Nan Jiang  


Great Wall by Nan Jiang

September 2021 - Great Wall

About the Image(s)

This photo was taken at a natural Great Wall which is not developed for tourists in the morning. I utilized the pink flower as foreground. The winding Great Wall and rising sun constitute medium shot and background respectively. I am not very sure whether the hue and light and shade are proper.

Sony A7R2 , Sony FE 16-35/4 @16mm, 1/250 second, F11, ISO 100


This round’s discussion is now closed!
12 comments posted




Michael Jack   Michael Jack
I like the warm tones signifying morning and the exposure which is consistent with time of day. The foreground flowers are balanced by sections of the wall. The backlite flowers makes the flowers pop. If it were my image, I think I would have considered including more of the wall on the left in the image rather than cutting it off and just subtly adding some detail in the dark shadow area just under the tower. Nicely seen   Posted: 09/05/2021 18:02:22
 
Thank you very much for the comment. I noticed the problem of the wall part. I stood at a road which is not so wide on the wall and somebody else was around me, so I can hardly to include more parts of the wall as I intended to. Embarrassing.   Posted: 09/10/2021 01:48:54



Larry Treadwell   Larry Treadwell
Welcome to Group #36 on behalf of the entire group let me extend to you a hearty greeting. We are here to help each other improve our photographic experience.

Your first image is quite the eye catcher as the image has instant visual impact. D The well captured (well exposed) rising sun is certainly the highlight of the image. Using the flowers in the lower right as a strong foreground element helps to provide depth and interest in the image. D The flowers also add a sense of visual balance when combined with the portion of the wall that shows on the left side. The muted detail of the entire foreground serves to make the sky the real star of the image.

However, for me, that is the problem. As the eye of the viewer is readily drawn to the brightest part of the image and with the lines of the ridge and the upward thrust of the flowers everything leads me to the sunrise. For me, the wall is almost a forgotten part of the image because it blends so nicely in the shadows. I would also consider a composition that would eliminate the detached portion of the wall in the lower left corner as it just appears as something extra. If you look carefully the top of the wall on the left that runs from the foreground bushes to the tower appears to be catching just a bit of the light from the sun. Perhaps if you did a bit of dodging with a Lightroom Adjustment Brush thereby making it brighter it may bring some attention to wall.
  Posted: 09/05/2021 18:10:40
 
It's my great pleasure to meet everyone and learn from each other.

Thank you very much for the comment. I cann't agree with you more. There is a main problem with the light and shade of the wall. As you said, the wall is blended in the shade, which is not what I want. The wall has not become the focus as it supposed to be.

I found it at the beginning, but I didn't get any idea to resolve it. The sun is the brightest part, and the backlight flower is also attractive, so the dark wall is unavoidable ignored. I should enlighten the wall to some extent as you suggested. If some golden sunbeam can be reached at the wall, it will be much better.

The road on the lower left corner is also needless, but it's hard to crop. Maybe I should use repair tools to erase it.   Posted: 09/10/2021 01:33:18



Barbara Gore   Barbara Gore
Very nice image. I like the dramatic backlighting. The flowers add to the composition along with the stairs that lead to the building on the top. For me, I would add a touch more color to the flowers to make them pop. Additionally, I would remove the wall in the lower left and brighten the stairs to draw more attention to the left side of the image.   Posted: 09/06/2021 12:26:12
 
Thank you very much for the comment. Yes, if the flower can be more bright colored it will be better. And the stairs are should be more attractive.   Posted: 09/10/2021 01:38:23



 
Nan Jiang, "Welcome to the group". Your picture is an eye catcher with the flowers, the rising sun and the Wall. I tend to agree that you need to delete the part of the wall on the left as it distracts the viewer's eye and doesn't let the viewers eye stay in the photo. Also, I would lighten the wall and see if you can bring out the morning sunlight.

I have been to the Great Wall, many years ago, and we were only allowed there during the day - long after sunrise, how were you able to get a morning shot of the sun rising?   Posted: 09/07/2021 15:20:27
 
Thank you very much for the comment. That part of great wall is undeveloped for touring, so we can climb up from a nearby hotel in the morning.

Due to job related reason, my international travel were mainly to Europe. I only got one USA trip many year ago, which covered LA, Vegas, NYC and Niagara Falls. Sadly I didn't shoot at that time so there was no satisfacoty photo. Welcome you to China again at a proper time.   Posted: 09/10/2021 02:06:29



Arne Skinlo   Arne Skinlo
I like the composition even though you had to do some compromises. I agree with some of the other comments that the background steals too much of the attention from the main object which is the wall. A good habit is to make bracketed exposures when dealing with high contrasts. I will also suggest to tone down the yellow as it is a bit overwhelming.   Posted: 09/12/2021 04:33:11
 
Thank you very much for the comment and suggestion about the bracket exposure and toning.   Posted: 09/14/2021 01:49:27



Bill Peake   Bill Peake
Welcome to the group! I really like the composition, this image has a lot of interest. I agree with the other that the section of the wall on the lower left should be cropped out. The other problem I see is that the sun is so bright, it draws the eye from the rest of the image. If it were my image, I would add some contrast to the clouds and try to darken the sky. You have some really interesting light rays coming off of the sun, so I would enhance those with a brightness contrast adjustment. I like Larry's suggestion of brightening the portions of the wall that are catching the sun's light. I would also saturate the flowers more as Barbara suggested. I'm not sure how you do this in Lightroom, since I use Photoshop, but I am sure there are ways to accomplish this.   Posted: 09/14/2021 16:11:51
 
Thank you very much for the comment and suggestion about sunshine brightness and sky contrast. I should make the sun relatively balanced with other factors.   Posted: 09/14/2021 21:38:11