2-11-23
Thank you all for your input and thank you for holding my feet to the fire. That is why I am here. Here is a repost with some dodging and burning.
“Dodging and burning are steps to take care of mistakes God made in establishing tonal relationships".
― Ansel Adams
I have photographed this tree since the 1970’s in 35mm, medium format, 4x5 and digital. It only seemed appropriate to to break my new Canon R5 in on its maiden voyage to Point Lobos with a photo of this bleached weathered old cypress.
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.
Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
Even though I have photographed this tree many times, I never get tired of photographing it over again. I always seem to gravitate to B+W.
Classic or cliche?
Technical Details
Canon R5 with RF 24-105/4L
Hand Held, Braced on stump.
1/80 sec, f9, ISO 100
B+W Conversion in Lightroom.
Hi Paul,
Great to see you here on NPN!
I can see why you love photographing this tree - it has a lot of character!
I’d be curious if this scene ever gets light where the FG isn’t bright but the tree is? Does that ever happen?
I feel like the bright FG is competing against the awesome texture and pattern of the wood of the tree. I also wonder if you could just burn down the FG and some of the bush on the left to really emphasize the white tree. Is there any more room in the file for a different crop?
Wonderful photograph and a great place to shoot. With all the trail restrictions on the north side of Lobos it’s a wonder you were able to find something like this. What I really like is how the left side of the tree curves around as a root and folds around the body. I find that meaningful somehow.
This is a very interesting tree and I can certainly see why it’s a repeat subject for you. This is a very strong composition and one that keeps pulling me in, deeper and deeper. Awesome.
What a grand old tree - so very expressive. Pretty clear why one would want to photograph this over and over - I know I would. Great choice in the b&w too - and no, not cliche. B&W is working beautiful to showcase the light - and on the “white-washed” trunk and limbs as you described - you’ve done an exceptional job not only with the capture/framing, but also the b&w conversion/processing.
I supposed I could see some burning down of the foreground as Igor suggested. In fact, take a step further, how about a little of a vignette? Either of these comments are personal preference of course.
Fantastic shot! Love the BW, I think in color it wouldn’t be nearly as powerful of an image as it is. I’ll chime in and agree with the comments about darkening the foreground to help isolate the tree and draw focus towards it. Plus, a healthy vignette on this would further accentuate attention on the tree. Fantastic and not cliche at all!
I love this area and I really like the character of this tree and it’s branches and root system. I am drawn to the sweeping and curving roots at the base of the tree and how they twist and contort themselves. It’s like they are dancing. The light hitting the branches is terrific but the bare foreground that catching a lot of light really stands out to me. It may be hard to get a shot that doesn’t have such harsh light along the bottom of the frame since the park opens late and closes early so that early or late light might not be an option. If it is, I would consider going back one more time and framing this up where the light doesn’t strike that foreground so much. Otherwise. I really like this old tree. Great character. I hope you don’t mind, but I brought this into LR for a very quick dodge and burn session.
What a wonderful subject Paul and your B&W treatment works perfectly here. Darkening the foreground as suggested by several here really makes that tree come to life. I like David H’s tweak.
What an amazing subject! I’m a sucker for trees, especially gnarly old ones like this. The second one, with more aggressive dodging and burning, works quite well IMHO. Beautifully composed and such a wonderful subject. Love it!
