This was toward the end of a day spent in Mandan, North Dakota which is just outside Bismark. I’d never been to ND before and the bluebird skies I had for most of it seemed to disappear in an instant. Being a Northern Wisconsin resident, I’m used to trees hemming in every road, vista and landscape, so ND was a surprise. The land is so different and the weather so mutable that it left me in a state of uncertainty for most of the day. Where are the comforting presence of my trees? Where did the sun go? Why do the rolling hills seem to keep receding no matter how long I drive toward them?
Specific Feedback Requested
I didn’t reprocess for this session and I used a software I no longer use so I’m interested in how this shot strikes other people and how I might process it differently. There are a few other compositions in the catalog and looking at them reminded me there is another, much smaller tree to the right of this one. How would including that change the image for you?
Firstly Kristen, thank you for posting and giving me so much background. As always, I studied the image before I read your story, so my first impressions were based on my response to the image and not your words.
Trees are just so epic at expressing human values. The structure of bark and branches, the analogous quality of roots and being anchored. For landscape photographers they make excellent expressive subjects.
The first thing I admired in your image was the muted colours. It is easy these days to over-process, moving all sliders to the right to add impact and catch the viewers eye. BY keeping the colours muted and low key, you have managed to capture the mood extremely well.
The tree stands alone, it too seems lost, unsure of itself and is gazing to the far horizon saying to itself “where are my brothers and sisters?”
It does not require much of a stretch to see you as the tree, or more likely, the tree as you.
I think placing ourselves I the landscape and finding something that represents a state of mind, a feeling or an emotion is a hugely valuable tool to have in our creative toolbox.
I would not offer any alternatives, as I think what you have presented is complete as it is. Very evocative scene…
Thanks much @Alister_Benn - I hadn’t shared this one here before and so it’s nice to hear about someone else’s perspective. BTW, the colors are almost SOOC. Wisconsin is so green and North Dakota is so…not.
