://www.pbase.com/jkohn/image/116073279/original)
Triplet Juniper Tree
(http://www.pbase.com/jkohn/image/116073282/original.jpg) (http://www.pbase.com/jkohn/image/116073282/original)
Half Dome From Above Olmstead Point
(http://www.pbase.com/jkohn/image/116073285/original.jpg) (http://www.pbase.com/jkohn/image/116073285/original)
I browsed your pictures and admitt, that I like the way you see at landscape. First picture is the kind of immage that I always want to make. BW is very much atractive to my eye. Contrasy composition is very pleasant.
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Very nice. But I find the third, BW image, in the shade area, a little too dark for my taste.
JMR
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Sorry, it's a double post by mistake.
JMR
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Three amazing pictures!
The first one is my favourite, I think the framing is the key, the reflections help frame the shot and that is brilliant.
Then the third one those little trees look like toys at the botton, the tone is perfect.
Luigi
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Jeff, I like them all, but I think #1 is stunning. Was thinking that John had a point with the dark middle of the B&W, but going back for another look, I think it compliments the light tones of the foreground.
Cheers
Brian
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Thanks to everybody for all the feedback, it's much appreciated.
I may need to rethink the shadow tones on the Half Dome shot. On my calibrated display at home, there is still detail in the shadows; but on my work computer they're too dark, and several others have made that same comment. Some of it may come down to display differences, but I think I can probably lighten the darkest shadows a bit without losing the overall tone of the photograph. For me that middle layer of shadow with the sun-lit foreground and Half Dome in the distance is what makes the shot. I only wish I'd had a better sky.
I'm glad to read that some others like the juniper tree shot, as I thought that was a really neat tree but wasn't sure if it rose to the level of a good photograph. I originally planned on the tree image being B/W when I shot it, since I tend to prefer B/W for subjects like that. I did try a B/W conversion, and I like it OK. But the trunk stands out much more in the color version, and I think it makes the tree a stronger subject. Here's the B/W version, I'm curious what others might think.
(http://upload.pbase.com/image/116119507/original.jpg)
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I think I like the B&W better ... except I don't like the dark sky. Was that from a polarizer or just high country skies?
That said, I think your first instinct was correct - I think it is a more interesting tree than photograph.
The twilight reflection, however, is pretty close to perfect.
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I still prefer #2 in color.
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I still prefer #2 in color.
Me too!
JMR
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Thanks to everybody for all the feedback, it's much appreciated.
I may need to rethink the shadow tones on the Half Dome shot. On my calibrated display at home, there is still detail in the shadows; but on my work computer they're too dark, and several others have made that same comment.
There's plenty of detail on my monitor as well....I wouldn't touch it.
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The way you composed the first image really caught my eye. The way the reflection of the mountain summit meets the rock is outstanding! All three are winners in my book. The inclusion of the small tree in the lower right corner in the second image added scale to the image nicely. The foreground tree in the third image was a nice addition as well.
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Thanks again for the feedback.
Jeremy - Judging from the shutter speed I probably have a polarizer mounted, but I think only a little bit of polarization was dialed in. Full polarization at 24mm would have most likely resulted in an uneven sky, even cropped to 5:4. You may be right about the sky in the B/W; although if I lighten it, I think it would need to be substantially lighter than the tree. Maybe the digital equivalent of a blue filter...
byork - While the shadows have detail on my display, a test print yesterday shows that I'm going to have to lighten them up a bit to get a good print.
Jason - Thanks, I too liked the the additional symmetry added by the rocks.
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Really nice photos, Jeff. And I also prefer the B&W version of the Juniper tree. But the most remarkable one for me is the picture of Half Dome. You've managed to feature one of the most frequently photographed natural icons on the planet in a wholly original composition, which is a feat I would not have thought possible. I, at least, have never seen Half Dome shot quite that way before. I like it very much.