Stairs

[Viewfinders Tales]

[marc_rochkind]

Seems too dark and out of focus. Is there some effect you're trying for?

[samstevens]

The saturation feels heavy handed. This pertains to the whole photo and creates that weird cyan of the bare branches against the white sky. 

[John Seaman]

Personally, I would crop off the bottom two or three steps. They are not sharp and don't add anything to the composition.

[mikemorrellNL]

Hi. I think this photo definitely has some potential with some post-processing.  As it it is, it looks very brown and dark. And TBH not so sharp. So the first thing that I would suggest is to 'color correct' the photo in  post-processing, brighten up the whole image and sharpen up the stairs.  I don't often post 'alternative versions' but I hope these willl illustrate what I mean. My 2nd version is just a quick and dirty version with the stairs highlighted and the background darkened. You may wish to adjust the relative brightness of the stairs vs. the background. If you're interested in any more info, please let me know.

 

Edited November 26, 2023 by mikemorrellNL

[samstevens]

@mikemorrellNL, when working with a nature scene, one will usually consider (though there are times one might want an intentionally unnatural look) the way light is distributed given the scene. Unless there's a desire to create a very staged look (which sometimes there will be), a staircase in the forest can certainly be brought out in post but still would most often be brought out subtly enough not to appear over lit, given the context and circumstances surrounding the staircase. Unfortunately, your second version, though quick and dirty, seems unnaturally bright and without shadow given the conditions. And I wouldn't consider it falling into a well-staged look either because it is just so extreme. Also, the color saturation in that second version is quite a ways beyond what would be found in the most over-the-top Disney movie let alone nature itself. 😊

Edited November 26, 2023 by samstevens

[dcstep]

I'm drawn to Mike's first color corrected version. For me, it puts emphasis on the "Stairs" and I'm thinking, "WTF was someone thinking putting stairs there?" The scene is ridiculous to me. The terrain isn't challenging enough to require stairs, yet, some entity has chosen to put overly engineer stairs in that place.

The crazy color balances of the original and Mike's second version just are off putting to me. I see no contributions coming from those inaccurate colors.

[Viewfinders Tales]

Thank you guys for all the amazing critiques. appreciate it. 

[JDMvW]

I agree that the crop is better.

ditto for lower saturation.

 

"Step by step, slowly I turned....."

Edited January 29 by JDMvW

[gb3]

It does have some mystic. But I'm wondering if it would have been a more effective image if it were shot landscape, showing the isolated stairs in the middle of a forest?