Against all Odds +color repost(s)

Image Critiques Landscape Critiques
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Against all Odds
Against all Odds1835×2298 1020 KB

not quite full frame for context (minimal cropping from bottom) I’m wondering if the far shore up top adds, or distracts.

52D0648VBW3-npn
52D0648VBW3-npn1617×2298 1.01 MB

EDIT:

Original frame, ACR reset to camera defaults and resized. You can notice the few alterations, including CA-cloning the tips of the top and right branches. Very good exercise taking this back to it’s roots. The cropped color version I’m posting below had 9 layers… Sometimes, most times, fewer is better. Anyway, here’s the frame out of the camera:

52D0648V_orig-npn
52D0648V_orig-npn1617×2298 1020 KB

And the re-worked cropped version from the next frame. A considerable color change towards warmer red/yellow.

52D0649V2-npn
52D0649V2-npn1928×2298 1.13 MB

52D0648VCR-npn
52D0648VCR-npn2298×1810 1.12 MB

Like this? At least I’m following my own rules… “If you’re going to cut something off, do it on purpose!” :smile: Thank goodness the pixels and detail are there for this extreme crop. Completely changes the original… but now there’s no issue with the tree being separate from the water - at least I don’t think.

Sorry for all the edits! Lesson learned: If one has to re-work and try more than two crops/versions, then the conclusion should be… it ain’t gonna get any better if you keep at it… :roll_eyes:

… or any other phrase or word that fits… “standing tall,” “perseverance,” “nothing will stop me,” “Be different,” “one in a crowd…” “Strength,” “Persistence…” you get the idea.

Funny, that my buddy Kyle and I have been following this little tree’s older sibling since about 2005… but just noticed this little one this year, just a few weeks ago during our morning visit to Happy Isles in Yosemite. This was captured from a foot bridge that crosses a split in the Merced. The sapling was quite a ways up stream, well at least maybe 75 yards? And at 300mm this is still cropped. I’m going to show the full frame as well.

I knew I would process this in B&W, but I so badly wanted to work this in color. I finally gave up because I just couldn’t get everything to work right. I spent way too much time on this one.

Specific Feedback Requested

All feedback, critique and suggestions welcome as always.

Technical Details

Nikon D800E, 28-300mm @300mm f/16 @1.6s for the main image. I did composite a 2nd frame for the water at the lower part to bring back some texture.

3 Likes
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I love stuff like this! Little trees or plants that manage to eke out a living in the least hospitable areas. At least to us. Maybe this tree will be safe from deer and other browsers out there in the river.

So you had trouble with it in color. Can you describe why or how? I ask because the tree gets lost IMO and I wondered if it would do better if you could separate it with its green color.

The crop is also a tough decision. The little branches nearly touch the opposite bank shoreline and so cropping feels abrupt, but I understand the dilemma with wanting to keep it simple. Maybe decrease exposure and contrast on the far shore and see how that works. It’s worth spending time on for the story it tells.

3

Lon, I like this one a lot. Although whenI first saw it I thought this was an image from the past. I’m sure that recall was based more upon your similar compositions over the many years from this area… :sunglasses:
I like it best with the shoreline included. Many times minimizing around a take like this sapling helps but I think opening up like the shoreline inclusion looks more natural, maybe? … :thinking:
The only real change for me is to take some of the extended branch off at the end for a bit more space on the right edge. I assume the mat had nothing to do with that tightness there. … :cowboy_hat_face:
Again, I like this one as a B&W scene too. … :+1:

4

I prefer the second, narrower composition to the wider one even though I usually prefer the wider aspect ratio. The vertical sapling is one of the reason for the preference but the bigger reason is the long diagonal of the rocks across the entire image of the rocks. In the first image the rocks fill the space of the frame but in the second they form a shape, which I feel is just as important as the tree. The largely white area in the llc is also less prominent in the second image. So there is just better balance in the second and it felt less ‘cut off’ (top).

I like your choice of b&w but without seeing the colored version I can’t say it’s better. I have seen some excellent colored images of yours with this same motif so I know color sometimes comes off very nicely. I like this image a lot.

5

This is a nice image, Lon but for me it’s biggest problem is that the tree is getting lost in the background. There just isn’t enough tonal separation for this to totally work as I imagine you’d like it to.

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I like the second version because of the extra room at the top. B&W is a gorgeous choice though I agree with Kerry that I hope the tree stands out a little bit more from the background. The flow though is gorgeous, Lon. Really love it.

EDIT: On a second thought… to my eyes, the problem with the tonal separation happens towards the top of the tree. I think it is a small area to invest some time to do local adjustment. Or perhaps… crop it all off? I have been playing with some “scroll crop” on my phone, I think there is something there but I am still undecided.

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Lon, I like the first version as I do believe the shore detracts from the subject. Love the B/W rendition.

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I’m all for the first one, Lon. And the B&W treatment is excellent.

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Thank You @Kris_Smith , @Paul_Breitkreuz , @Mario_Cornacchione , @Igor_Doncov , @Kerry_Gordon , @Adhika_Lie , and @David_Bostock . I appreciate your comments very much and there are points I agree with from everyone!

I continue to struggle with this one and most of you have mentioned not being able to separate the tree from the water. I’ll be posting a color version above and I don’t think the issue goes away. And frankly, given the make up of the scene - rushing water among rocks, a tree with very small leaves and shot from a distance, I don’t think that separation is coming… One thing is for sure, the separation is better by far with the longer shutter speed and smoother water; the texture/detail in the water with frames of shorter shutter speeds work even less.

Igor - excellent observation. I hadn’t really noticed that aspect per se - of the flow of the rocks - as opposed to the flow of the water. But there is most definitely a flow, or at least a diagonal of the rocks - and make the wide view appealing

I’ll post the color versions in the op.

Thanks again everyone!

10

Lon, you can add me to those who prefer seeing the shoreline (#2) in b&w. For me this shows the power of the water and the stalwart nature of the small tree with the far shore adding context about the size of the tree.

11

Very late the party, here, but I’ll weigh in anyway. I love the warmer toned cropped version. I agree with the others that the little tree got lost in the b&w version. It definitely stands out in the color versions. The shoreline doesn’t do a thing for me, although it does give context as to how far out the little tree is into the river. The cropped version makes this about the tree and, to me, says more about perseverance, etc. than the crop with more shoreline context.

12

Lon, I like the tighter cropped black and white version best although the tree top does get lost in the background rocks. I don’t care for the inclusion of the shore line at all.
As for the color versions, I like the last one the best. You don’t need the trees top and it is set off nicely from the mostly gray background. I actually rather like this image a lot Lon. I think you’ve got something here. I really like the flow of the water in the bottom left portion of the image in the black and white but for compositional purposes, you had to crop that out in the color version that I like.

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Thank you @Mark_Seaver , @Bonnie_Lampley and @David_Haynes for chiming in. Much appreciated.

Very interesting of course how it seems split between those who like the full view (including the bg shore) and those who don’t. I guess it’s really a matter of what one prefers to see - the larger view, or the more intimate views - and they do tell different stories - neither better than the other

14

The last colored one is the best imo. I do think color adds to this image and that one has a good composition in that if you’re going to crop the tree don’t make it look as though it’s accidental.

1 Like