This sight caught my eye on a back road of Baja. I thought the tree had presence. The light was good that day so I stopped the car and photographed it from several directions. But the tree only had that look when seen from one specific perspective. This one. I felt it had a certain majesty about it.
What do you think?
GFX50R, 45-100mm, f/11
Igor, The majesty is certainly there. Maybe you should go back in different weather ( overcast, rain or wind) to make his majesty more alive.
Ben
Hi Igor,
I like this! 
I can see how this perspective was the only one that would work to emphasize the presence of the tree while maintaining balance with the bushes on either side, as well as the cactus in the FG.
The deadfall around the base of tree adds appeal and interest, and even helps with the overall artistic feel.
The mood in the sky blends well with the mood of the mountains and the FG elements IMHO.
I like the depth created by the slightly darker tones, and the subtle highlights and shadows in the mountains.
I wouldnât mind having a print of this on one of my landscape wallsâŚexcept,I donât have any more room on those walls, I may have to add on to my house so Iâll have more wall space. 
Very nice!
The tree, at least for me, has a very commanding presences, Igor. It is like saying âIâm kind of the hill and I rule the desertâ. Also seems as though the angle/perspective youâve chosen emphasizes the importance of the tree. It must have been quite a spectacle in person and I can see why it caught your attention. Nicely seen.
Igor,
The tree most certainly has presence and a magentic one at that. Iâm wondering though, was this presence you felt derived partly from the surrounding environs that we canât see? In other words, your presence and experience of the moment contributed to what the tree created and why you stopped? Not sure if that makes sense.
This is nicely balanced - although it would seem it shouldnât be with the cactus in the LL⌠but the surrounding brush works to distribute the weight in the bottom half. The sky works well with the high clouds.
Nicely seen and presented.
Lon
Thatâs really hard to answer. As you suggested with Intuition, itâs hard to know where itâs coming from. And when you try to âunderstandâ it the feeling escapes. All I know is that I was driving along marveling at those mountains behind when my gazed lowered and I saw the form of this tree. Its form seemed to call to me. I got out of the vehicle and moved closer to see if the âmagicâ was still there and it was. Most of the time a second look dispels the initial impression and you drive on. I suspect you have experienced this yourself. I think many photographers do.
I like this image because there is no wow factor to it. The subject is beautiful and yet common at the same time. I find such images satisfying somehow.
Iâm always taken by the mood of your Baja images. When I think of Baja, harsh light and washed out colors come to mind. Your choice of making photos on slightly overcast days gives your Baja scenes much more richness.
This tree does have a certain majesty to it. It feels like the benevolent ruler embracing their subjects - itâs the gesture of those lower branches reaching out and down to the shrubs and cacti. I can see that other orientations wouldnât have captured that.
Perfect light for a scene like this, Igor. Really beautiful, and the processing is spot on. I do wish the branch on the left didnât intrude into the bushes as that gets a little busy for my eye. Iâm glad you stopped, and I would have done the same.
Your Baja images always showcase the harshness of the desert where some things thrive and others wither away. This image speaks to that harshness. The tree is thriving in grand form, while other trees and cactus crumple to the ground. You did well with the composition. The foreground could use slightly more weight on the right side but there is enough there to make it feel fairly balanced or certainly as balanced as you could make this scene. I wish that maybe you had gotten a little lower so that the bottom branch of the tree on the left side, the branch with green leaves still on it, was above the mountain like the branch on the right side but itâs a very minor detail and Iâm not sure in the end it makes much of a difference. Your processing is very well done with rich but muted and believable colors and that soft, slightly cloudy sky that many of your Baja images showcase. I very much like this image. This would make a wonderful print.
This image is, from my perspective, easily identifiable as one of yours, Igor. Iâm not saying that you never make âwowâ pictures but I feel like your forte is finding the sublime in the âordinaryâ. I do agree with @David_Haynesâs ânotesâ - getting a little lower would have put the left branch above the horizon line (the kind of detail that Sam Abell always talks about) and a little more weight on the lower left. But these are the smallest of details that, in any case, does not deny a very handsome addition to, what is becoming your Baja essay.
That all being said, what I love best about this image is your story and the excitement and power of the intuitive voice. In a recent article by Guy Tal, he talks about A.I. and how pervasive it is becoming in photography. And not only that, A.I. is getting to the point where it can make photographs of very high quality that begins to question why we would continue to make photographs âby handâ at all. Your story addresses that in some very important way. To be meaningful, photography, like any art form, canât be focused on the product but must, rather, be about the process - the making of the picture. The experience you had of being called to attention by that tree is an experience I have had many times and is why I make pictures. When I am with my camera, I am mindful, present, and tuned into all my relations at the very level that your story depicts. Even if you had come away without a picture, Iâm sure youâd agree, you still would have counted it a fine day, being in conversation with the world.
I probably didnât do that because it would have changed the spacing of the upper branches in that the appearance of the sky between them would have gotten smaller. To do that I would have had to get closer and the perspective of the tree would have changed with the lower trunk being bigger than higher up as were the branches. The light was consistent at that time so I had a lot of time to walk around and crouch here and there. I think the attraction was the arrangement of those upper branches. Their bends and folds and the clumping of âleavesâ. There was life and character in it. I had to preserve that vision in the image. It was a gentle subject and therefore I felt the processing should be as well. I liked the cactus in the lower left although itâs not part of the narrative.
I could never find this tree again if I tried. I was driving on a 4wd dirt road doing about 10mph. Itâs not going to win any awards. Thatâs for sure.
I did read Guy Talâs AI article and I did agree with it to some extent. I do think, however, that viewing an image is an important experience and should be considered when making the image. I therefore donât agree with his assertion that the experience of making the shot is all that matters. I donât think even he believes that. Iâm still working on the thought. Why then bother with processing and printing? There is definitely a pleasure in seeing a framed print. The whole thing takes on a different aspect. Viewing a print is different experience than viewing the original subject. I personally value it a great deal.
A really well balanced feel to this scene between the tree projecting above the horizon, the mountains, and the cacti in left FG. I like how the soft sunlight and subtle shadows impart pleasing textures throughout the image. Very nice!
@Kerry_Gordon, @Lon_Overacker, @Steve_Layman, @Ben_van_der_Sande, @linda_mellor, @David_Haynes, @Bret_Edge, @Bonnie_Lampley, @Merv
Thank you for your comments and discussion. Iâm glad this registered with some of you as it did with me. Sometimes you shoot something so plain as this and wonder if youâre the only one that sees anything worth showing.
