Alaska Cotton

Gallery: LandscapePosted March 4, 201170 views7 comments

Taken in the Matthews River basin on the south slope of the Brooks Range in Alaska last August.

This photo could be too busy. I was trying to get the contrast of the cotton-appearing seeds to contrast with the back ground.

I think this had a potential of an OK photo but something seems lacking.

Rule of 3rds was hard to apply so I elected to do that with the vertical trees.

Comments appreciated.

Nikon D700, 28 mm manual.

the fisch

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Richard Hartmann on March 4, 2011 at 2:43 PM

I do like the placement of the three trees; I think they help this comp.
Pretty sky and nice filtered light on the foreground
I would try increasing the exposure to brighten the photo.

Registered on January 15, 2009, 13 Posts, 772 Comments

Comment posted by Larry Fischer on March 4, 2011 at 3:32 PM

Thanks so much for you time to analyze and reply, Richard.
I did try brightening the back ground but I felt I lost the "pop" of the "cottony" pods in the photo, my main reason for the attempt.
I also tried brightening the fore ground slightly but did not care for it.
I think the photo is too "busy". Perhaps I should have moved to a different camera angle and forgotten the mountain backdrop???
the fisch

Registered on July 28, 2008, 155 Posts, 874 Comments

Comment posted by David Chauvin on March 4, 2011 at 10:44 PM

Hey fisch,,,,,,the larger view has loads of detail and the exposure of everything looks good. The trees extending to the sky, the mountain and lower vegetation work. It just seems to me that the comp feels forced in the middle of the frame. Lots of nice elements but they don't come together for me.

Registered on August 5, 2004, 1007 Posts, 5595 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on March 4, 2011 at 11:55 PM

I liked the small version here and the larger photo even better. Very nice detail. Not sure the magenta in the clouds feels right, but it's hard to know what to do with this.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Genny K. on March 5, 2011 at 12:30 AM

Larry, I like the overall feel of this, and besides, I'm really in the mood for a warm-looking image!!!!

In part, I like this because it feels very real looking. Maybe you could try cropping off the bottom fifth or so of the image, and you would still have the fuzzy willows in there.
BTW, there's also another plant that is called Alaska Cotton.......it's a fuzzy little plant that I take pictures of every summer.

Registered on June 5, 2006, 132 Posts, 2001 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Hartmann on March 5, 2011 at 1:28 AM

Oh my, I am just now looking at this at home on a good monitor in a dark room and the exposure looks perfect. I need to ban myself from commenting on photos during my work break.
Yes, the foreground is a bit busy but I still like the feel of this.

Registered on January 15, 2009, 13 Posts, 772 Comments

Comment posted by Larry Fischer on March 5, 2011 at 8:47 AM

Thanks for the excellent suggestions.
I know it takes time to assess and comment.
I wanted this photo to be a little more than what I can make it.
Cropping the bottom 1/5 might help as Genny K. mentioned.
I can probably handle the magenta in the clouds.
This is why I joined NPN

MANY THANKS--the fisch

Registered on July 28, 2008, 155 Posts, 874 Comments