anish

This is a really unique dune image. The streaking effect gives it a nice, abstract look. I must ask, though, about the placement of the shrub. I wonder why you did not choose to place it further into the frame?

 

-Anish

A beautiful image with a simple, elegant composition and great light. My only critique would be that the footprints seem to be a little random. I feel like either they should not be there, or they should be a more integral part of the composition - for example by forming a path that helps the flow of the composition. Here they are leading in a direction that doesn't help the composition, in my opinion.

Other than that, I wouldn't mind seeing the top of the peak on the right dodged just a little, but that's not a big deal.

 

Anish

Strengths - I think the foreground and middleground are layered effectively, and good depth is created by the relative scale of the foreground rocks vs the distant rocks. The glow on the snow is beautifully captured.

Weakness - Foreground. the light is great, but i feel this magical lighting and great sky is almost wasted by a foreground that is very prominent in the frame yet lacks any point of interest for the viewer to "grab" onto. Secondly, while I applaud your effort from a technical standpoint in combining several exposures, I think the end result is unrealistic. The clear patch of sky directly above the sun is too dark in this case.

Overall, this is a visually appealing image with the above comments in mind.

 

Anish

Comments welcome. Thanks for viewing.

good use of wide angle to emphasize the foreground and create a nice sense of depth. good arrangement of elements throughout the frame and good job with the processing - the colors are vibrant without going over the top.

 

Anish

nice composition, and good handling of the exposure. the shutter speed is perfect. my only critique would be regarding the sunlight area at the lower right. i think the composition would be hurt if you cropped it out, but maybe a little burning to make it a little more subtle? as it is, i feel it draws too much attention away from the rest of the image.

-Anish

the falling sand effect is nice - caused by wind? technically, i think you've done a good job with this photo. the only critique i have is the inclusion of both the falling sand and the light shaft. one or the other would've have been better, IMO, as i don't feel the two really work together as far as a single composition is concerned.

 

Anish

I posted a horizontal version of this scene recently for comparison. Any

comments are appreciated. Thanks for viewing.

i personally like this version better than your other similar image. the effect of the long exposure on the other image yielded a unique and beautiful result, but the contrasts created by the subtle light you've captured in this image makes it stronger, i my opinion. the sky certainly doesn't hurt either.

 

Anish

This is a difficult location to photograph as there usually isn't enough color saturation unless it has just rained. In this image, you have added to much color via post-processing (especially the green), so it looks very unnatural. The composition is good, but the processing ruins it for me.

 

Anish

This is beautiful! This spot is photographed so much, but this image looks just different enough from most that i've seen to stand out. The extreme wide angle, the choice to place the river bend off to the side and the inclusion of foreground and middleground layers to add depth all combine to make this a great photo. To top it off, the sky complements the rock formations. Great job.

 

Anish

The morning after a snow storm in Zion. Thanks for viewing and

commenting.

 

Anish

Amazing light. True, the Tetons have been photographed countless times from this angle, but rarely in such light. I applaud you for that. From my perspective, however, the foreground/middleground aren't particularly strong and appear disconnected from the background peaks due to the prominent left/right running snow band. This is still a very nice image, but the lack of foreground to background flow keeps this from being a great image in my honest opinion.

Very nice composition. I like the cliff on the left. I think it provides one more layer to add depth to the scene, which is not easy to do here since everything you see is so far away. I studied this tree when I visited here, but I could not frame it as well as you have here. Well done...

 

Anish

Hi John,

Thanks for the comment. I don't mind the variations. I think it's a good exercise to try things like that. Regarding saturation, this drainage was in deep shade by the time I captured this image, so the light was quite cool and the colors subdued. I wanted this to look as natural as possible, so I actually didn't alter the saturation at all from the original. I like your crop as an alternate composition. In my image, though, I felt it was important to include the background peaks to put this pool into the context of the grand Zion landscape. Also, I like the way the flow of the sandstone lines connects the foreground with the background.

 

Anish

Exploring one of the many drainages along Zion's East Side. Thanks for

viewing.

Incredible! This is one of your best, and one of the more original photos I've seen lately. Well done!

 

Anish

This is just a beautiful image. One of my favorites i've seen here in a while. The composition is clean with minimal unnecessary elements, and the arrangement of foreground and background creates great balance and depth. Good job on processing as well.

 

Anish

Mark,

This is a beautifully toned image. The B&W conversion couldn't have been done any better. But I must offer a critique on the composition: I'm curious as to why you chose to leave the large empty space in the foreground. The placement of the diagonal is perfect, but the rocks seem to be crowded off to the side of the frame. The shapes, patterns and contrasts of the rocks pull my eye left and out of the image. I feel the rocks could have been more effectively used; for example, to anchor the foreground or to create a path to lead the viewer into the image. That's my take on this image, anyway. Again, the B&W toning is the strongest aspect of this to me.

 

Anish

Marc,

I've noticed your blends of multiple exposures are always seamless, even in situations where it seems really difficult to do so. Would you share a bit on what technique you use to blend?

 

Anish

very unique! i have a question - during dusk, when the amount of light on the scene is quickly changing, how do you meter and choose an exposure time for a long exposure like this? Thanks, Anish

I like the composition a lot, but I feel the contrast is a little too strong. Do you have a RAW image you can work with? Some good potential with this one...

 

Anish

Mark,

That is exactly what I was talking about. I was not suggesting that the trees be sihlouetted, but rather a tweak - as you have done. I think the the pastel tones reflected onto the trees from the sky is important, and is what really makes this image work. Your slightly toned down revision strikes the right balance in my view.

 

Anish

Mark,

 

First - what I like about this: I think the composition is great (one of your better ones, in my opinion), the light and colors definitely drew an emotional response from me (perhaps being a fellow Sierra lover), and the blend is done well in terms of avoiding haloes.

 

After looking at this for a while, though, what starts to stand out to me is the relative brightness of the foreground trees against the sky. I think the mountains are very well balanced with the sky, but the trees appear too bright. Specifically the two trees closest to the camera. Having witnessed many such displays, I know there can be a beatuiful glow reflected off the clouds that seems to illuminate the shaded landscape. However, here I think the effect is too strong. If you have saved the separate layers, I might suggest playing around with the levels to see if a more natural balance could be achieved.

 

Again, aside from that, very nice image...

 

Anish

My initial thought when at this image was concerning the dark tone of the sky, but you explained your intention behind that in your intro. I like what you were going for, but I think the effect is a bit too strong, especially in the upper left corner. Your portfolio shows exceptional skill as a photographer, as well as in post-processing. But in this case, I do feel the image could be stronger with the sky lightened slightly. Just my observation...

 

Anish