River's Edge [+edit]

This photo is a bit of a stretch for me. I hope to post it in ESS, but as is often true I’d love some advice from the locals first.

I took this photo along the Gila (pronounced hee’ la) River in Duncan, Arizona. It was overcast and windy, and I knew the poppies I had been chasing would open late, if at all. I had scouted a small hill along the road with a view of a stretch of river with a butte in the distance, and though it would make a great sunrise shot.

I returned before dawn and set up for the show. It never came, just kind of a light hazy color. I also decided that I needed a longer lens for the comp to really work, and decided to give up on the sunrise I had hoped for.

(First on my list when I get these girls out of college is a decent telephoto zoom. Oh… and a full-frame sensor. And, one of those awesome, massive, chick magnet, telephotos like Craig has… Ahem, I digress.)

I walked down the railroad tracks that run along the river for a bit, just enjoying the morning and being back in my old stomping grounds, when I noticed this light spilling into the far side of the river. I thought, “Wow, that’s pretty. I should take a photo of it.”

I wish I could say that I spend a lot of time in the field “outside of the box,” stretching my artistic expression by exploring completely different ways of thinking about the world, but I can’t. In its simplicity, my approach to photography is more of a “Wow, that’s pretty. I should take a photo of it.”

Nevertheless, this is definitely outside of what I typically chase. It’s also one of the most challenging photos to process I’ve had in awhile. Because of this, for those of you who have had the tenacity to read this far, I’d love to hear you thoughts. What works, and what doesn’t? More color, less color? Crop tighter? Any and all thoughts you might have, including outright derision, are more than welcome. I’m definitely in learning mode here.

The detail is hammered at this size; here's a larger verstion if interested.

Nikon D80
Nikon 50 mm f/1.8
Hand Blend of 1/45 sec and 1/125 sec at f/11 and ISO 100

John , this is amazing. I love the mood created ,but wonder if it could be lightened just a touch it looks a little dark on my monitor. I love the layers in this picture, well done.

I also really love the traquil feeling of this shot. Beautiful - If I have any suggestion it would be to see how this looks with a slight curves bump to the FG grasses and a slight darkening of the BG Left trees for a little more separation between FG/C/BG. But it's very nice as is, too.

I really like this. I may agree with a little lighten of the dark trees, but for me, its still ok, and i do like the dark to light theme it imposes on me.

This is very nice John. As Wade noted I too like the layers in this shot. The colors are great! Perhaps a little more contrast? I suspect a large print would show the detail very well. Well done.

Matthew

This is nice, John. The only suggestion I have is to lighten that dark area that's next to the lower left edge.

John, this really works well as is, but the suggestions that have been made would put it over the top too. I really like the comp and the mood that comes across. Can't wait to see a repost.

Maybe a little lighter and contrast between some of the layers here, but it has some screaming potential for an awesome print! Love it!

I like it, John! The grasses in front draw me in, and the layers are portrayed nicely. I think what's been mentioned above would definitely help, less sky maybe, but otherwise maybe embellish the sky color too? Maybe a nice pastel, a little more orange? This reminds me of a painting, the tones are very complimentary.

Kevin

I like this pretty much as it is John. My eyes are drawn to the color in the FG grasses and if anything I would add some saturation there. My other wish would be for a bit more contrast in the sky at the top. Otherwise it's very appealing, restful.

Awesome, thanks all! Here's the redo. I think I took most if not all the suggestions into account, and definitely like them. The changes are a bit subtle, but I didn't want the photo to have anything garish to stay a bit true to the scene.

(I tend to forget that downsizing and displaying on a white background both tend to make an image look darker. Maybe I need to start using a white background in Photoshop.)

I liked the new version enough, I went ahead and tossed it up on ESS. Thanks again for the help!

I do like the re-edit. The eye seems to constantly swim through the photo looking at subtleties...very nice.

What a peaceful photo John! There is a lot of well balanced patterns. The edit looks great!

The edit rocks, John. Awesome shot.

Just keep right on taking those "pretty pictures" John! This is magnificent. Post it in ESS and enjoy. I was going to say not to lighten the image, but when I saw the edited photo-- GORGEOUS!

John, I really like the second version. Keep them coming.