In the southern Appalachian mountains, there are several of these rocky outcroppings that can be quite sizable. They are a great opportunity to get some perspective from the dense surrounding forest. I was able to catch a sunset from one of my favorite, though intimate and small, outcroppings and am ceaselessly amazed by the tenacity of these trees growing out of the rock with little soil to anchor their roots.
What technical feedback would you like if any?
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
D810/70-200 f/2.8; 112mm @f10, 0.5sec, ISO50
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jim_mcgovern_photography
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Jim,
This is a wonderful subject and your isolation of it with the sunlight and shallow depth of field is very effective. The background fall colors and shadows offer a beautiful palette and you took full advantage of them.
Nice work!
Jim, this is a wonderful intimate scene. I love the way the light is glowing on the needles of the pine. from the shadows on the rock, it looks like you have side light, but the needles almost look backlit, either way it’s really nice. The background is very well handles here, dark enough to accentuate the pine needles, and out of focus enough not to compete with the pine, but still providing a sense of autumn. I might consider a slight crop from the right to place the pine a little more off-center, but that is very much a personal choice, it works pretty well centered like this too.
This is beautiful, Jim. The shallow DOF works well and the backlit tree really pops. I might burn down the bare branch coming out at a 45 degree angle? Really well seen and executed, a most enjoyable image.
Great job isolating this fine little tree; the lighting on the needles is beautiful and I think the centered comp works perfectly here.
Not mentioned yet, so not sure if this is a concern, but I’m wondering if the mid tones could be bumped up a little? The trunk of the tree is a bit dark and the sunlit rock seems a tad under exposed? This is quite minor of course and in the realm of personal choice.
I agree with Harley in perhaps dealing with the straight, bare branch sticking out of the top - also minor, but this scene and image are most certainly worth the little tweaks.
The lighting is perfect for this scene as it really helps to separate the main tree from the background. As with good background vocals in a song the background trees play a nice supportive role, but do not distract from the main subject. Nicely done!
Thanks @Marylynne_Diggs and @Alan_Kreyger for commenting! @Harley_Goldman - thanks for your comment about the 45 degree branch - I’ll take care of that! @Ed_McGuirk - my intention was a central comp - do you think it’s a bit asymmetric? @Lon_Overacker - you know - the darkness of the trunk was bothering me a bit as well, but it didn’t take hold until you made a comment. Thanks for that advice! Thanks @Brian_Schrayer for your reference to music - that’s a cool analogy.
