Lake reflection

Was on a lake in New Jersey this weekend with my daughters. Blue hour came and this is the result. Shot on a Nikon d5100, Lightroom processed, with fluorescent white balance. Thoughts? Thanks in advance

 

Colors good. Nice soft pastels. Sense of calm. Aside from that, Think if it was possible you should've moved to a spot without all those tree branches in the way. Just the sky the mountain and the reflection of the sky in the lake. As for the mountain itself, you could do without that blurry pole, stick, etc. whatever it is, sticking up there, and the skyline of the mountain itself is blurry to. There's nothing wrong with blur per se. It's just another element of the image, and depending on the image, it can add to, detract from, or just sit there and do nothing. In this case, it detracts from. This of course is just my opinion, and as I've indicated in earlier posts, at the end of the day, the opinion that counts regarding an artist's work, is the one held by the artist.

If I were shooting this on a tripod, I'd used a smaller aperture to get everything in focus. Yes, I'd remove the pole. You've overcooked some element of the processing because I see a halo on the mountain's edges.

 

The branches and the calm water behind them seem to be the subject to me. I'd consider cutting out the mountain altogether, but without some of the reflection in the water, it wouldn't be clear that there was water behind the branches. Handheld, I would have still stopped down for focus and raise the ISO where it needed to be for me to hand-hold. Love the colors, still water and branches. The BG just keeps getting in my way.

If I were shooting this on a tripod, I'd used a smaller aperture to get everything in focus. Yes, I'd remove the pole. You've overcooked some element of the processing because I see a halo on the mountain's edges.

 

The branches and the calm water behind them seem to be the subject to me. I'd consider cutting out the mountain altogether, but without some of the reflection in the water, it wouldn't be clear that there was water behind the branches. Handheld, I would have still stopped down for focus and raise the ISO where it needed to be for me to hand-hold. Love the colors, still water and branches. The BG just keeps getting in my way.

Yep. Handheld, so my fstop options were somewhat limited. Thanks for the thoughts

Yep. Handheld, so my fstop options were somewhat limited. Thanks for the thoughts

 

What ISO? The latest NR programs, like Topaz and DxO PRIME PLUS are pretty amazing. I don't know your camera well, but, with many bodies, ISO 3200 and 6400 are now practical.

I appreciate the non-traditional composition which, though seemingly imbalanced, actually provides a sense of balance all its own. There’s something Japanesey afoot both structurally and in feel. The pole is fine. It’s a lone man-made element and its subtle “lone-ness” seems in keeping with the mood.

 

Is the highlighted blur of the edge of the mountaintop in the original. Seems like it could be a product of the depth of field. Maybe processing, too?

 

It would be an “easier” pic without the top portion, dwelling on the meditative quality of the branches and deep blue water. With the top, to my eye, it’s more sophisticated and unusual. I could actually see a series of this sort of vertical landscape with disproportionate foreground/background play. It would make a distinct statement, though there are many directions you could take it.

What ISO? The latest NR programs, like Topaz and DxO PRIME PLUS are pretty amazing. I don't know your camera well, but, with many bodies, ISO 3200 and 6400 are now practical.

Probably shot at 400iso. I rarely go higher handheld, just because I try to avoid the noise that comes with it.

Probably shot at 400iso. I rarely go higher handheld, just because I try to avoid the noise that comes with it.

 

Shooting in RAW and using a good NR program, like Topaz or DxO PRIME PLUS and you'll enjoy way more headroom.

 

Shooting wildlife handheld, at all times of day, often before sunrise and after sunset, I'll occasionally push ISO, on a RAW file, with SOTA NR. Here's ISO 64000, with good NR applied (DxO PRIME):

 

Profile of Big 7x8 White-tail Buck by David Stephens, on Flickr

 

Since this was shot, a little more than a year ago, both Topaz and DxO have improved their NR programs.

 

Next time, try the shot with various apertures to see which you prefer. If that were mine, I think that the BG in focus would have been my preference, but that's personal. Don't let some old timey belief, dating from film days, keep you from getting the shot that you prefer.

 

Oh, don't underexpose. You didn't, but some do, trying to keep ISO low. There are some exceptions, but generally, pushing EV causes more noise that getting the exposure correct in the first place.

Did you figure out what adjustment you made that caused that halo on the mountains?