Enlightened Forest

Enlightened Forest

I just have such an issue with this picture. It seems so...so..empty compared to your other work. In my humble opinion this isn't your best work. There is a big difference from a picture and a photo. A picture is just a quick snap shoot, it looks okay but it lacks a real drawing power of emotion and wonder. A photograph becomes a part of you, tells a story (like much of your work) where a picture does not. To me this is just a picture.

You call it Enlightened but I just don't feel that way. I feel that the vision you took on this has come from your personal experience of being there in person, but I don't feel it in your picture. Sure I can feel the cold, maybe hear the wind through the trees but I am not enlightened by it. It's lacking that pulling authority that a photograph demands. Thus I only give an average rating of 2.5 stars for vision.

Originality just falls flat here. It really just looks like you took a snap shot, nothing is grabbing me, it is very plain...and based on other work like this it is just boring. If you would have laid on the ground and given me more elevation, or used the leading tree to frame your shot...at least that would be something. But this...it is what it is. I only awarded 1 star for originality.

Technique again I don't see anything that gives me the "it factor" Again it looks like there was no focal point, just a random shot that we would see in a picture. I see post editing done here, and while there is some sharpness and vignetting I don't think you want to make a tunnel like effect to demonstrate enlightenment. I think you could have framed this photo a lot better and made it look less chaotic, which is the exact opposite of enlightenment. At least the picture is in focus and we can see we are in a winter forest (you would be surprised at how many people can mess that up) so technique will be judged as average. Nothing overly great, but not bad either.

With all that being said, you still do leave an impact, maybe not that which you initially desired, but I still feel cold when I see this picture. I can hear the wind through the trees, maybe a rabbit scurrying about and that is always a plus. Photography is always about telling a story. So I give you an above average rating of 3 stars for impact.

Overall rating for this submission 2.5 stars. This is a great starting point to improve on your vision. Some slight adjustments would propel this GREAT picture into and AMAZING photograph. Keep up the great work. I thank you for allowing me to critique this work. I look forward to seeing more.