Please help enthusiast, comment the picture:p

[Saul]

Hi colleagues

I am photo hobbyist/enthusiast. This is the shot taken in a swampy wood under challenging conditions. The sun was in front of my object. I tried to wait for evening, so that the light would fall on the roots, but the sun went down the hill and trees and effect was not what I expected to be. So next day I returned to the place and made some exposures with front sunshine and it seams as best appropriate time for this.

I sincerely ask to comment on this shot starting from composition to picture processing.
To be honest, I like this shot very much, but that is what makes me worry because I lack a critical view to it. I need a feed back and comments. Anyone please...

Thanks

P.S.
This picture was taken with Pentax K20D, smc-FA 31mm f/1.8, aperture - 11, shutter speed 1/10, ISO 200 exp. comp. -1.0 ev

[Jonson PL]

Very nice subject. I think the lighting is to hard, to really get focus on all the details. Maybe taking the picture at different times of day.
I would also want it to fill more of the frame; or move back and have more foreground, background, etc.

[pw-pix]

Maybe a reflector or some fill flash could help getting some more light into the shadow side.
I can see the appeal of the scene and you have made a pleasing arrangement in your image.
The overly bright parts in the foreground and background are all competing for attention with the upturned root mass. They are all peripheral to your main subject and are reducing the impact of the image.
Try photographing it again on a day with light overcast, or try the reflector and/or fill lighting.

[Nesster]

Those roots are the main interest in the photo. At exposure, I would have considered taking a spot reading or manually setting the exposure for that, and letting the bright stuff go as it does... I think your exposure probably was in that ballpark as is.

Next, post processing - those dodge and burn things are there to be used! I'd set overall levels/curves to where the roots have the tonality I want, and then increase the definition by very lightly burning shadows and dodging highlights, looking to make the shapes more rounded or defined. (for some reason the roots look a bit out of focus?)

The overall contrast of the pic is a bit too wide - you may have done an auto-balance? It's ok not to have the deepest blacks, only a suggestion of them in a photo like this. I'd also try duping the image onto another layer, masking out the roots, and blending the rest in multiply or similar, <100% opacity, to mute the distractions. I'd take a look to see if adding some blur would help there as well.

Finally I'd add just a touch of toning.

But that's me with my biases. There are many ways to process the image, of course.

[Ash]

Good effort Saul,
I'll agree with the previous posters and add that you should also try seeing the subject from different perspectives and angles and you might get a more compelling composition.

[Saul]

I have been away for several days, so stayed silent. Thanks everyone for your comments. Especially on post processing. I am still learning this. Thanks everyone.

Saulius