This is a photo I took on my trip to Norway in June of 2024. Norway is steeped in folklore and stories of mountain Trolls is prevalent. When my companions and I climbed Mount Floyen in Bergen, Norway, the park and its signs, leaned heavily into these stories, warning climbers to beware of the trolls as they hiked. Most of the hike was beautiful and uneventful- besides the trials of climbing a mountain obviously. But as my companions and I finally descended the mountain we caught a glimpse of this big form staring down at us from the cliffside above. The original captures the immense climb that separated us and kind of down plays the face my friends and I thought we saw- it could be mistaken as just a big boulder. In the crop I focused on zooming in on the face so that it can be seen, but still capturing that it is staring down at us by focusing in on the giant tree in the foreground.
So where the original could be mistaken as just a rock- kind of like the blurry Loch Ness Monster Photo, the cropped version seems to showcase a curious, otherworldly creature hiding among the trees.
Hi Sarah! I love Norway and Trolls. Your photo does a fantastic job of telling a story about the troll, from the initial spotting to the realization of what it was! I love the whimsy of your interpretation.
Hi Sarah,
I love the story and subject for your photo! It immediately made me think of Bilbo’s trolls from the Hobbit, and their cameo for Lord of the Rings. I totally agree with your crop choices fit well with your goals for the photo; in the original the ‘troll’ is so far in the back that it seems like a pretty seen of nature, but not the focus. The tree on the right drew me eye more. By cropping the photo so that the ‘troll’ is slightly off center and cutting off the tree, it does draw my focus entirely on the stone, and I get the illusion of a troll looking down at you. It also makes the ‘troll’ seem larger than life as it does! Nice work!
Hi Sarah. Nice choices for cropping. When I see the original picture, I don’t immediately know what to focus on. My eyes first went to assess the size of the tree on the right, then looked at the empty space between the trees, then finally to the rock which look like it could be a T-Rex in hiding. When you cropped your photo, my eye immediately is drawn to the “Troll”. The choice of using the right tree still convey’s how massive the structure is and that it is looking down upon me from up high. The only constructive criticism I have to share is that I would keep the same cropping you choice, but would rotate the image a hair clockwise to make the tree more parallel to the right edge of the photo. Otherwise, I can’t think of much else to change. I see a Troll in your new photo right from the start. Thank you.