We toodled off to Trinity County again last weekend, looking for interesting trees and the last of the fall leaves hanging on. Driving down the old highway, we found this spot with the most incredible mossy, gnarled oaks on a really steep slope. I’m looking down on them from the top of the slope. It felt to me like the branches around this tree were reaching out to it, as if worshiping it.
Specific Feedback Requested
There’s a few technical issues with this. The ULC branches are OOF, as are the brown leaves in the LLC - do you think this is a deal killer? It’s also really busy. I brightened the midtones, which helped simplify it, but do you think it’s still too much?
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
a7r3, 54mm, f/8, 1/80s, ISO 800, hand held.
This looks really good. At web size, the OOF is not bothering me at all and the comp works well too. I am not finding it busy distracting at all. I might play with vignetting to emphasize the middle tree. Not sure if it would work, but it might be a fun exercise to try it?
Another fascinating image. This speaks on two levels: it’s a tree and it’s animated. As with some of your recent images the branches suggest movement and expression. You’re getting to be pretty good at this sort of thing.
Bonnie, this collection of mossy, twisty trunks mixed with snow and scattered leaves looks great as presented. Even in the large view, the subtle oof bits don’t grab any attention, since the overall view is moderately abstract. I like the emphasis on the middle tree and the way that the branched coming in near the top frame it. I might try dodging the darker bits of the trunks along the left side as a way to focus attention into the center or you might add some contrast to the trunks in the lower right corner for more balanced viewing across the lower half of the frame. This is a fine bit of “seeing”.
Bonnie, I am really enjoying your series of seasonal trees. The central tree has so much energy and movement. And the soft greens and oranges, along with the dusting of snow, help to emphasize that energy. As some of the others have suggested, perhaps some darkening around the edges would help in making the main tree pop even more. Very nicely seen and captured.
There’s actually no snow here - the fluffy light bits are lichen and the light background is mostly a product of bringing up the midtones. Perhaps a less misleading title would be good.
I did put a vignette around the main tree, but didn’t want to overdo it. Clearly, I didn’t, so I’ll add some more. I also did some of the other things suggested, but could go farther on those.
I’m glad you see movement and expression. Don’t know that I’m getting good at it, but I’ve been thinking about this kind of image for quite a while (we’re talking a couple of years at least!). The mix of mossy oaks with lichens have been catching my attention for a long time. I just hadn’t found a good patch until now. I’ll be going back to this spot for more study.
Similar scene as in the white oak - madrone - manzanita forests here in Jacksonville, OR. Challenging to make a good composition. This is an excellent rendering. No, I am not troubled by the OOF branches and leaves. I suppose an aperture of f/16 would have corrected this, but you could also apply a vignette of lower texture and sharpness and exposure in order to incorporate the OOF areas into the composition, bringing the eye more to the oak in the center.
