Pinaki Sarkar
July 2025 - Alaska Tracy Am Glacier, A view in Black and White.
About the Image(s)
Technical: f6, 1/640, ISO-100, 125mm, Pattern, Processed through Lightroom and Topaz Denoise.
Background: Shot during summer .
3 comments posted
Helio Pinaki,
Beautiful scene! I love the positioning of all of the elements. You might consider adding some texture to the mountains. Posted: 07/04/2025 22:40:39
Beautiful scene! I love the positioning of all of the elements. You might consider adding some texture to the mountains. Posted: 07/04/2025 22:40:39
Hi Pinaki. This is a beautiful image - thank you for sharing. There is a lot to like about the way you've composed and processed this. The lines you have coming from all four corners - the wake of the boat in front and the mountain slopes at the top - help to hold the viewer in the frame to explore. The lower contrast, particularly in the mid and far areas - gives it an atmospheric feel consistent with the summer time when you shot it. I also like the repeating layers and triangles at the top of the image. Again, many great visual elements.
I'm curious why you decided to go with B&W. I can imagine pale blues to the glacier that it seems to my imagination would add to the image. I also feel like I want a richer set of tonalities, a deeper black somewhere, in the B&W version. Can you show us the color version?
I guess if I were to suggest a few things, I'd selectively darken down some of the shadows to get those blacks, but then maybe even add a little light at the top to suggest flare from the sun. I'd try to get a richer set of tonalities in the boat and maybe the "island" to its left. Perhaps most importantly though, I think I'd crop in from the right. The image for me suggests the boat heading off into the layers of the glacier and hills. I think the far right side just distracts from that message - try to pull the eye over there to no real purpose. Also when I blow this up there seems like there is a lot of noise. Maybe it is added grain but it comes across as noise. There is also a large sensor spot in the upper left - easily enough cloned.
I tried some of these changes in the image below. Not sure it is consistent with your message. It's just the direction I'd take things. Hope those thoughts are helpful in some way.
Posted: 07/11/2025 19:04:59
I'm curious why you decided to go with B&W. I can imagine pale blues to the glacier that it seems to my imagination would add to the image. I also feel like I want a richer set of tonalities, a deeper black somewhere, in the B&W version. Can you show us the color version?
I guess if I were to suggest a few things, I'd selectively darken down some of the shadows to get those blacks, but then maybe even add a little light at the top to suggest flare from the sun. I'd try to get a richer set of tonalities in the boat and maybe the "island" to its left. Perhaps most importantly though, I think I'd crop in from the right. The image for me suggests the boat heading off into the layers of the glacier and hills. I think the far right side just distracts from that message - try to pull the eye over there to no real purpose. Also when I blow this up there seems like there is a lot of noise. Maybe it is added grain but it comes across as noise. There is also a large sensor spot in the upper left - easily enough cloned.
I tried some of these changes in the image below. Not sure it is consistent with your message. It's just the direction I'd take things. Hope those thoughts are helpful in some way.
Posted: 07/11/2025 19:04:59
Jim Williams
As Robert mentioned, and I agree with, the noise (odd since you used Topaz Denoise and your iso was at 100) being distracting, though it almost had to be added for affect, and the spot in the top left hand side of the image. Easily repaired. I suspect your histogram was heavily biased towards the middle. I'd seek extending the whites and black to add contrast. This can be done in several ways each are nearly the same from a result standpoint imo.
From a composition perspective, I would have perhaps liked to see a wider angle thus making the boat maybe a third of the size. This would make the scene for more epic. Of course, this only works if the surrounding scene is epic. :)
I do love the layering in the image, and might try and find a way to highlight that more. Also maybe finding a way to highlight the glacier by contrasting it with the darker mountains. Posted: 07/25/2025 16:46:12
From a composition perspective, I would have perhaps liked to see a wider angle thus making the boat maybe a third of the size. This would make the scene for more epic. Of course, this only works if the surrounding scene is epic. :)
I do love the layering in the image, and might try and find a way to highlight that more. Also maybe finding a way to highlight the glacier by contrasting it with the darker mountains. Posted: 07/25/2025 16:46:12