Hi everyone. Another one for comment if I may?
This was shot in some woodland in the Lake District. As soon as I walked past the tree I had to stop and find a composition. I absolutely love these old gnarly trees - so much character.
Obviously this has had a lot of work in photoshop to help push the fairytale artistic style. Any comment on the post processing is welcomed. I’m not sure if the green leaves are possibly too dark but I quite like the moody feel.
Many thanks
Chris
Hi Chris,
I love the this tree has.
I like your comp and processing here. It’s not too dark or has been pushed too far for me and suits the mood of the image
Chris,
Excellent job handling the light and range with this one! And kudos for the dynamic composition.
Hard to say if some of the leaves are too dark. I think you’re well within the personal preferences realm. I suppose you could go lighter globally and not hurt anything. In general, the back lighting in trees like this is naturally going to have a brilliance and/or a glow to it. You could brighten the canopy and toss in a slight orton effect even. Lots of possibilities in processing this. Colors look great and natural.
I’m not sure if slightly increasing shadow detail is appropriate here, but something to look at. I think a small crop of the bottom has potential too.
The back lighting and the tree canopy is making for a very pleasing image and the twisted old trunk gives this a unique edge.
Lon
This is certainly a fascinating tree, one that I would shoot lots of frames. I like the overall exposure, however if it were mine, I’d try bringing out the shadowed areas a bit, while leaving the canopy as is. Certainly does have loads of character, and like the mood very much.
I like this a lot. The tree snaking up and out of the frame covered in those intense mossy greens works for me. No nits.
Chris, this tree was just made to be shot low with a wide-angle lens. I suspect you had to do a contortionist act to get this perspective, but this was well worth the effort. This shot is just so in-your-face, due to both the composition and the dominant green color. The color is great and very natural looking. I agree with @Bill_Leggett that I’d slightly raise the shadows, while leaving the canopy untouched more or less.
Thanks everyone. Yes it was an awkward angle. I was actually standing in a stream getting soaked feet (the tree was on a bank) but it was well worth it.
Beautiful shape indeed, impossible not to stop! 
Throw in some mosses, and it gets even better! I agree with the other in trying to lift the shadows a bit. I would maybe also try dodging the touch of light on the moss a bit with a soft yellow or something, to emphasize the light and line.
