Or… an exercise in composition… Really this is just a nature story about determination, resilience, persevearance, etc. etc… of a little sapling growing out of sheer granite. I’m not really sure this is all that compelling though and so it’s also just an exercise about composition.
As always, all feedback, comments and suggestions are welcome. I’m mostly curious about whether or not the little tree stands out enough. While I think the greens separate just enough with the blue-gray granite, I’m just not convinced it’s compelling enough.
The diagonal lines and lead-in line are the compositional elements in the first two. The 3rd image closely follows the “rule of thirds” and an example of a near/far composition. This one at least has some context to the title, “When I grow up.”
Technical Details
Nikon D800E, 28-300mm @ oops, No! these were from the Tamron 17-35mm! at 23mm and 21mm respectively. All are 2-image focus stacks and the square is just crop from the 2nd image.
Also, the first two there was some CA-fill in the ULC. Not the entire darker granite, but about 25% of that darker triangle in the corner. I needed the space above the tree for the composition and the granite ended and revealed an unattractive corner, so I filled it in. Guess I could have avoided in the field if I had a 3ft step stool… lol.
All shots are fun, but I prefer the square crop, Lon. It has a strong composition and the almost monochromatic rock work helps to highlight the little bit of green. I think the lines leading up from the bottom also point to the little tree. Nicely seen and a fun image to play with.
I have recently been experimenting on compositions where the point is that the subject does not separate from the background. So, I think that can be the very point of an image. Here, however, the tree does not melt into the background but rather the crack dominates the tree. For that reason this isn’t working for me and the third images comes closest to being the best. I wonder, if you raised the luminosity of the greens and greatly warmed them, would that achieve your goal of generating greater attention. You probably already tried that, however.
Hi Lon. I really like the leading lines of the rock. I do think the tree gets lost a little as it’s color blends with the rock. I think it stands out best in the third shot.
The leading lines are interesting Lon, but I don’t think the sapling stands out enough to really hold interest. Further, I keep wishing the sapling was further to the left, or even to have the leading lines rotated CCW a bit so the the leading lines lead more into the darker ULC.
But I do have a question. Why is a focus stack necessary? Does stopping the lens aperture down not produce an in crease in DOF with digital sensors?
As I kinda suspected, the little tree just isn’t compelling enough - either from lack of color/luminosity separation, size, etc. etc.
Yeah Igor, I tried a number of methods to help that little tree stand out. Trouble I had was that tree in RAW has green, yellow, cyan all mixed together and I just don’t have the skills to pull any more out of it than I did.
What would have really worked is a last ray of light streaking across the scene… alas…
I’ll answer that with another question. Why don’t we just leave the film and lens plane in a large format film camera parallel? And simply stop down to f/64 - f/64 and be there? I think you should know the answer to that. Sorry if I’m being testy…
Hi Lon. This looks like a great location to experiment with different compositions. I like your title and #3 works for me.
I would crop off some of the bottom to bring the main characters in this scene closer to each other and bring more attention to them.
There is a subtle path in the middle joining the two parts. I would darken the sides of the ground to bring more emphasis on the path. The blue and green colours work well here but I would try to get more separation between them. Right now the rocks have a slightly green cast to them. I would push them more towards blue and then push the greens of the plants more towards yellow to create more separation. I went overboard with my rough edit but I think the image is still worth some more TLC. Well spotted and nice story telling.
I’m sorry I missed this one Lon so I’m a little bit late to the party here. I’ll go in order of presentation starting with the square crop. I think this is a really good take on composition with three major leading lines and a couple of minor lines all pointing directly at the little pine tree. What pulls my eye is the dark ULC in this shot. That ladder may have come in handy here but like you I suspect, walking around with my ladder in the field is just not right. However, had that ULC not been so dark and pulling my eye, I think I would find that the little tree would have stood out and this would have been a terrific composition and scene. Maybe a title of “Alone with my struggles” or something like “I can do anything” or Sheer Determination."
In the portrait version, those leading lines are even more defined and obvious and the dark ULC is less noticeable although it still grabs my eye. Again, this is terrifically composed were it not for that dark blotch in the ULC and the minimalism works well for me. I like the fact that the tree is not super vibrant and that it shows a struggle for survival in damn tough conditions and a super vibrant subject would not depict that.
The third image is also a terrific composition but with a story that gives meaning to your title. I do like this third image but in a way that is completely different than the prior two. This one shows that there are actually lots of trees that can grow in granite and that maybe it’s not all that much a feat to accomplish while the first two are composed so well, and tell a story of struggle, survival, and maybe accomplishment were it not for that ULC but, I still think I prefer number 1 overall. It’s more intimate than number 2 and I want to get a little bit personal with this little tree.
This looks like a terrific location for some great images Lon!
Andre, THANK YOU! You can call it a “rough edit”, but what you did I think really made this the best the image could be! Thank you so much! I’ve reposted above in original - pretty much attempting to replicate what you did. Honestly, I didn’t notice the natural path in my image, but it’s clearly there in all the RAW images. I think exploiting that along with your other alterations really make this work for me. Awesome - Thank you!
@David_Haynes thank you for chiming in as well. I agree with you on that darker ULC and thank you for mentioning. I think it was one of those things where I was just happy the CA-clone was so clean… I lost sight of the bigger picture.
Thanks again to all for your comments. Much appreciated.
Lon, the placement of the tree in the square version is convincing for me. I just think of brightening this main area of interest a bit and maybe addig there some clarity. You might in addition try to darken the bottom in order to match the tonality with the top of the image.
The image is a real story teller for me. The stunning details in the rocks keep me exploring the whole frame.
I think you should know the answer to that. Sorry if I’m being testy…