The Big Dipper will be hanging next to this tree in about a month, with some moonlight on the scene. I shot this in March 2019, as an experiment with light painting, and that’s when I saw the Dipper next to it. I returned the next 2 nights with a wider angle to include it.
Specific Feedback Requested
All comments welcome!
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Canon 1DX2, 24-70 f/2.8 II at 24, ISO 100, f/13, 10 sec. Lighted with a small LED panel swept around a bit during the exposure. Basic adjustments in LR and PS – nothing heroic. Very minor crop.
The processing here looks good, you did a great job with the light painting. You got detail without the light painting looking overdone, or too harsh. I also like how the spindly branches subtly stand out against the dark background.
My nitpicks relate to composition. I like the amount of blue sky you have around the tree, but I could see cropping a sliver away from the bottom, the amount of dark negative space feels slightly too much for my preferences. I also think the dramatic look of the light painted tree is slighted diminished by the merger with the tree on the right. I would prefer seeing this shot by moving more to the right and eliminating the merger. I like the concept of having a repetition of tree silhouette shape in the background, but think it would look better with some separation. I don’t know what that does to your Big Dipper placement though.
Thanks @Ed_McGuirk – I did crop from the bottom but agree that more would be good. I tried to minimize the close vegetation on the right but this is about all I could do. Moving much to the right puts me waist-deep in a wash full of poison oak, which is not to be messed with even before it leafs out. And worse, it would put the Dipper behind the tree. What I love about this tree is the mistletoe.
I’ll post one of the Dipper shots tomorrow.
I’ll go have another look at it in hopes the vegetation might have changed in the last 2 years, but it’s probably only bigger. I think I have explored other angles, but will check. I think the tree is worth light paining even without recognizable constellations. But I might be able to get Orion…
I like the light painting, Diane. I think it’s just the right balance for the rest of the scene. I too would recommend cropping a bit more from the bottom to give the tree more “grounding.”
I don’t actually mind the amount of foreground you have but I would ever so slightly dodge it for just a little bit more detail so it’s not just negative space. I also think that the light painting is well done except for the branch that’s hanging down collecting a lot of light. If you burn down that one section of the tree, it wouldn’t stand out quite so much. I think the bottom of the tree has the perfect amount of light painting and I don’t mind the tree off to the left but I think Ed has a good point, that if you had moved to the right you could have isolated the larger tree…unless there was something off to the left or behind the tree that got in the way. The blue sky looks real and is just right. Even the faint stars stand out and are tack sharp.
Thanks guys! @David_Haynes – the branch about halfway up near the right edge? I hadn’t noticed that but it does grab more than its share of attention. I think I might be able to dodge the upper half of the FG and leave the bottom half darker for grounding. I’ll play with it. Thanks!
I’m about to post the one a couple of nights later with the Big Dipper, although it could be improved.
