Posted by Doug Koepsel on July 25, 2012 at 1:23 PM
Here is another set from my recent San Juan trip. These were taken in the Red Mountain and Hurricane Pass areas.
Suggestions with frankness and brutality accepted .
#1 Light highlights Red Mtn number 3. I cropped out the mid-afternoon sky as it detracted, rather than added to the image. Your thoughts on contrast and saturation levels?
Posted by Doug Koepsel on July 25, 2012 at 1:24 PM
#2 Sunrise reflection of Red Mtn #3
I notice the halo to work on. Does the mountain seem too burgundy?
Posted by Doug Koepsel on July 25, 2012 at 1:26 PM
#3 Midday, but the white cloud cap seemed nice
Posted by Doug Koepsel on July 25, 2012 at 1:31 PM
#4 The subject of the previous reflection shot
Posted by Doug Koepsel on July 25, 2012 at 1:32 PM
#5 Slope near Hurricane
Posted by Doug Koepsel on July 25, 2012 at 1:34 PM
Really like #3. The blue is a nice contrast with all the reds and oranges.The textures are also beautiful. Great job with these Doug!
Posted by Pam Colander on July 25, 2012 at 4:03 PM
I love them all. Nice crop and lines in #1...I would bring up the greens a bit, #2 is not too burgundy and colors look perfect for the time of day, #3 is just a flat out STUN-NING rule breaker, #4 perfect comp and complementary color combo, #5 is an interesting intimate, and #6 another great intimate with nice dynamics and diagonals. I have always loved this mountain and this shows me why
The large version is much better on #1 as the small one looks oversharpened. The pano works great imo.
I've never been priviledged to see this area, so I couldn't tell you on the color balance. They do look rich, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
I like the "pop" of color in #3, but feel it could be cropped to square, and there seems to be noise in the sky. Maybe just from compression.
Love the comp, light, and color in #4.
#5 looks oversharpened too, and I feel your pain on trying to get small rocks sharp for web posting.
#6 makes for an excellent abstract, but looks like it's sharpened a wee bit too much, too. Maybe compression be killin' you with these.
All make for an excellent and varied set of images.
I like number 3 the best, midday be damned. the complimentary colors are awesome in that one. I like number 2 a lot as well, but think it might be a little too deep red. but if that's how you remember it then I'd say go with it.
I don't believe that I've ever seen closeup images of Red Mountain's myriad patterns before. Many points for that alone!
I really like the interesting light and colors of #1. Most of all, I like how it's dwarfed (and complemented) by the mountain behind it. That's not a view that everyone sees. The larger version shows it off well.
#2 is pretty much a stock reflection with an uninteresting sky. I would toss it.
#3 is one of my favorites, An excellent vantage, and the colors & patterns are exceptionally wunderschön! Even a bluebird sky would have worked here, so the clouds are a very nice touch. It should be displayed in the 'Landscape' gallery.
#4 is also quite lovely, with an excellent composition and fine contrasting colors. You might clone out whatever that is a half inch up from the bottom and two inches in from the left.
Nice try with #5, but it's not really working for me.
Same with #6, but that's only because the preceding images are so spectacular.
You got some real winners here, Doug. I enjoyed what your creative eye saw and captured very much. Definite additions to your portfolio.
Another vote for #3. Love the lines in it. My eyes start at the top, follow the zig zag lines of the ridge around and then down the diagonal lines of the foreground. Fun shot with nice color too.
Posted by Doug Koepsel on July 25, 2012 at 11:16 PM
Thank you for your honest feedback and suggestions. Honest critique is one thing that I like about RMNP that I do not read often when browsing other websites.
John called it, #1 is a view and texture of terra firma that most of us have not seen, that print needs to be huge and on the wall, it would keep the viewer fascinated for quite a while. Huge win there!
Speaking of prints, I'm not giving up on #2. There is a luscious beauty to the tones on the land, but the sky steals your eye and doesn't allow you to enjoy it. Crop that way down so your dividing line is dead in the middle (I know, horror of horrors) and print that puppy as a tryptic on canvas 4 foot wide, and you have a desirable piece IMO.
#2 as I was describing it (I used a Photoshop template that I keep for showing how prints would look, hope you don't mind!)
Posted by Jeff Hackett on July 26, 2012 at 12:08 PM
All of these have artistic merit in my book. #3 really stands out for me. Nature's artwork along with your comp really lift this one up. #1 is saturated enough to give it a punch but not over done IMO. In #2 I like the comp but for some reason the sky seems a little too bright and I'm having to concentrate more than I think I should to see the beautiful landscape. #5 I really like the simplicity and the diagonals just as in #6 with the red really helping that one. #4 is very cool and my only nit is that the trees seem just a smidgen soft or it's just my eyes. Awesome work, I loved checking it out.
Discussion
19 repliesSuggestions with frankness and brutality accepted
#1 Light highlights Red Mtn number 3. I cropped out the mid-afternoon sky as it detracted, rather than added to the image. Your thoughts on contrast and saturation levels?
I notice the halo to work on. Does the mountain seem too burgundy?
(last one)
I've never been priviledged to see this area, so I couldn't tell you on the color balance. They do look rich, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
I like the "pop" of color in #3, but feel it could be cropped to square, and there seems to be noise in the sky. Maybe just from compression.
Love the comp, light, and color in #4.
#5 looks oversharpened too, and I feel your pain on trying to get small rocks sharp for web posting.
#6 makes for an excellent abstract, but looks like it's sharpened a wee bit too much, too. Maybe compression be killin' you with these.
All make for an excellent and varied set of images.
I really like the interesting light and colors of #1. Most of all, I like how it's dwarfed (and complemented) by the mountain behind it. That's not a view that everyone sees. The larger version shows it off well.
#2 is pretty much a stock reflection with an uninteresting sky. I would toss it.
#3 is one of my favorites, An excellent vantage, and the colors & patterns are exceptionally wunderschön! Even a bluebird sky would have worked here, so the clouds are a very nice touch. It should be displayed in the 'Landscape' gallery.
#4 is also quite lovely, with an excellent composition and fine contrasting colors. You might clone out whatever that is a half inch up from the bottom and two inches in from the left.
Nice try with #5, but it's not really working for me.
Same with #6, but that's only because the preceding images are so spectacular.
You got some real winners here, Doug. I enjoyed what your creative eye saw and captured very much. Definite additions to your portfolio.
Speaking of prints, I'm not giving up on #2. There is a luscious beauty to the tones on the land, but the sky steals your eye and doesn't allow you to enjoy it. Crop that way down so your dividing line is dead in the middle (I know, horror of horrors) and print that puppy as a tryptic on canvas 4 foot wide, and you have a desirable piece IMO.