Ceropegia wrote:I think the atmosphere is great! I actually like the DOF. To me it is the best part of the image. It takes me deeper into the swamp where I would not venture otherwise. Cyprus knees have always captivated me. I would love to see them more clearly, although it is obviously not your fault because the reflections in the foreground from the trees in the back and the straight-on angle of the knee's own reflections have kept them from standing out. Perhaps, if possible, changing the vantage point to allow more light between the knees and taking the shot at a slightly different time of day that would cast the shadows at more of an angle, might emphasize the knees more. Cropping some off the bottom might tamp down some of the distraction of the tree reflections and serve to compensate for the downward angle from the bridge. I don't think in doing so, cutting off part of the the knee in the foreground would be a bad thing. I think it would contribute to the overall depth of the image. BTW, as Charles says woods are HAAAAARRrrrrd. I almost never manage to get a decent shot in the woods so don't often even try anymore.
Thank you Martha, for thinking through this one with me. I try so many things in this swamp, so I'm always grateful for new ideas. I have limitations in that the center of the swamp must be shot from a footbridge, but I can angle differently from different spots along the way, so it is do-able as you suggest. I LOVE the knees and am always trying to do something meaningful with them, but they are not as easy as they look like they ought to be, and the confounding mix of vertical trees and knees and their reflections creates a kind of circus fun-house effect where you don't really know where you are in an image.