Snow Path Through Fiery Thicket

[gahspidy]

Does this shot have enough to hold its own without there being much more to this in terms of a subject? I like this as is, but I am wondering if there is enough here for it to be interesting enough. Somehow the simplicity of this is what I like, the old less is more idea. your thoughts would be appreciated. . . ( Some cleaning up and curve adjustments, also a bit of soft focus added to mddle area )

[kkraczek]

I think that this is a beautiful shot... the colors are compelling on their own IMO. The only thing that slightly distracts me is the largest footprint bottom/center, but when I look at it in a different way, it adds interest. So, I love the shot either way.

[bighitboy]

I like that alot! The sun makes for real nice color variation in the brush, and the foot prints ad flavor to the fore ground. good eye on catching that, This photo is looking down a snowmobile trail I took wensday. That is WhiteFace Mtn in the very back!

[Old Timer]

I like a lot of elements in your photograph. The colors are great you really captured the glow of the sun on the trees and brush, your sky dissolves into a nice blue to give the overall image a very nice feel. My biggest nit pik with your picture is the forground. I know your love of the darker image but, IMHO it is two dark and detracts from the overall mood of the photo. I think that a bottom crop of the image would improve the mood and the balance of your photograph. Don't take this to mean I don't like your image I do, very much. Great catch.

[Sean Dempsey]

What is the original document size? It looks way to blurry to me, but that might be from the shrinkage. I really like it, but if that is how blurry it is when full size, not sure if it'd be printable.

[gahspidy]

Thanks all for your thoughts on this. The feedback on this thread has been inspiring and helpful.( by the way, nice photo bighitboy)
Yes OldTimer, you know me well. But I think I will try for myself a version with the foreground a bit cropped and lightened to compare and see which I feel better with.
Thanks again for your time . . .

[gahspidy]

What is the original document size? It looks way to blurry to me, but that might be from the shrinkage. I really like it, but if that is how blurry it is when full size, not sure if it'd be printable.

The original file is 29mb and is plenty sharp. The blur is actually soft focus I added to the middle area as I like the effect that the "hazy" or misty image gives.

[Sebastian]

Gary,

Love the colors, soft focus adds tot he romance. But the foreground just takes away from it I think. Dirty muddy footsteps tend to ruin a feeling of a chilly winter sunset. A smooth coating of snow would have been nicer. I also find the composition to be a bit bland, I think it might be just too balanced, too centered...

[PuckJunkey]

I like it. I tend to agree that the footprints (and more specifically the brown earth they reveal) is distracting. Were the snow to be "fresh" and the footprints just a single pair leading down the road, that would do the trick IMO. Obviously though we have to shoot when we can and don't always have control over who's been to a spot before us. I do like the complimentary colors and the little bit of softening as well.

[darkrainfall]

I don't think I can add anything new, save to agree with the idea of a possible crop to get rid of the footprints, otherwise I like this very much. Just as a side note I've greatly enjoyed looking at your images, you have a good eye for things, and I like your use of photoshop especially in this image. Good job. *smiles*

[dadas115]

I like the colors of this one a lot but something isn’t quite right for me. I think I might try cropping some of the bottom off. I think it might be a bit too dark and doesn’t seem to add much to the picture for me. I think it would also help the composition as the picture is a little more centered than I usually like.

Greg

[gahspidy]

Thanks for all your kind words and constructive critique. When I worked this image, I had never even thought about the footprint being something that might factor in but turns out it has led to some controversy. Interesting, this thread has been full of great feedback from photographers whom I've come to know and respect through their posts and photos in this great forum. . .
Thanks again for your time.

[gahspidy]

I like it. I tend to agree that the footprints (and more specifically the brown earth they reveal) is distracting. Were the snow to be "fresh" and the footprints just a single pair leading down the road, that would do the trick IMO. Obviously though we have to shoot when we can and don't always have control over who's been to a spot before us. I do like the complimentary colors and the little bit of softening as well.

After reading all the posts thus far and many of them about the foreground and footprints, I decided to see if I could smooth out and lighten it up a bit. Here is the newly edited pic. Seems to me to improve the image. . .

[kkraczek]

Oh boy, this is probably not going to be a popular comment, but I really like the first one better. Even though the footprint is distracting to a point, like I said before, it also added interest. I don't feel that it took away from the photo THAT much... the scenery is beautiful enough on its own to override the distraction of the footprint. I found it to be artistically more interesting WITH the footprint. Without it, it looks a little too plain to me. Sorry, but it's just my opinion. It's a beautiful photo!

[PuckJunkey]

You're close Gary. I like the overall look of the retouched shot better (no muddy prints), but the trees at top left are so soft as to have a bit of an artificial look to them. The softening seems to work OK in other spots but those tree twigs really catch my eye in a way they probably shouldn't.

Just MO of course, this is all subjective, especially when making somewhat editorial changes to the image. Not sure why I didn't notice the twigs before but I just wanted to give you my second "initial reaction".

[gahspidy]

I like the footprint as well , but think that ultimately I will stick with the cleaned up version (though I will finally print up both versions anyway).
When I am finally ready to print up a batch of my images, I will redo the soft focus on this so as to leave what is in the foreground sharp( which includes the tree tops in upper left as they are the tops of the trees that are nearest and should be sharper) and only soften the middle area of frame