Luminous Landscape Forum

The Art of Photography => User Critiques => Topic started by: chuckn on July 16, 2014, 09:44:21 pm

Title: Oxbow Bend, Grand Teton ((mt owen)
Post by: chuckn on July 16, 2014, 09:44:21 pm
Took this photo on a recent trip. Popular place but I liked the trees and clouds that day. Comments??

Chuck.
Title: Re: Oxbow Bend, Grand Teton ((mt owen)
Post by: Jeremy Roussak on July 17, 2014, 04:27:21 am
Very nice. Spectacular sky. Looks rather dark, though.

Jeremy
Title: Re: Oxbow Bend, Grand Teton ((mt owen)
Post by: francois on July 17, 2014, 07:52:56 am
I also find it too dark but the view is fantastic and the sky also.

Did you use a very long lens or did you move closer (ie a lot farther away from the traditional Oxbow Bend viewpoint)?
Title: Re: Oxbow Bend, Grand Teton ((mt owen)
Post by: owenn01 on July 17, 2014, 08:17:36 am
It's a great (iconic?) location and therefore difficult to make anything startlingly different with. What you have managed to do here is lift the location out of the 'norm' with the balance of the slightly changed viewpoint (no Oxbow Bend!), the focus on Mount Owen almost isolated from the rest of the Teton range, and the addition of that fabulous sky that layers up the the frame.

I quite like the darkness that the image seems to have - foreboding is perhaps the term - but I susepct it was taken very early morning as those clouds do tend to burn off during the day (but happy to accept I'm wrong  :)).

The more I look at it the more balanced I find it - and I especially now like the balance of the cloud shape directly above and sitting on the top of Mnt. Owen almost echoing it's shape.

It's a location I love and I am always looking to see how others interpret it - I think you've done well here.

Kind regards, N.
Title: Re: Oxbow Bend, Grand Teton ((mt owen)
Post by: chuckn on July 17, 2014, 10:31:53 am
Thanks for the kind comments. I used my 24-70 lens and moved down stream to get the composition. The clouds did burn off about 1/2 hour after I took the photograph. Made it darker to bring out the highlights in the clouds. Lighted up the trees a little too. Did not have to do much post processing.

Chuck.
Title: Re: Oxbow Bend, Grand Teton ((mt owen)
Post by: PeterAit on July 17, 2014, 10:40:41 am
I like it a lot, nice use of B&W. I agree it looks a bit dark, though.
Title: Re: Oxbow Bend, Grand Teton ((mt owen)
Post by: Slobodan Blagojevic on July 17, 2014, 10:49:01 am
The deliberate darkening does not work for me.
Title: Re: Oxbow Bend, Grand Teton ((mt owen)
Post by: Isaac on July 17, 2014, 07:56:47 pm
Made it darker to bring out the highlights in the clouds.

Have you seen Charles Cramer's LuLa article "Tonal Adjustments in the Age of Lightroom 4 (http://www.luminous-landscape.com/techniques/tonal_adjustments_in_the_age_of_lightroom_4.shtml)" ?

I found it helpful, so now I mention it at every opportunity :-)
Title: Re: Oxbow Bend, Grand Teton ((mt owen)
Post by: chuckn on July 18, 2014, 05:06:04 pm
Isaac,

Thanks for the link. I had not seen that article. I was a good read.

Chuck.
Title: Re: Oxbow Bend, Grand Teton ((mt owen)
Post by: chuckn on July 18, 2014, 06:10:39 pm
After reading the Lula article on tonal adjustments I re-did the Mt. Owen image. Here's the final result. I learned something new today. What do you all think?

Thanks,

Chuck.
Title: Re: Oxbow Bend, Grand Teton ((mt owen)
Post by: Jeremy Roussak on July 19, 2014, 04:51:07 am
After reading the Lula article on tonal adjustments I re-did the Mt. Owen image. Here's the final result. I learned something new today. What do you all think?

Much improved.

Jeremy
Title: Re: Oxbow Bend, Grand Teton ((mt owen)
Post by: francois on July 19, 2014, 06:03:19 am
Yes, it's a lot better.
Title: Re: Oxbow Bend, Grand Teton ((mt owen)
Post by: dennisd on July 27, 2014, 06:07:33 pm
Wonderful Image.  2nd version greatly improved.
 
One thought - the lighter tones on the rt & left sides (clouds and land) could use some containment by burning in or darkening.  That would really pull you into the center of the image.   

FWIW - Right now, my eyes wander across the upper clouds.  The above suggestion is intended to help emphasize Mt. Owen and the the triangular cloud formation above. 
Title: Re: Oxbow Bend, Grand Teton ((mt owen)
Post by: David Eckels on July 28, 2014, 11:14:39 am
I like the second image, brightness and tone are better IMHO, but the clouds are way to blocky in my view and would suggest softening them some. As is they distract me from the mountain peak.
Title: Re: Oxbow Bend, Grand Teton ((mt owen)
Post by: chuckn on July 28, 2014, 03:12:21 pm
I like the second image, brightness and tone are better IMHO, but the clouds are way to blocky in my view and would suggest softening them some. As is they distract me from the mountain peak.

This image has sparked numerous reactions/responses. I find it satisfying that it has received so much interest. Thanks for your input.

Chuck.