In wake of Ansel Adams

[Ridgewalker]

Went out for a local hike to Wier Hill in North Andover, MA This was taken off trail.

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Specs:

Make: NIKON Model: E4300 F stop: F/7.6 Exposure: 5/1408 sec. Focal length: 8.0 mm Flash: flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode (16) Metering mode: pattern (5) Dimensions: 960x1280

 

[Mark Schaefer]

I like the sepia tone which works well with forests. It is a pleasant scene of a well trod path that leads towards an open area. Without any people on the path our eyes are drawn to the open area, but unfortunately the path of our eyes is blocked by the small trees in the distance. It gives the impression that perhaps the path is a dead end. It might be less ambiguous to find a position where we see the path leading to the field, or where we could see a clear turn ahead. Some critics will also argue that dark shadows across a path may visually appear to block a path. But in your photo the number and regularity of shadows gives an interesting striped appearance to the path.

A winter path scene without people is often best photographed just after a snow fall with perhaps a single set of footprints or a clean ski track leading our eyes down the path. Given that the trail is so well trod it might be interesting to include a person walking down the path. It is also a little ambiguous to have the backpack parked by the side of the trail, but without any person visible in the photo to give us a reason why the backpack would be there. A person resting or a couple conversing would give us a reason for the backpack. Otherwise it would be better to move the pack.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Ridgewalker -- I work over off River Road. I've been exploring the AVIS properties as time permits, either on my MTB, or snowshoes. Thanks for another place to go explore...

Tim

 

[w7xman]

It is always a challenge to compose forest scenes, and a path usually simplifies things alot. But without an anchor for the eyes, these scenes just become tunnels. You have very good anchors! The large tree on the right, and the pack just behind it gives the eye a place to set before following the path into the scene. Great job with that!

A couple things to note:
-The toning works great IMO!
-The horizon is a little crooked
-The lake(?) at the end gives a good destination, and adds dimention to this.
-The exposure looks a hair underexposed, if not spot on...
-A person in the frame, hiking away would really enhance the mood, but the pack works as well.
-I like the angle that the long shadows intersect the path!
-Go there after a fresh snow.

Overall nice shot!

 

[darren]

Nice job with capturing a path and making the viewer want to walk down it. I like the sepia toning.

I agree with the others that shooting it with fresh snow with no tracks or only one set of tracks would be nice. The backpack is a coin toss for me. At first I wasn't sure what it was and then I recognized the shoulder strap and figured it out. Not sure if a non-hiker would know what it was and they might find it distracting.

Not sure if that is a field or a lake, but it looks like a lake and that makes me think the horizon is tilted down to teh right. Also, is there a mode on your camera where you can control the f stop? This shot would benefit from more depth of field. If you can not directly control the f stop, can you use a landscape mode that would maximize depth of field? There just doesn't seem to be a lot of the shot in sharp focus. There is a lot that is nearly in focus, but not a lot that is very sharp.

- darren