[Pavel]

Comments please. Pavel

[matthew]

There's some advice that says to never show someone two different version of the same photograph, because then they'll want to see a third image that's somewhere between the two. In this case I would like to see a little more detail in the shadows, especially toward the middle of the image, but I really like the very soft lighting on the trunks on the far right of the frame.

As you know, I'm not the right person to critique nature images, so others may disagree with me, and I know that I'm a bit of a hypocrite on this: I feel like this photo is a great background waiting for a subject. The bright area in the middle of the frame really jumps out at me and commands my attention, but there's nothing there to see. The reflections are very nice, and the photo is well done, but this treatment is drawing my attention to some grass and I don't know why it's important.

[Pavel]

I agree with you Matthew that the bright spot is too bright. I toned it down both using curves and by reducing exposure, but evidently not enough.

I look at photos of nature differently than you do. When I am there or when I am post-processing, I have a sense that I feel the mood of the scene. It is often difficult for me to tell which part contributes what to that overall feel. In this case my wife could not get me away from this little river, because I loved the reflections and the mood this filtered lighting produced. Add to it the backlit leaves and I was mesmerised. To me these elements provide all the focus these photos need and I am not troubled by absence of any focal point. I agree with you that a bit more shadow detail would have been better and I will make the change.

As always, thank you for insightful comments. Pavel