Yellowstone, Early Morning

[ArthurDent]

Comments and (especially) criticism greatly appreciated

[Jakov Minić]

It is not easy to provide constructive criticism. How can I provide my honest opinion without sounding too harsh?
Nevertheless, I will try.

Had I taken the image, I would have deleted it. This is why:
- The trees are underexposed, the highlights are blown, probably due to too much contrast. Overall I think the image is underexposed.
- It says Yellowstone, but it could have been taken anywhere.
- There is no WOW effect in the image.
- Composition wise, there is no foreground to provide perspective.
- Finally, I don't see it printed and hanging on a wall.

I hope it helps

[Les Olson]

I think the exposure is fine.  I do not agree that the viewer would not know it was Yellowstone if you had not said so: the area on the right looks at first glance like really ugly clear-fell, and it is only when you look closer that you realise it must be thermal.  A colour version might make that easier to discern.  Compositionally I think it suffers from the left and right sides being too different tonally with very little bridging the two sides. 

[ArthurDent]

Thank you Jakov and Les for your criticism. The image is an HDR from Photomatix 6 comprised of 3 exposures, +1, 0 and -1 EV respectively. There is some slight clipping in both the whites and the blacks (more in the blacks than in the whites) as I have been told that B&W images should have some true blacks and some true whites, but if that is incorrect, I can easily change it. I cropped out the foreground as I have been criticized in the past by judges for leaving it in. I'll put it back in for the next iteration and you can tell me if you like it better. That it is Yellowstone can be seen from the steam plumes scattered throughout the image, similar landscapes exist in only a few places on the planet. I thought the clouds gave it a little "wow" and that was the reason I converted it to B&W, but perhaps you are correct and it is more appealing in color. I'll post a color image and let you decide. Finally, don't worry about hurting my feelings. First of all, I'm posting in hopes I'll draw criticism, as I think that will help me improve my photography more quickly, and secondly, I'm a pretty hard shell individual and don't take it personally. Intellectually, I have a hard time equating my ability to take and edit photographs to my self-worth as a human being, so criticizing my photography just allows me the opportunity to get better, it doesn't affect me otherwise. Others may perceive it differently and this is not implied criticism of those who do, it takes all types. As for me, criticize away.
Thanks again,
AD

[ArthurDent]

Here is the color HDR (with foreground).
D7000 with 12-24mm f/4 at 18mm, 1/25 sec at f/10, ISO 100

[Jakov Minić]

To tell you the truth, I haven't seen the steam plumes scattered throughout the image. Why not make them (or one of them) the main subject of the image?
Color is better.

[ArthurDent]

To tell you the truth, I haven't seen the steam plumes scattered throughout the image. Why not make them (or one of them) the main subject of the image?
Color is better.

I wanted to show the overall area because it is such an extraordinary landscape as compared to the typical Western US forest area, but see my subsequent post on Old Faithful.

[Les Olson]

I like the colour better, but I prefer the original crop.

[pluton]

I prefer the color and the later crop.  It's a beautiful sky, less interesting ground.  In any case, it's a good 'record shot.'

[Jack Dahlgren]

Taken a few minutes too early. Would like to see the sun backlighting the steam plumes. I think your idea for early morning capture is good, but be in a place where it highlights the landscape.

Very wide views like this are difficult to capture because the things that attract your eye in that scene become very small in the image. If you were much closer to a steam plume it would give you something in the foreground which is large enough to look at. Right now foreground is barren.

[armando_m]

Every person will write something different and often contradict other opinions, given that here is mine

I like the b&w bottom right corner, the ground and creeks are interesting, while the cloudy sky is interesting I fell it confused the composition and making the pount of interest unclear