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View Full Version : Bosque del Apache, NM



Sara Cole
02-05-2008, 04:44 PM
This shot was taken during our last trip to the Bosque a couple of weeks ago. There were several nights of freezing weather and then the weather warmed up and ice began melting on the ponds. This created some really nice colorations.

Rebel XTI - 1/250 @ 8 with ISO 100.

Sara

Robert Amoruso
02-06-2008, 08:04 AM
Nicely seen possibility Sara. You framed the water nicely as it recedes into the BG. I like the part inclusion of the tree on right to add FG visual interest. Scenes like this can be tough as you are close to the FG and it is then harder control elements entering the sides of the image. In a previous critique I mentioned watch the edges and don't cut off stuff like bushes. That image was a distant mountain. Up close like this, you need to weight how much of edge elements you can retain and how much to cut.

I think you did that nicely here by balancing the cut tree on left and the bush in the lower left. The image does say to me cold.

The sky looks like it has some clouds but we are not seeking the detail here. I would create a curves adjustment layer, place anchor points at the mid-point and lower mid-tones. Then click on the curve and pull the highlights down and to the right some. Probably two points in the highlights will be needed. Then create a layer mask on that layer and using a soft brush paint black on the lower (under the sky) portion of the scene and that will get rid of any affect the curves adjustment had on those highlights.

Bret Edge
02-06-2008, 01:50 PM
The first thing I noticed about this image is the wonderful warm/cool contrast between the blue water and golden grasses. Any time you can work that into a scene you're off to a good start. I think Robert's comments are right on target. I always sweep the edges of my viewfinder to ensure there isn't a stray branch poking in that might distract the viewers attention. If you could have recomposed to include more of the tree on left, or none at all, I think you would have a stronger composition. Thanks for sharing this image with us, Sara. Look forward to seeing more of your work!