Original:
Repost with burning of tree and island removed:
Final version somewhere in between:
After spending a week at peak color in Maine, I went to Vermont the following weekend. The color was still pretty good, and I was lucky to catch a beautiful misty sunrise.
5D2, 100-400 @ 400
f/8, 0.3s, ISO100
TK curves adjustments, dodging & burning
I hardly ever comment on landscape images even though I was once a landscape photographer. This one really struck me. Beautiful simplicity and wonderful composition. There’s just something about mist and fog! Well done.
This is gorgeous Craig. The misty softness the fog provides has such an elegant feel. Also like how you’ve allowed just a hint of the trees in the background to show through, but not overwhelming the lone tree in the foreground. Looks like your trip to Vermont really paid off. Very nicely seen and executed.
Craig, this is an outstanding image. The fog, the simple composition, the interplay of the autumn colors of the main subject and the background, and the black tree trunk/branches softly repeated by the trees in the background.
Beautifully ethereal image Craig. I love its simplicity and atmosphere.
Thanks @David_Schoen, @linda_mellor, @Ola_Jovall and @Eva_McDermott!
David, glad I was able to inspire you to comment on a landscape image!
Tremendous image - agree with the others regarding the appeal to the simplicity of the scene.
My only observation is a subtle one, but the limbs of the tree, and to a lesser extent, the trunk, appear slightly dark given the relatively low contrast of the scene. This may be how it was presented to you, or of course this also may be your artistic intent. Just struck me as a viewer. regardless, a tremendous image you are lucky to have captured/experienced!
Oh, pink fog - beautiful! This is very calming and uplifting because of the warm tint. I’m with Jim M. on the darkness of the tree, especially the upper branches. That area feels darker.
Great mood here Craig, I like the contrast of the tree, yes its dark but it works for me as the tree’s form is striking and contrasts with the background.
Craig,
I have to say that this is one of my favorite images of yours! There is no doubt what the subject is and the atmospherics with the fog are stunning. The leafless tree on the island stands in stark contrast to those in the BG; still adorned with some colorful autumn foliage; which the fog gives us a fleeting glimpse of. If this was the only image I came away with I would consider my trip a success.
Thanks @Jim_McGovern, @Bonnie_Lampley, @Nathan_Klein and @Ed_Lowe!
Jim, I did burn the tree and island pretty heavily to emphasize it. I’ve posted another image up top with that burn layer turned off. I’m interested to hear if that’s better or if it should be somewhere in between.
Craig,
As much as I enjoyed the first post I have to say that I like the repost with the burn layer turned off even better. This was a great find!
Craig, this is simply marvelous, the atmosphere in this image is off the charts. I love the ghostly hints of the background trees, they are haunting echos of the main tree. I thought your long exposure clouds over Katahdin would be tough to top, but this is by far my favorite of your autumn 2020 images. I love images that make strong use of simplicity to tell a story, and this image does a great job of that.
In terms of my preference between the two versions, I’m going to complicate matters. I like the lower contrast look of the main tree in the rework, but for the foliage on the island, I’d like to see something that has contrast halfway in between the two, perhaps by masking and playing with opacity on your contrast adjustment layer. I do think you original higher contrast post works, and could see having two versions of this image, each has it’s merits.
Love the un-burned version. I’m with Ed. M. on the yellow island foliage - maybe bring that out just a touch.
I prefer the original image with no changes. Wonderful.
Love the repost.
…as I’ve spent more time with subtle imagery, I’ve found that usually only 1 of the 3 major variables of image contrast are necessary to capture ones attention. So, in this case, both “Luminance contrast” and “Texture contrast” were initially present and I feel the image is stronger and more natural with the “Texture contrast” alone.
2)Texture contrast: In this image, I believe the textural contrast alone is strong enough to set it apart - the high-frequency details of the tree limbs contrast nicely with the soft puffy fog in the background
Extremely strong image you have here Craig…this is a big winner.
Thanks @Ed_Lowe, @Ed_McGuirk, @Bonnie_Lampley, @Jim_Gavin and @Jim_McGovern!
In getting all of these responses, I will revisit the processing and see what I come up with. I know that I like the burned-in tree and island over the re-post I made, but I see that I might have overdone it a bit in the original.
Glad I posted this…Great feedback here!
Yeah, somewhere in-between may be the sweet spot.
I prefer the second, softer image without the burning. It’s more natural looking and blends best into this wonderful foggy, soft environment.
I agree that something between the two would be optimal. In the first image you burnt the branches and the space between them, giving a dark halo to the entire subject. I would fix that. The plants below the tree in the image are a bit too strong. I would make them just a bit less prominent, but nowhere near as faded as the rework.
The two images are interesting in that each says something different but both are good. The original was more artistic in my opinion. It’s more of a personal statement. It’s also less clicheish.
