I took a picture of this tree a week or so ago and posted it here (and got some nice feedback thank you). I was encouraged to go in closer to the root ball and so this week I did. The tree is at the edge of an eroding shoreline so this is really a mixture of branches and old exposed roots. The sky that evening was an eerie pink. I actually find the colour a bit disquieting. I cropped it to focus on the ice but also give some sense of the lake and light.
Specific Feedback Requested
All comments welcome (10 points if you can find the amateurish clone stamp to get rid of an unwanted branch - hint upper right). I need to learn masks in photoshop to get rid of these stray branches. Until today I got away with the clone stamp tool, but the sky is full of subtle shading and you could see the all the round stamp marks. So I applied a radian gradient filter afterwards and pulled down the dehaze slider and down the exposure a shade to try to hide it…). I made a few different capture of this, moments before the light was direct setting sun and vibrant, I liked that too but the colours here were more intriguing. Having said that, I did a B&W conversion that I liked very much too. I’d welcome any feedback. Thanks for looking!
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
ISO 200; 21mm apsc; f 5.0; 0.5 sec; tripod
Wow. This is exceptional. I didn’t comment on your previous version because I thought the roots were too small within the frame. This certainly remedies that. I think the sky, water and the overall color of the background is a significant part of what makes this excel. As does the side light on the tree. Just an incredible image. I don’t usually comment on such things but there is a halo between left branch and sky. Easily fixed and doesn’t diminish the image one bit in my opinion.
It was a stunning formation. @David_Bostock thank for the encouragement to get in closer. @Igor_Doncov I agree the colour makes the photo - the B&W treatments have drama but didn’t quite grab me as much.
The pale pastel light is exceptional. The black and white version is fine but, in my opinion, this image is really about the light where the colour palette is a definite enhancement. Wonderful composition.
@Kerry_Gordon agreed the colour takes it to the next level. The geese and swans landed all around me for an evening feed as I took this photo. It was a wonderful moment. Thanks for the comment.
This is quite stunning, Charles. The lighting is exquisite as are the pink pastels, but what really grabs my attention are those amazing formations of ice hanging from the tree roots. the only thing that bothers me a little is the one limb on the top edge being so close to the border. I would be inclined to add a little canvas along the top or crop it down just a little. Just my thoughts. Beautifully done!
This is wonderful!! I would go with the composition of the B/W to get away from the tangent that @Ed_Lowe mentioned. Then clone out the two bits against the top, as you had tried.
Cloning against a gradient is very difficult, but the Spot Healing Brush, Healing Brush or Patch Tool in PS are magic for matching a gradient. To really visualize the results of cloning or healing check out my tutorial on cloning in light and dark areas, which actually applies to areas of any tonality:
