The texture in the bark and spots of color in the foliage drew me to this image.
Did increase the saturation and sharpen… is it too much?
Is this a composite: No
Taken with Canon 7D, 100-400 lens, F8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400, -1
Patricia this is really great. Cypress trees make for such compelling images. To your point - I think you could safely back off the black point a little bit. Especially around the base of the knees. The background being so dark helps with the mystery of it all so I’d leave that there. Sharpening does look a bit too far…a little crunchy. The bones of the image are solid though. Well seen. I guess you traveled for this since I don’t remember these in New England. LOL.
Wow – this is lovely – I think Cypress in swamps is such a wonderful subject. Hard for me to judge sharpening at this size, but my first impression is that it’s not overdone. But then I’m inherently greedy…
I love the detail in the Spanish Moss and the bits of color sprinkled around. I wonder about pulling down the highlights a bit on the trunk. I find the water pulls my eye too much and wonder about quite a bit of softening there, both in color, detail and tones.
Great look at this cypress. I would consider doing some desaturation of the greens along the top and the bright leaves on the left edge. Otherwise, the processing looks good to my eye.
This is beautiful, Patricia. I love the way the Spanish Moss is obviously blowing in the breeze. As for the saturation and sharpening, on my monitor it does appear overly saturated and pretty crunchy. I played with it and selectively reduced saturation, especially for the greens in the moss and the reds. I also cropped a bit off the bottom and top. To me, the little specks of greens sticking out of the top of the frame were eye magnets, and the open water at the bottom was the same. I may have gone too far in reducing the saturation for you (and others).
I really like this composition @Patricia_Brundage. I love the way the branches and trunk oppose each other, coming from the top and bottom of the frame towards the center.
You generated a lot of interest and thoughtful comments. I really enjoyed the effect of the saturation on the trunk and foliage. I especially enjoy the mysterious level of light as I peer back into the swamp.
The strong yellow in the water is a new color to the scene, and because yellow is a color that demands attention, I used Hue/Saturation to shift the yellow in the water toward orange which is more harmonious with the other colors in the image. Also desaturated the orange on the water a bit. See what you think.
I like the green poking from the top, but I like the effect of desaturating it a bit. Also cloned out the bright spot on the center left edge.
For me the sharpening is excessive on the trunk and knees.
Patricia, you know you have the makings a good image when a lot of folks take a stab at re-working it. It’s a sign that the image is strong enough that its worth investing some tweaking time. You have nice light here, and I love the moss.
My suggestions would be :
Here is a rework reflecting my comments.
What a magnificent cypress Patricia! I like your composition and the diagonals created by the trunk and blow moss. I do agree with the others on it appearing over sharpened and also desaturating the greens / yellows.
