Elm, Spring 2020 + Rework

Leica M10Mono Leica Summicron 50mm f2.0 1/60s f13.0 ISO 250

All feedback is most welcome. JT

Very nice, John. Great processing and I like the diagonal lean of the composition a lot. My only nit would the bright spot at the lower vee in the tree. That’s a bit of an eye magnet but an easy fix. I’m really enjoying it!

Cool looking tree, with a good perspective and processing too. I would second Bill’s suggestion about the bright spot at the V. No other suggestions here.

@Harley_Goldman @Bill_Chambers Thanks Bill and Harley for the feedback. I darkened the bright spot you mentioned and a few others. I also dialed back the texture and clarity in LR. Let me know if this is an improvement. Thanks much! JT

I’ve been working on photographing trees and forest scenes and I know how difficult it can be to pull the subject forward so that it doesn’t get lost in the background foliage. I find it particularly difficult in monochrome. But in this image you clearly demonstrate why monochrome is so effective in accentuating the line and texture of trees in general and this beautiful tree in particular. I much prefer your second iteration, it makes more visual sense particularly removing those two black areas in the upper left branches. If you use luminosity masks, I might consider bringing up the mid tone brightness just in the bark to pull the tree forward just a bit more. But I really like what you’ve done with this monochrome conversion.

John, I love the texture of the bark, and the Y-shape of the tree. I’m glad you decided to dial back the texture / clarity level, the rework looks much better in that regard. If you want to pull the tree “forward” a bit more, I might consider adding a strong vignette along the frame edges.

Wonderful texture and composition John. Reminds me of a pencil etching.

Thanks a lot for the kind words Eva.

Thanks for your thoughts Kerry. I’m new to layer masks but I’ll give it a try. JT

Thanks Ed. I’ll try a vignette and also a layer mask as @Kerry_Gordon recommended.

I like this image. The trunk and branches are some interesting shapes that fill the frame nicely. The light, though, feels a bit too even creating almost a pen-an-ink look as opposed to a photograph. Maybe that’s what you were aiming for. The darker trunk maybe helps overcome this to some degree. Black and white was the right choice for this. I just wonder if the leaves should maybe be a little lighter to give more focus on the trunk/branches.

Thanks Tony. I do tend to lean toward the “pen and ink” look with this type of image. I suppose I should state that when I submit an image for a critique. JT