Dead but full of energy
Still gives food to many others now
To keep the forest alive
This is not an easy scene to work with but I think you have captured something quite interesting here, Ben. The “dead tree” is the anchor for me and I really like its shape in this frame. I played with this a little bit on PS and seems like reducing the contrast on a L2 luminosity selection in the BG separates the dead tree a little more from the trees in the BG. It’s worth trying and see if you like it.
I like how the dead branch splits the scene between the foreground ferns and background verticals of the trees!
As Adhika said, this isn’t an easy scene to capture. The dead branch does create a diagonal line through the middle of the frame but I find that the flow of light is so strong that it doesn’t feel as much like a barrier as it otherwise might have. Still, I can’t help but wonder what it would have been like to use the arching branch as more of a frame through which my eye would pass from the darker foreground out to the bright opening in the trees. Of course, it would have been a very different picture. That all being said, the textures and the colour palette are gorgeous, particularly the way those foreground ferns are lit. The hint of purple is quite delightful as well.
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I like the contrast between the diagonal arches and the straight lines in the back. I also like how the fern branches on the bottom repeat the branching arches above. A minor suggestion would be to clone out or darken the thin branch coming in from the left frame. It’s an interesting composition of looking from the forest outward.
This is a richly textured portrait of a young forest already mourning the passing of its elders. The old branches, vibrant ferns, and blue flowers in the foreground catch my attention.
For me, the brightness of the background forces my eyes away from the foreground. You may wish to burn much of it, and leave some brighter areas as pathways. Also, maybe dodge some of the middle ground and foreground to create a path and/or some dappled light.
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It’s quite a busy scene, but the downed limb really keeps the busy nature of the scene in check. I like @Dick_Knudson’s rework a lot and think it helps the image greatly. The ferns in the FG add a lot, and I think if you opened the shadows on the limb it would help bring more attention to the FG. Well done.
I really like what @Dick_Knudson has done with the rework, it brings the viewers attention back to the fallen tree. I also think @Kerry_Gordon has a very interesting idea about getting lower and closer to the fallen tree, and using it as an arch or window framing a view the forest beyond. Ben, if this is a location you can easily revisit, it might be worthwhile experimenting with Kerry’s idea.
@Adhika_Lie, @Ed_McGuirk, @Bill_Chambers, @Kerry_Gordon, @Igor_Doncov, @Dick_Knudson, @Ron_Jansen, All your suggestions gave me a lot to think about. I thought I was finished with this image. After seeing the rework of @Dick_Knudson , I realized there are many more possibilities and ways to interpret my image, So there is still much to do for me with this one. @Kerry_Gordon, I will go back to see if I can use the branches more as a frame. It will be difficult. Ed, @Ed_McGuirk I am curious.! You pointed out to me the haiku I made with a winter image.(I did myself not realize that I made one). By this image I made an other one and will try to do so by other images. I am very curious what you think of it and the idea to make haiku’s with other images?
I still am behind my own making of this image. I think the light background gives more depth in the image and makes the trunk staying free from the rest. Therefore the growth on the tree is much more visible and that is where the energy is giving life again.
Ben, to attempt an image with the tree as a “window frame” as suggested by Kerry Gordon, I would recommend using a wide angle lens, say at like 16mm to 20mm, and get down very low to the ground and close to the tree (like within a meter). At 16mm you will have a ton of depth of field, and it’s a matter of finding the angle of view that provides the best view into the forest.
I did notice the haiku with this post, and I think it is very fitting for the story that you are telling with this image. I would continue doing this, it’s sort of like getting “two for the price of one”, the haiku and the image. I assume that English is not your native language, so I am very impressed with your ability to write haikus in English, it’s hard enough to do well in your native language.
@Ed_McGuirk, Ed, thank you so much for your advice. I take it with me as I go there again probably next week. And thank’s for the encouragement to go on with the haiku’s. It is fun to make them.
My English I learned mostly by following videos and reading about photography in English. Also here on NPN.
There is so many good responses, I was drawn to the dead tree almost as if it was serving a new purpose as an entryway, a gateway - the arch to the woods where life is still happening, the life it had had been part of but now it has new purpose. Composition I agree with the crop Dick made on the right side. It’s inspiring. Thank you.