Lone Tree on a Hill

This photo was taken on a snowy morning in Southeast Michigan. The snow was very wet and heavy so it made it very hard to work with because it immediately melted on all the gear. When I’m treated with conditions like these I immediately go into minimalist photo-taking mode, which is exactly what I was trying to achieve with this photo.

I took a few other photos on that morning I’m very pleased with, but this one I can’t quite decide on.

Specific Feedback Requested

Any and all feedback is welcome.

Technical Details

Is this a composite: No
Shot at 1/13 sec., F/7.1, 82 mm, ISO 100

To achieve the minimalist look I was after I intentionally overexposed the image in the field.

In post, I increased the whites, converted to black and white, added contrast to the tree, and clowned out a few tree branches in the left corner of the frame from a tree on the other side of the hill.

Re-work with color:

7 Likes

Welcome to NPN Vincent, this is an outstanding first post, thank you for sharing it with us !!!

This image is minimalism at its best, it has a very clean and simple composition. The tree of course has a lot of character. But there are also some subtle nuances to the image that add some very nice touches. I love the remnants of leaves on the tree, the gentle curve in the horizon, and the delicate look of the grasses.

I look forward to seeing more of your work, you are off to a great start with this image.

If this image is just a maybe, I can’t wait to see the other ones.

This is very beautiful.
nice and simple.

Welcome! Based on this image, I hope to see many more. This is a powerful image for me. You nailed the minimalism, and I think the composition is just perfect. To my taste you put that tree in the best place possible, and I think the empty upper left works superbly here.

Sweet! First off welcome to NPN Vincent. This image is minimalism at it’s best. The processing is superb as it kind off reminds me of a pencil drawing. The placement of the tree is perfect and I love the graceful curve of the sloping mound. I am looking forward to your commenting on other folks images as well as what you post next.

Lovely minimalist image, Vincent. Because of the simplicity of the photo, the organic lines of the horizon and the flow of the tree branches really standout. Very nicely seen and executed. And welcome to NPN and I too am looking forward to more of your photos.

Thank you for the kind welcome and the great feedback! I’m happy I finally made the decision to start posting, and I’m excited to start interacting with the community and posting more photos.

I suppose my feeling of the other photos I took that morning overshadow my thoughts on this particular shot. I can’t wait to share the other photos from the shoot!

Thank you for the feedback! Simple was exactly what I was after.

@John_Williams @Ed_Lowe @linda_mellor

Thank you all for the warm welcome and the kind feedback! I can’t wait to chat with the community and share more photos.

Ed, The photo also reminds me of a pencil drawing, it was my initial thought when I was first processing the images from this shoot!

Welcome @Vincent_Petro,

Just for this image I’m glad you decided to post on NPN, its a beautiful minimal image, almost painterly as was said before.
The B/W processing work perfectly but i wonder how this image would look like with some subtle colour.
If these conditions makes you go to images like this i hope you get a lot of conditions as this.
Thanks for sharing and I’m eager to see more images.

An excellent image! I love how the tree is gesturing toward the upward slope, which balances the image nicely. I also love the fine detail you captured in the branches. It is so much like a very carefully executed pencil drawing.

Welcome aboard and a very beautiful first post. No nits here, very much enjoying it. Looking forward to seeing more of your work (if this is a maybe I can’t wait) and reading your insights on the work of others.

Welcome to NPN Vincent. Wonderful first post which looks like a delicate pencil drawing.

Vincent, a really nice minimalist image. The position of the tree leaving a rather large negative space is well chosen. The texture of the partly snowcovered grass add a lot to the image, as also does the snow on the tree trunk and branches. Also the contour of the ground lead you towards the tree.

@João_Ferrão @Diane_Miller @Harley_Goldman @Eva_McDermott @Ola_Jovall

I appreciate all the awesome feedback and the warm welcomes!

I did a quick re-work of this image in color and added it to the top of the post. I like the color version but I feel it possesses a little less impact than the B/W version. Let me know your thoughts!

1 Like

Not taking anything away from the B&W version by any means, but I like the color version even better. Those golden grasses add some extra vitality to the color version. Just my $0.02.

I’m with Ed. The b/w version is a gorgeous image but for me the softness of those colour looks more appealing than the b/w impact. The high key and mood of the image is a bit cold on it self and those warmer tones make a beautiful contrast. The advantage is that you have two great images a b/w and a colour one :smile:

Boy, tough to decide between the two. Both are beautiful, but I am leaning a bit more toward the B&W. You cannot go wrong with either.

Both are wonderful but I have to vote for the B/W, for its purity. It was obviously intentional and thought-out. I do wonder about adding the most subtle gradient burn from the bottom, though.

@Ed_McGuirk @João_Ferrão @Harley_Goldman @Diane_Miller

I appreciate the continued feedback and comments!

Diane is correct here and I did see this photo in B/W when taking it in the field. But this was definitely a good reminder to give both color and B/W processing a shot and to not overlook either of them!