Oxbow Dawn - FIXED
/forum/topic/788604/0

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darthflan
Registered: Apr 20, 2009
Total Posts: 18
Country: United States

I never get tired of this special spot on earth.

EDIT: Ok this pic is the fixed version per the Critiques below. Please let me know how this second pic looks. Thanks!




jamach
Registered: Jan 31, 2005
Total Posts: 4279
Country: United States

Wow, makes me dizzy, fantastic pic!

Joe



Icypeak
Registered: Jul 10, 2003
Total Posts: 2554
Country: United States

Always a great view, but standing shoulder to shoulder with a throng of other tripod monkeys for much of the year dampens the enjoyment of being there The horizon on this one looks tipped up to the left. I think it would also be stronger if most of the blank sky was cropped from the top, to a panoramic ratio, and maybe the small amount of intruding brush at bottom right as well. The low mist in the distance is a great feature here.



JimFox
Registered: Jan 11, 2005
Total Posts: 17964
Country: United States

Oxbow is a very cool place!

I like your shot here, the clouds and mist are wonderful. But I do agree totally with Dave on his suggestions. I think that would really strengthen this shot even more.

Jim



Phyll
Registered: Mar 31, 2006
Total Posts: 114
Country: Canada

I love this "as is", but do agree that cloning out the bottom right intrusion might be helpful.



CarlG
Registered: Mar 12, 2002
Total Posts: 5005
Country: United States

Agree with all said, plus I would have liked to have seen the foreground trees in light as well.



teked
Registered: Sep 06, 2006
Total Posts: 2119
Country: United States

Very lovely shot. I agree, on the crop at the top. I definitely needs the horizon aligned. By the way, with reflection shots, it's very easy. Make sure the reflection matches its corresponding image for alignment with the rectangular selection tool. It is quite noticeable on this shot when you use this technique.

This one would be worth spending some time on. Like the lighting on the trees in the middle blending with the mist.

Cheers.
Ed



darthflan
Registered: Apr 20, 2009
Total Posts: 18
Country: United States

Thanks for the replies. I must have had my right foot in a hole when I shot this. I agree with the critiques and need to clone out that bush at the bottom too.



crfrey71
Registered: Nov 14, 2004
Total Posts: 391
Country: United States

I would also make this a pano, but I would crop out the reflection, if it were me. The reflection takes my attention away from the low-lying fog, which for me is more interesting than the reflection. Just because the reflection is there doesn't mean you have to always include it.



bshamilton
Registered: Aug 28, 2005
Total Posts: 24966
Country: United States

Lovely scene, indeed.
I agree on the crop ideas, especially for the lower right brush. Really focuses the eyes on the mtns, and low lying fog and clouds, and reflections.
My only other nit is the the trees and shore and reflections on the right feel to have too much shadow recovery, to my eyes, anyway. The light and shadows on the left are much nicer.

Barry



ramdisk
Registered: Mar 25, 2005
Total Posts: 408
Country: United States

A very special place for me to, nice job



madmax200
Registered: Aug 16, 2005
Total Posts: 1711
Country: United States

In need of PP and should have been shot as HDR as bleaching the trees on the right is painfully obvious.

Crop the sky
crop or clone the shrubs at bottom
Level
If shot in raw expose 3 different shots and try to recover the trees then layer or blend the dark areas.



darthflan
Registered: Apr 20, 2009
Total Posts: 18
Country: United States

Just posted an edited pic in the 1st post. Thanks for looking!



David Leask
Registered: Nov 19, 2003
Total Posts: 10458
Country: United Kingdom

Great shot! Especially #2. You've done this marvellous location real justice
David



JimFox
Registered: Jan 11, 2005
Total Posts: 17964
Country: United States

Great job on the edit! Now that is one really cool looking shot, and one that would look really great printed large.

Jim



plubbry
Registered: Mar 31, 2009
Total Posts: 117
Country: United States

Wow, after a few tweaks a good shot has become quite fantastic and very enjoyable to look at, congrats.



dalite
Registered: Aug 13, 2005
Total Posts: 1515
Country: United States

The second shot is an improvement. A lot of people think that just because the waterline is slanted a wee bit that the photo needs levelling. In fact, this is the way the Ox-Bow bend really is: the curve in the river gives the impression that the photo is not level. I took a similar photo last May (with a bubble level on top of my DSLR) and the water level still looked slightly slanted. Perhaps we need to tweak Nature to satisfy our own subjective visualization. An individual choice.



deepakk
Registered: Feb 16, 2008
Total Posts: 131
Country: India

awesome capture



another_mikey
Registered: Mar 02, 2006
Total Posts: 135
Country: United States

Well, I didn't see the original, but this version is DA BOMB!
I was there first week of June, nothing but cloud banks and drizzle the whole time. We literally never saw the entire tetons at any given time. One day was the lower 3rd, the next day was the middle third. pretty dismal.

Your shot is wonderful! I guess I am going to have to go back and try again!

ML



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