Morning pasture

[Tom Hildreth]

This is straight off the Fuji Frontier CD, no Photoshop activities yet. I would have preferred a tree with overhanging branch on the right side of the frame, but all that was there was the leafless branch you see. I'm looking primarily for composition/framing critique but any comments will be welcome...ahh...endured.  OK, let me have it.

[connealy]

The strengths I see in the photo are the interesting progression of tonalities from bottom to top, the muted and limited color scheme, the division of the picture space into well delimited horizontal zones, and the contrast between the soft background and the delicate tracery of the middle-ground tree.  All of these things work well together to create mood of serenity tinged with a bit of melancholy.

Perhaps the main problem is that you have not made up your own mind about resolving the compositional issues.  You wanted a foreground framing device, but the spindly tree on the right doesn't really fill the bill.  Maybe the best path would be to forget that issue and work with what you have.  It may be that adjusting levels or doing some burning and dodging will bring out some qualities that are not now evident.  Another possibility would be to get ruthless with the cropping tool.  Whacking off about 20% on the top and right looks feasible.  Of course that will radically change the dynamics of the composition, moving it toward the thirds rule rather than the banded composition you now have.  It is also possible that some cropping would move the horizon off the center line with possibly beneficial results.  On the other hand, I don't doubt that a good case could be made for trusting you instincts and going with what you've got now.

I don't claim any expertise in this sort of thing; I just enjoy the speculation and I'm not reticent about offering my opinion.  I hope some others will chime in to keep things interesting here.

[Julio1fer]

I like this one. It gives a feeling of peace and tranquility, with the number of horizontal elements, the soft background, and the beautiful tones in the foreground.

Regarding framing and composition the main strengths are the neat horizontal arrangements (sky-mountains-lake-darker ground or sand) and the graceful curves in the tree and the mountains.

I would like to see the tree and the mountain curved lines enhanced a bit more as compositional elements. It might give an even gentler, maybe poetic mood.

The branch in the foreground does not help too much, maybe it would be best to discard it by moving to the left and closer to the tree. It would also give a simpler, stronger scene.  Maybe the scene is too complex to give a strong composition and it would gain from discarding some element?

It all depends of course in what was your reaction to the scene and what you wanted to express...could you comment on that?

[connealy]

I think the tree on the right does make a contribution to establishing some depth to the composition.  However, it may at the same time be creating a competition with the left side tree because of its similar relative height in the scene and more or less symmetrical relationship.  Perhaps the end result is the creation of a kind of hole in the middle into which the viewer falls without any evident way out.  I think that one way we often evaluate the success of a composition is whether or not it provides a sense of completeness and resolution. That is how I am tending to see it.   Perhaps there is another explanation that can fit in all the current elements in the picture, but I don't see it myself at the moment.

[Tom Hildreth]

Here’s what I get when I follow the suggestions. I have also lightened the foreground a little. I think this gives a little more texture and detail, which may be necessary as one of the viewers thought there was a lake present in the picture. This is a grassy area with ground fog, (but no water) and I can understand the confusion. The horizon is up higher, and I’m more comfortable with that. Looks like we have a better picture here.



Also, I did an auto color adjust, which reduced the nice cast that was in the sky in the original, something I don't appreciate.

[Conrad Hoffman]

I think you're headed in the right direction. Maybe crop out some of the foreground for a more horizontal composition, and I notice that you lost some tone in the sky with the lightening. The extra line at the top of the original actually added framing, and letting the sky bleed to white reduces interest or leads the eye out of the frame. You might try modifying the image with a gradient to bring the sky back. There are about a million things that can be done in an editing program with this, and I notice some delicate colors in the tree where the first light is hitting it, plus some more in the fog, that could be brought out. Depends on the mood you want to convey. The only other thing that bothers me is the light foreground to the right. My eye tends to be drawn there, but for no good reason. Maybe lighten up the left side or darken the right, to keep me looking at the more interesting bits!

[nelsonfoto]

I'll just say this - I can NEVER get fog to look right. I need to get down to the trout stream and shoot some more for practice. First thing in the morning, the fly-fishermen working in the in burn-off are quite photogenic.

[Tom Hildreth]

I hear you Conrad.  I definitely would add a border to help indicate the area occupied by the sky. It is uncomfortable just drifting off like that. I took a vertical shot, and while it has a lot more sky, there are no interesting clouds or features that help it work better than this view.  I also understand the distraction cause by the light area.  Here of course we would be manipulating the digital image to satisfy the viewer (and why not?), when in reality I can't remember how dark or light the forground was when I took the shot. I guess accuracy is less important here than viewer comfort.

I'm perplexed by the strong demarkation where the fog starts nearest the viewer. It looks like a sharp masking was carelessly done here, but it is actually on the negatives.

For those interested, this is Kodak High Definition 400 print film, shot with my Canonet QL17. I believe I left the camera on auto for this series of 5 exposures.  Last week I went by this location in the morning only to find a Dodge Ram pickup truck sitting about 75 feet out in the field facing the road from where my picture was taken. The entire front end was pushed in, exactly in the middle of the cab, apparently loosing an argument with a utility pole or some other immovable object. I suspect the driver spilled his beer in the process, but I couldn't find a write-up in the local papers.
The truck has since been removed and the cows are back.

Thanks for your input, folks.