This is an image from a hike in the Pannonian Plain in the eastern part of Austria, between Lake Neusiedl and the Hungarian border. The potential natural vegetation are light steppe forests.
I enjoyed the serene atmosphere of this place. Furthermore this particular intimate scene conveys a strong sense of transition for me.
All comments and critique are welcome.
Peter, this reminds me of an image I made in Zion National Park here in the states. I like your use of soft light, pastel colors to offset the starker tree trunk. And setting the tree off center helps to add dynamic movement to the scene. Terrific image.
I’ll second @David_Bostock – the white skeleton tree is nicely exposed, the grass soft and lovely and the BG leaves softly elegant.
The mix of the stark tree in the foreground and the fall backgrounds works well Peter. I love the red drapery, and can see a version with a little more contrast in it. In addition, darkening the greens a tad to contrast them from the reds might give slightly more depth too? Here’s a crude edit of the idea:
A perfectly handled image in my opinion. Love the gracefully arched branches in the back and also this leaves and their colors. You had some great light when you shot this. The shadows are gentle and the lights are glowing yet subdued.
Peter, when I first looked at this image, I though the background was the star and the dead tree shouldn’t have been in the photo. I felt bad for thinking that because you saw it as a transition in your life. As I kept coming back to it, I began to see the beauty of this photo as is. The colors in the background are stunning and I can see why it would represent a transition for you. Very nicely done.
John, thanks for your thoughts, I appreciate them a lot. Your version works indeed very well to my eye. The reason why I kept contrast low is that the image was taken during the very last daylight and I wanted to convey the specific atmosphere. Again, thanks for taking the time and showing your ideas.
This is a tremendous image, Peter. The background tree and it’s curving branches with beautifully soft warm color make the perfect backdrop for that dead tree in the foreground. This is perfectly framed and that very late afternoon early evening light did this image good. I think you handled the hue and saturation spot on. The only tiny little nit I have is that small broken branch coming out of the left side of the dead tree trunk a couple of feet off the ground. Very minor but it grabs my eye for some reason. Otherwise, I can’t think of a single thing I would do differently.
