what does it need?
mikebarger

what does it need?

Took this before Labor Day on a little vacation.

I'd like to improve my skills, what does it need to be a better photograph?

I've got tough/thick skin.
Location
Eastern Tenn
Equipment Used
Hasselblad 150mm
Exposure
60 at 16
Film & Developer
tri-x 510 pyro
Paper & Developer
MC111 ansco 130
Lens Filter
none
I think the whole scene is very unevenly lit, which in my opinion is always a problem with photos like these. The light is beautiful in some parts of the image while it's not in others.
I think the leafs lack definition, they are just bright white. All corners except the top left are too bright and draw your eye away from the point of interest, which I presume is the vine on the moss. So I would do some heavy edge and corner burning to draw more attention to the point of focus. I would also crop the bottom part of the vine off, just above the lower section of leafs. I might crop some off the right side too, but not too much since I think the vine needs some space on the right to lie naturally in the frame.
I just like to think this frame has some potential, but it needs some work for sure. I hope that helps.
 
My scanning skills are somewhat less than my printing skills, l can see the lines in the leaves and they are a little darker in person.

Your right about the lighting on the forest floor, very contrasty and I wasn't quite sure how to handle it.

Thanks for the time to review. I'll burn more paper.

Mike
 
Mike, I'd echo some of Thomas comments regarding the overall lighting. It is a little uneven, and no doubt difficult to compose an effective image without impacting the balance of the shot. That is one factor that is missing here. The sense of a balanced image. Selective cropping would improve that greatly, also I am seeing a greenish hue on the print, and wonder if the image tone would be improved by a short selenium bath. It might be your scanner though, or my LCD screen.??
 
Thanks Andrew

I "think" it's my scanner. I've toned one print, printed like this to see the difference.

This weekend I plan to crop and reprint following some of the notations from above.

My wife and I aren't sure that the print isn't printed too hard. I'm trying to work with the split contrast method.

Thanks for taking the time to write.

Mike
 
I would'nt do much at all to it, except perhaps crop off the bottom few leaves. Maybe also a bit less contrat as well but only slightly.

I really like it, though!

Rob
 
Thanks Rob

Not going to be able to work with it this weekend after all, family obligations.

Thanks for taking the time to look and write.

Mike
 

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mikebarger
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Filename
vine-1.jpg
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