Woods have a special place in my life and always have. Since I was a kid exploring and climbing trees. Moving to northern Wisconsin was the right thing to do as I can just basically walk out the front door and be in a forested landscape. Large and small, something is always happening. There is peace, but never silence. Movement and stillness. Heights and hidden spaces close to the earth. Always something new to see and learn and that’s why I keep going back.
Taken in April a few years ago, this is a bit of land across the street from my house. Being that it’s just a few hundred yards from the Wisconsin river, the runoff from snow/ice melt is intense and pretty much constant at this time of year. When we get fresh snow, which we do every April, it’s just gorgeous.
Specific Feedback Requested
Open to ideas and impressions.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Probably handheld although I did sometimes use a tripod when I wandered over there.
Lr for processing - a bit of an exposure boost and blacks reduction. Boosted whites. Some transform work to straighten trees. Texture and clarity. Sharpening. A little crop where the sky crept into the top.
Trees have been my best friends during Covid and I’m enjoying the scene you’ve captured here Kris, especially the little brook which provides a nice leading line into the background. I always wonder if I would enjoy a Winter scene more in B&W, so took the liberty of “testing” yours. Although attractive in B&W, I do like the soft brown tones of the trees and fallen leaves in the original- almost a sepia effect.
Hope you had fun with it anyway, Jim. Thanks for giving it a go.
Thanks @David_Bostock - it was a great little bit of woods. Neighbors built their house just about on top of this scene. Like them, but wish I still had the woods.
I really like the distribution of trees in this image. Along with the leading line of the Creek, it feels very peaceful and relaxing. The sepia tonal values of the Creek fit in very well with the snow in the darker trees. As a child, in the late 50s and early 60s, I had wooded areas with creeks near my home outside of Washington DC. As I grew older, the woods disappeared and made way for apartment complexes and expensive homes. But fortunately the creek is still there.
