While my husband took a certification class, I tooled around on the edges of the Driftless in southern Wisconsin. It’s hillier down this way than almost anywhere else in the state. Naturally trees on hills are a draw for any photographer and I had a hell of a time getting this shot in almost every way you can imagine. Stuff in the way. No where to park. Fenced field. Steep incline from road ditch. But I gave it a go. Trouble is, I don’t think it works. It was about 4:30 in the afternoon and I was on my way to get my husband because his class was done and I couldn’t wait for more dramatic light. But I keep returning to the image looking for ways to deal with it.
Specific Feedback Requested
Should I just let it go? I’ve processed this in B&W, too, but there aren’t enough blacks in it for it to work. Can anything be done? Crop more? Crop less? Use a crazy filter to up the interest? I hesitate to do that, but it could be fun to play. I can upload the B&W or the unprocessed image if you’d like.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Lumix G9
Lumix G Vario 35-100 f/2.8 @ 45mm (90mm equiv.)
f/10 | 1/1300 | ISO 250
Handheld while practically standing in the ditch
Lr processed for the usual stuff. Brought it into Ps for some reason…maybe to clone some things out. Local adjustment brush for clouds and the far horizon over the hill. Cropped LLC to eliminate a lot of fg and stuff on the left that doesn’t add to the image.
Hi Kristen,
I like the basic idea with the tree on the hill, but as you mentioned the light is not doing you any favors. If this is not to far away it would certainly be worth revisiting when the light was better. One thing that does throw me off is the tracks ? in the snow leading me away from the tree instead of towards it. I could also see this with more off a crop to place more emphasis on that wonderful tree. I think it would be worth playing around with it a bit more in B&W. FWIW I like playing with the B&W filters in Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.
Hi Kristen. It’s a nice image as is. But one thing you could maybe do is crop it vertically, removing the brighter part of the sky at the top left. Here’s what I mean:
I think I used an 8x10 ratio for this crop. But again, I think the original is a fine image too. Yes the light is harsh, but it’s an interesting composition.
I wish it was closer, but alas it’s not. Still, it’s ok. There will be more trees and more hills. I plan to spend some time down in the Driftless again, maybe this year, so who knows!?
A vertical crop works ok, @Mark_Ali - thanks for giving it a go.
And you, too, @Vanessa_Hill - trying to make that silk purse!
I hope you keep tinkering with this. If you want more blacks, then one method is … while working with the raw file in ACR or LR, move the blacks slider. I applied a LAB color technique called Man from Mars Method. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwi1kaujravvAhVVuZ4KHcwEDRAQFjAAegQIARAD&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ledet.com%2Fmargulis%2FMakeready%2FMA70-Man_from_Mars.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1UuMwfLs0_S2dYRTH6CT3n
The MMM also worked to bring our some color. I applied it differently to the sky and non-sky. Also dodged and burned to emphasize curves in the terrain. Cropped in to emphasize the tree a bit. Also flipped it, as that, to me, allowed energy to build up and to the right, which is how it typically works for people who read from left to right (other way around for Asian and Arabic readers). ( all this brought out some dust marks or brush errors in sky beside the tree.)
A lot of issues have already been noted with this image. The not so great light screams convert to B&W for me. I then asked myself whats more interesting here, the tree silhouette or the tracks in the snowfield. for me it’s the tree all the way. The tracks actually lead your eye away from the tree to the center of the image. For me less would be more…
Thanks, @Ed_McGuirk - that might be the best re-imagining yet. Unfortunately my Lr catalog has had a meltdown and I’ve done everything I can to fix it so now I have to wait until I can call Adobe on Monday.
Yeah the lens was pretty dirty - dehaze or similar processes bring out the crud. I took care of what was visible in my edits, but obviously missed one.
Thanks - just goes to show that not every shot works no matter how much we want it to.
Aggressively adding contrast will reveal dust spots that are hard to see otherwise. I have images that I have processed first in color, and then later in B&W. Because I usually push contrast harder in B&W, the spot will appear in the B&W version, but not the color.
