Posted by Marc Dilley on December 4, 2007 at 2:49 PM
During the record snowfall of 1996, a group of us got together to ski the hills above Wenatchee. Why take the time and effort to get into the high country when there is more than three feet of snow in your backyard?
This image, taken on a chilly morning of rising mist, depicts a lone Serviceberry shrub we trudged past on our upward trek to the top of Thimble Mountain, a rounded hill that sits directly above the city.
Scanned from a Kodachrome slide, taken with my Nikon FE / normal lens. I tested my somewhat limited Curves skills with this shot.
Marc Dilley
Posted by Adrian Klein on December 5, 2007 at 1:09 AM
Hi Marc. It kills me to see over 100 views and no comments. Personally the image is just not grabbing me. It's a simple seen of a winter day but does not have the subject interest to hold my attention. Also the blown out top left corner is what your eye is drawn to which is not the best place to steer the viewers eye. Just my thoughts!
Sorry about the lack of comments, Marc. As far as elements in the compositon, it's okay except for the blown out left upper corner. If you could tone that down a little while retaining the other tones, it could be an improvement. I like the curve of the hill and the placement of the serviceberry bush. But I have to agree with Adrian that the interst factor is pretty low. It certainly does document the amount of snow and what I hope was a good outing for you on the skiing.
Posted by John Williams on December 5, 2007 at 8:52 AM
I agree with the above Marc. I really like the foreground bush. For me, the comp would be better if the background were more interesting, or if the background bushes were missing and you just had empty snow.
Posted by Erik Lundh on December 5, 2007 at 10:45 AM
I'll have to agree with Adrian on all counts. Were a tough bunch here.
Posted by Marc Dilley on December 5, 2007 at 11:58 AM
OK. Here is another version with a bit of tweaking with Curves and a few swipes with the burn tool.
-M
Posted by William Lloyd on December 5, 2007 at 2:32 PM
I think a ski junkie would look at that powder, and immediately get the impact of the shot.
Mmmm-mmmmm good!
Posted by Rick Lundh on December 6, 2007 at 2:08 AM
Something about the solidarity (sp?) in this photo actually makes me interested.
Just for the record, I wouldn't normally comment on an image from ANYBODY with such a low topics/reply ratio. Two-to-one tells me that you like to post, but dont like to provide much feedback yourself so you should expect lots of views and no comments...IMHO...
Posted by John Williams on December 6, 2007 at 8:49 AM
Rick,
First off, I strongly agree with your comment and sentiments about posting. I especially appreciate those who do the opposite. You are a great example, regularly commenting whether you are currently posting photos or not. (In fact, I value your comments as much as anyone’s here because they are perceptive and direct, and regularly crack me up .)
On the other hand, I just recently joined and am a bit sensitive to the fact that it may be intimidating to join into the fray full force until you see how both your images and comments are taken. I don't really care if everyone else disagrees with a comment of mine in a thread, but other newbies might be very sensitive. Once someone really has his or her feet wet though, I'm right there with you. My understanding is that this is a forum, not a gallery.
Finally, I would recommend that if you want to avoid the appearance of a "Good Ol' Boys Club," that you call out veterans too. It's not rare that you post in Darren's threads, and he's running about 1:1 (sorry to pick on you Darren, but you make the point well).
Posted by Marc Dilley on December 6, 2007 at 1:21 PM
Fine, Rick. I'm a bit thick, but I'll learn.
Thank you.
-Marc
Posted by Rick Dunn on December 8, 2007 at 11:46 AM
I think this is one of those scenes that is incredibly sublime in person, but doesn't translate well to a photograph. I take them to remind me of how wonderful it was to be out in conditions like this, but find that they don't resonate much with people who weren't there.
On the technical side, I'm with Jesse - I'd suggest getting the whites whiter. It's common for snow scenes to be underexposed, and this would be a good candidate for a levels adjustment. After that, it's a matter of personal tastes, but I would likely experiment with some liberal dodging of the hillside.
Discussion
10 repliesThis image, taken on a chilly morning of rising mist, depicts a lone Serviceberry shrub we trudged past on our upward trek to the top of Thimble Mountain, a rounded hill that sits directly above the city.
Scanned from a Kodachrome slide, taken with my Nikon FE / normal lens. I tested my somewhat limited Curves skills with this shot.
Marc Dilley
-M
Mmmm-mmmmm good!
Just for the record, I wouldn't normally comment on an image from ANYBODY with such a low topics/reply ratio. Two-to-one tells me that you like to post, but dont like to provide much feedback yourself so you should expect lots of views and no comments...IMHO...
First off, I strongly agree with your comment and sentiments about posting. I especially appreciate those who do the opposite. You are a great example, regularly commenting whether you are currently posting photos or not. (In fact, I value your comments as much as anyone’s here because they are perceptive and direct, and regularly crack me up
On the other hand, I just recently joined and am a bit sensitive to the fact that it may be intimidating to join into the fray full force until you see how both your images and comments are taken. I don't really care if everyone else disagrees with a comment of mine in a thread, but other newbies might be very sensitive. Once someone really has his or her feet wet though, I'm right there with you. My understanding is that this is a forum, not a gallery.
Finally, I would recommend that if you want to avoid the appearance of a "Good Ol' Boys Club," that you call out veterans too. It's not rare that you post in Darren's threads, and he's running about 1:1 (sorry to pick on you Darren, but you make the point well).
Thank you.
-Marc
On the technical side, I'm with Jesse - I'd suggest getting the whites whiter. It's common for snow scenes to be underexposed, and this would be a good candidate for a levels adjustment. After that, it's a matter of personal tastes, but I would likely experiment with some liberal dodging of the hillside.