THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

[gary ellwein]

The image was taken after a recent snow. The post processing was minimal with an orange filter and mild decrease in brightness with nik silver efex pro. At my stage of the game, B&W is out of the box. Most of the considered presets in SEP had too much contrast. Nikon D3s, Nikkor 24-70 @ 35mm, f16, 1/320, iso 200, hand held. C & C appreciated.

[Paul Lagasi]

The fence turn and the sloping land all draw your eye in same direction, snow on the wooden fence rocks...a nice wintery scene...very nice

[Dennis Bishop]

This is a beautiful scene, and it was well executed in both capture and processing. The exposure of the snow is wonderful. I like the curves, the leading lines, and those great shadows. While I like the bottoms of the vegetation in the foreground being shown, I'd be inclined to crop some off the bottom and just a little off the left. There are three reasons -- all related to the road, which I think is a very important element. It would make some of the major features of the road better align with divine proportions. It would reduce the importance of the foreground in favor of the point where the road disappears. And it broadens the entry into the road relative to the rest of the image.

[Mitch Carucci]

Lovely Winter scene. Highlights hold up really well. I like the original post better than the slightly cropped version (that seems a bit too tight for me).

[Indranil Sircar]

This is really a beautiful composition. Love that curved path with pristine snow... an apt title! Very nice processing.

[Anita Bower]

This is a lovely winter scene. The various elements work nicely together--the smooth road, the rough fence, the bushy vegetation, the fluffy clouds, the shadows. The curving road makes me wonder where the road leads. Nice range of greys, blacks and whites. I like both the OP and Dennis' version. Excellent work.

[Dave Woeller]

I also agree that the composition and tones are very nice. Although you say "Road less traveled" it still has a certain inviting quality to it. Like Anita says, just where does it go?. My only suggestion would be a very slight CW rotation, although it may just be the perspective of the horizon. I like both the Op and re-post.

[Anita Bower]

I agree with Dave about the slight CW rotation.

[gary ellwein]

Thanks to all for your thoughtful and constructive C & C. When the image was taken my camera and tripod were level ( double bubble in the hot shoe ). The road is on a side hill. This said, I prefer the CW rotated image. I have trouble getting out of the box and changing reality. For the curious, the road extends into the back country on a bench above the canyon of the South Fork of the Snake River. Access to the entire bench is closed during the winter. It is prime wintering habitat for the areas big game (mule deer, elk and a moose ) I was a few feet inside of the large metal gate blocking the road.

[Anita Bower]

Good job in slightly rotating the image.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Hi, Gary, sorry I'm late to the show. I actually prefer the OP because it makes me feel that the road is going uphill. I especially love the shadows. Great black and white.