Aspens Galore

 IMO, this one needs a little color/contrast "punch".  Everything seems to have the same value...maybe, it's the low opacity.  But, I do like the composition with the yellow leaves "only" behind the aspens.

A very pleasant rendition. I live right in the middle of an Aspen-Birch forest, this looks much like the view out my kitchen window in season. The only item that i do find a little distracting is the thin tree in the background at the far left.

Thanks for sharing!   Tom

I am finding this a solid image. That said, I find the comp a bit chaotic. I might pull up the white values in the main tree trunks to provide more of an anchor. Also, maybe clone out the dead snag coming up from the bottom a little right of center?

 

I agree with Lucy and Harley that this could be punched up a bit, both in terms of contrast and the trunks of the trees. I also agree about the bit of cloning Harley suggested. I do like the composition, and with a little punch up, this would have a nice ring to it.

--P

Lon, I like this very much as it is. I checked the other comments and can understand them, but for me this has such a quiet, peaceful and inviting feel and especially in the large version. A little more contrast and punch I'm sure would work but I bet this would make a beautiful print as you have it here. I'm just enjoying the quiet mood I guess.
The larger version does seem to make quite a difference and doesn't have the flatter look / feel of the small version, at least to my eyes. Very nice.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Lon,
Beautiful, calming image. Love the soft light and delicate color palate as rendered. Very fine as presented but agree that it would be worthwhile experimenting with nudging up the contrast and lightening up the tree trunks. I guess in the end this comes down to personal taste. 

Wonderful image!  I am a sucker for any fall aspen image and this is quite pleasing to the eye. Well executed. 

Hi  Lon  Please leave it as it  is   .  to  me  oversaturating color is like  junk  food.  This  is something  i would  hang  on  my  wall .    So beautiful  and natural

Albert Darmo
Canada 

I also agree with Lucy and Harley that this could be punched up a bit, both in terms of contrast and the trunks of the trees.  That said, I really like the idea and you just didn't have enough sun at the time you took the image.  The Orton layer was applied to the tree leaves? 

I could see this with more brightness in the aspen trunks, but then it would be a different image and not so gentle/calm as I assume you intended to create.  I like it as is.

Really nice Lon.  I really like the understated aspen look here.  When I blew the image up enough to fill my scene, I found the bright spots in the background slightly distracting.  Nothing big, but a small highlight adjustment to those would go a long way.  Love the overwhelmingly complex comp.

Lon, I like this image the way it is. I can see what the others are saying with their comments but I feel like you were going for something a little different. For example, I appreciate the brighter spots (especially after enlarging) as they have a green tone to them and they compliment all the different yellows, that along with the light orton layer give this a real painterly style but comes across as natural. 

Ha, this is one of your "film images" right..
The composition is as solid as always and I like the "lighter" processing here. Some might call the light dull and life-less but I like the understated look this has.
I do have a suggestion, too: A slight crop from the left to eliminate the out of focus leaves...
 

I like the coloration/contrast as is but could see the crop from the left to eliminate the OOF leaves and the birch beyond. Unfortunately that would necessitate a similar crop from the right to maintain the balance of the main stand of trees and that would probably be giving up too much nice real estate for the benefits... IOW, leave it like it is

It doesn't work as well for me as the pano, but that one was godlike, so it's an unfair comparison maybe. After all, this is still very nice, and my only nit would be the out of focus leaves to the left.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and comments on this one.  Sorry I hadn't responded sooner to some of the comments and reactions, been crazy busy lately.

Anyway, I think of all the images I've posted since returning, this one has garnered the most varied of reactions.  I was initially worried that the colors/contrast were too bold, but then several thought this lacked punch.  I actually can see that now, but certainly never thought of in when processing.

Thanks for the suggestions too with the few little things like the leaves on the left, the stick, etc. and the crop suggestions.  I will be taking this back to the drawing board for some tweaking.

Thank you again, as Wayne and others have mentioned, the feedback we get is invaluable!

Lon