So this was during the big rime ice event the northern midwest states got back in January. This tree is right next to an abandoned house and is directly on the road with a small ditch in front of it. I took this shot and a few wider. It was the frost that caught my attention, but also the big limbs and the way they curve sinuously to create the canopy. I also liked the contrasting color of them.
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Alas, the sky was blank. I played with cropping it out, but it seemed too tight. Maybe it’s just me. Have a go at it! I want to make the most of the shot, but I don’t think I have. Sky replacement? I think I’ve looked at it so long I’m out of ideas.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Lumix DC-G9
Lumix G Vario 12-35mm f/2.8 lens @ 21mm (42mm equiv.)
f/9 | 1/320 sec | ISO 400
Handheld in the middle of the road (but who cares, it was the middle of nowhere)
Processed in Lr for clarity & sharpness. Not much more.
Beautiful photo! I agree, the sky has got to go. I used Photoshop Edit/Transform and then stretched to the right with Scale, rotated clockwise with Rotate, and stretched a tiny bit more of two corners with Warp. Viola!
Hi Kristen, and welcome to NPN! I had to comment on this image, because it immediately struck my eye. That sinewy branch is incredible! I see what you are saying about the sky in the RUC. I agree it’s a distraction. Since it’s kind of an intimate/abstract anyway, could you rotate it to eliminate the sky?
Ha! I see Tony beat me to it. Tony’s suggestion was what I had in mind. Awesome find!
Love what you’ve seen and captured here. There’s just something about frost/snow and trees that are simply just beautiful things. The delicate nature of the frost/snow anchored by the random, yet flowing patterns of the tree (and the color!) - just wonderful.
I’ll echo the previous thoughts on the sky. Sometimes, not much that can be done, but I too was thinking along the lines of Tony’s rework. For me, and IMHO, the presence of the sky is not only a distraction, but IMHO it reduces the impact and purpose of the image. When the focus and image include only the frosted tree, then I think the image is elevated to a higher level - if that makes sense. Said another way, the original is a pretty image of a snow-frosted tree… but excluding the sky, for me, elevates this more towards a fine art image. Hope that makes sense.
What Tony did to accomplish his version is doable of course. I simply cropped and did a content-aware fill in the URC. Also added a slight vignette and increased luminosity a tad. Personal choice, but I eliminated the stronger dark trunks at the bottom left.
All personal choice - the great news is you have a beauty to start with!
A really nice motif, Kristen! Here is another try.
It is rotated and croped at the bottom. Deleted the black limb then situated at the LLC.
There remained a small part of the sky URC, cloned and stamped it away.
Love this one! Beauty and elegance. Great job on the reworks by all contributors, and my favorite is @Lon_Overacker 's. The reds against detailed white ice is gorgeous. You have a winner here.
Hi Kristen! I’ve kept coming back to this image and reading everyone’s comments and seeing what everyone is doing to it, and feeling like I have no business saying what I think…but I just can’t help myself, so here goes!
I love it the way it is. Personally I think the sky makes it a more epic shot, it gives appearance of depth and like there’s something grand and just as beautiful beyond this ice covered tree! Like a whole ice covered world to explore! Maybe my taste is off or I don’t know enough about composition and what works or what doesn’t, but I know how a photo or painting or any piece of art makes me feel. And your original photo gives me a feeling of exploration and finding all the beauty in the world that’s to be found. The crops make me feel claustrophobic and trapped and like I can’t see or get past this roadblock on my trail.
What’s wrong with the sky? It’s all around us! Sometimes it’s blue, sometimes it’s gray or white and for those of us fortunate enough to live in a relatively clean environment it’s not brown! It’s a part of our world and it makes me feel free!
That’s just my opinion but I had to let you know!
I like the original image a lot, and I don’t mind the sky in the URC, although I understand the opinions about it.
I disagree with @Harley_Goldman , I don’t prefer @Lon_Overacker 's (sorry Lon), because his edit more or less eliminates the gracious curve of the trunk, at the bottom.
As always: very interesting opinions to read, when you step in late. The benefits of this beautiful forum.
A lovely image. Wonderful offset of the reddish trunk against the stark white frosting. I also think it needs a crop or a warp. I don’t care so much for Lon’s version because, as Han has pointed out, it loses the graceful curve of the trunk.
This is a very beautiful image Kris. Each of the reworks has its own merits. Eliminating the sky focuses attention on the elegance of the tree and its lacy coating.
The combination of that strong red trunk and the surrounding snow is quite the eye catcher! I also agree that, however you choose to do it, removing the sky makes it even better.
Wow, thanks everyone. It was a pretty arresting tree so I had to give it a go.
I’m a complete Ps neophyte so the warp was beyond me, but I worked with a few other tools to try and fill in some small blank sky areas that were left after using the transform tools in Lr.
Is it an improvement? I put two versions up with different aspect ratios and crops.
@Kris_Smith , great job on the edits. Certainly a great example of an image that has such a great starting point that just about any option can be a good one. And thanks for taking the time to consider the options and reworking; it’s a great exercise for all. So kudos for taking the extra step.
Vanessa - nothing’s wrong with the sky and your explanation and reaction to the image are perfectly valid - as we always say, there is no right or wrong when it comes to what we think and feel about images. With that, my comments regarding the sky are simply my opinions based on my own experiences and preferences. IMHO, and just my opinion, no right or wrong. For me, nothing wrong with including the sky and so many times there simply aren’t that many options at the time of capture - we all experience that. For me, the original, while a beautiful image as presented… comes across as, “I saw this beautiful scene and photographed it.” Eliminating the sky gives me (again, my reaction only) the impression the photographer made a more purposeful composition. Without the sky, I am left wondering… was there more rime-ice forest around and you selected just this wonderfully shaped tree? What is beyond the frame? This really must have been the most inspiring comp for the photographer to have chosen… I’m left thinking this is just what the photographer saw and wanted me to see. Having the sky there doesn’t make the image any less beautiful, but makes the image a little more standard, than purposeful. If that makes sense.
(oh, and I agree with others that my crop pretty much did a hack job on the sinuous nature of the main tree…)
@Lon_Overacker … just to clarify, my comments were not directed at you or anyone in particular, they were very broad, as in others in the NPN community and beyond. And I didn’t think you did a “hack job”!! Actually only one person said you did and Harley said yours was his favorite! When I look at an image that is a landscape I assume that everything in that image was something the photographer wanted in there for a reason, so I try to feel what they were feeling when they took it, as well as explore how it makes me feel. My comments were only my feelings and nothing more. I only wanted the photographer, Kristen in this case, to know how the image makes me feel as that is one of the criteria for examining an image on this site. In the meantime everyone had changed her image for her, with comments and at that point it seemed like I had to let her know how those images made me feel as well.
@Vanessa_Hill , thanks for clarifying - which of course leads to clarifying on my part.
My bad and poor choice of words on “hack job” - but to be clear, I was agreeing with those who didn’t care for my crop and so my intent there was basically being harsh on myself… And in context, I included “…the sinuous nature of the main tree…” to clarify my comments. But yeah, poor choice of a word.
Regarding, “What’s wrong with the sky?” - I thought it was a general question and I was just answering and responding with my opinion.
All’s Good! Any further comments anyone can PM me so I don’t take any unnecessary focus away from Kristen’s image.
That’s why I’m here, Lon - to learn from others who do what I do. I hadn’t ever realized that some of the transform tools can be used in this way. Just a blind spot I guess. What with software being so feature-rich these days, it’s easy to overlook something.
And don’t feel like you need to take the discussion elsewhere.
And in context, I included “…the sinuous nature of the main tree…” to clarify my comments. But yeah, poor choice of a word.