Down Beneath

[Julie Kenward]

We got blasted with snow on Sunday & Monday. :(

Tonight's low will be a brisk -3 and the high tomorrow will almost reach double digits if it tries REAL hard. I'm starting to understand why people move to Arizona and Florida for the winters...

This image is from the past weekend. The bad news is this was about the most interesting thing I could find to photograph. The good news is I rescued an abandoned dog while out shooting and my parents are now the proud owners of a small miniature pinscher named Charlie Brown. :)

Canon 40D, EF 400mm f/4L
f11 @ 1/250th, ISO 400
Manual mode, pattern metering, natural overcast light
Levels adjustment, white vignette around edges, sharpening
Is the vignette too much/too tight?

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi Jules, very nice find and good work on the dog!
Minor compositional critique: I love the vignette, but find it a little too tight and at some points too dense. Widening up will also solve the latter.
I would also consider a slight CW rotation, to align the leaf with the frame diagonal.
I love the mood you have captured with this image.

[Julie Kenward]

Thanks, Jerry, those were pretty much my thoughts as well but I was second guessing myself and it was late so...

I'll tone down the vignette and turn that leaf a bit more and see how I like it. Thanks for the critique!

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Jules. It's good to hear that you got a taste of what would be a fairly typical January day up here. :) I like the main points of the image - the leaf under the ice, the low shooting angle, the overcast lighting, and the scattered snow/frost crystals which are "icing" on the cake. It's a matter of taste, but I've never been a big fan of vignettes. IMO, I think the image would be stronger without it - but I fully expect others to disagree. :) Overall, this is well done.

[Adrian David]

Nice find, Julie! I like the low angle and the overall composition. The vigneting contribute to the "mystery" of the image.:)

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Jules,
Agree with Jerry on the vignette.....but great find and comp. We've been getting that snow yesterday and today.......will fit our January theme! Stay tuned! Very nicely done overall!

[Brendan Dozier]

Yes, way to look for shots when there's a white out! Agree with comments, just wish i could see more detail in the snowflakes.

[Ken Childs]

Jerry already made some good points about the vignette and rotation....I think he's right.

It's nice to see you aren't putting down the camera when conditions aren't ideal. :)

[D. Robert Franz]

Very artsy.. love it