I was looking at trying to find an image that fits this weeks challenge - busy - and thought about this image. But I decided that this really wasn’t busy at all so I’m posting it here. I added a touch of vignette to darken some of the margins of the image because they really did add some level of busyness. I posted this several years ago on the old NPN but unlike many old ones that have gone out of favor I still like this one. What do you think?
3 Likes
I really like what I am looking at here, Igor. The big trunk in the BF anchors the image and provides a juxtaposition with the trees. I do wish a sliver more room at the bottom though, just to give the trees some room for their “roots”. B&W works really well in this image.
2 Likes
I love the silvery tones you captured here Igor. All the elements are well placed in your composition giving more of a sense of order and not chaos.
1 Like
Hi @Igor_Doncov, i like the image, the composition is busy but works in my opinion. You made a good choice to process in B/W. I would add more breathing room in bottom left but it’s only a personal consideration. Thanks for sharing.
I quite like this, Igor. I am not finding it busy. Real nice tones and interesting subject and detail. I would agree with Massimo about space at the bottom but not a biggie to me. This has a real nice John Sexton look to it, reminding me of his work.
Hi Igor,
I like this one a lot. The tones are great, there’s just enough detail in the dark areas . The only nit is the bright spot at the bottom of the tree trunk.
You’re absolutely right. Good catch. And it’s not a tree trunk but the side of a cliff.
There’s a lot to see, but it’s not busy in a bad way. Very pleasing to look at! I love the contrasts, especially those bright branches passing before the darker background just to the left of the middle. Just a touch more room at the bottom could be nice as mentioned before, but maybe it was rocky and messy there. I’m sure you thought about it 
Nicely composed and processed. Yeah, a wee bit more room on the bottom would be better but not an image killer.
I agree with you Igor, this image is not too busy, there is actually a lot of order here. Some of that order comes from the composition (the prominent arrangement of the two trees and the cliff), and some of it comes from your B&W processing, ie the dark tones behind the trees, and the strong vignetting overall along the edges. Your range of tones is very well done, and creates a crisp looking image.
I agree with @SunnySra about the bright spot at the bottom of the cliff, and I would go even another step further. I would burn down the very bright “stripes” in the center of the cliff. This would make the right tree stand out more. But I am okay with the bright area at the top of the cliff, it’s far enough away from the trees that it’s not a problem to me.
And I really like the use of the white frame here, it seems especially effective with B&W images. I also noticed the same thing in your recent rework of Harleys B&W dune shot.
A bit late, but I couldn’t go any longer without commenting. Love this image. Excellent choice going b&w here too; the leafless and delicate branches stand out so much better with this processing. And I know how the color scene is as I’m fairly certain of this location. So even more impressive your result here Igor.
If I had one nit, suggestion would be to deal with the brighter rock face in the LR quadrant. Perhaps painting a darker tone in there, burning, whatever works. It’s not so much a distraction, rather it seems out of place relative to the other elements of rock and tree. Not an image killer by any stretch either - just an observation.
Lon
I figured that you, if anyone, would know this spot. It’s just an ordinary looking pullout in the highway. Nothing to compare with what’s up ahead in the Valley.
1 Like
The tones and textures in this image are beautiful Igor. I love “busy” when it’s well organized as this is. My kind of image.
Aside from what others have mentioned I thought the right side was a bit tonally dull in comparison to the rest of the image which is so lively. Using the brush tool in LR, I raised both the shadows and highlights to give this section of the image more life. See what you think.
Wonderful processing, John. I will add it to the original post to show the changes even better. I do like the processing on the right but is it diverting attention away from the skeleton trees? I like the individual processing of that area but am wondering if it works for the image as a whole.
Hmmm. Looks like I can’t edit my original post. @David_Kingham, is there a time limit during which you can edit your post? This one was posted quite a while ago.
Indeed, it was set to 60 days. I’ve removed the limit so you should be able to edit it now.
I think you’re right Igor. The skeleton trees want to be the stars of the show and rightly so. I tried a number of things to integrate the right side of the image in order to support the trees but wasn’t successful. I think you took the better approach.