Wow! Great work. This is a truly incredible photograph.
My initial reaction to this image was incredibly strong. What I really appreciated about this image from a technical standpoint is that I see you’re getting braver when dealing with the composition of larger geographic areas. This image encompasses a large amount of space, but you’ve managed to use a handful of photographic elements to ensure you present a cohesive image.
You’ve used a limited color palette to help focus your audience’s attention. You’ve also used “frame within a frame” to help guide your viewers eye towards the main area of interest. Similarly, you’ve used a limited number of shapes to help simplify such a large composition. Your image is made up predominantly of the shapes of trees and the angles of a volcano. On top of this you have clouds which help create vertical lines in the sky which not only add to the images tonal spectrum, but also further break up the image to ensure it abides by the rule of thirds.
From a color standpoint, the image is low key focused on purples. This gives the image a majestic, almost magical feel. However, you’ve also incorporated a warm highlight (i.e. in the middle of the composition) to contradict the otherwise cool tone of this image. I love that.
Although the image is crisp and in perfect focus, there is a strong atmospheric quality which gives it a dream like presence.
This is undoubtedly one of your strongest photographs yet. Especially in terms of strong composition in such a large space. Great work!