Mist and Rain # 2

I am a little conflicted with this one. On one hand I find the image inviting and airy with the atmospherics and the early spring color while on the other hand I find the tree in the middle of the image to be a little sinister or foreboding. Maybe its just me, but I am curious as to what others thoughts are. Again I kept the saturation down as I thought that fit the mood of a misty rainy day and the delicate spring colors.

What technical feedback would you like if any?

All C&C welcome

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

All C&C welcome

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
Nikon D800, Nikon 80-200 @ 200 mm, f 20 @ 1/20 sec, ISO 400, MLU, cable release & tripod

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Hi Ed,

Nice shot Ed. I don’t have praticular issue with the tree in the middle of the frame. I certainly saw it as part of the scene when I first looked at the image. The more you look at it, the more that tree seems a bit not right. I couldnt work out why then I started cropping the image.

If you focus on the tree on the left. It gives you soft, airy, springs, warm tones and inviting. If you them look at the middle tree on it’s own. It gives you autumn or even winter. Red leaves in the mist. The tree looks like it’s shed for winter.

Basically the image to me is giving confilciting seasons and in doing that is not delivering the arrival of spring message. If you had just focussed on the left tree for example you would have better achieved your massage.

Saying that, if you cropped the very dark tree on the right out you could tell a story of chnaging seasons. For what it’s worth I don’t think the dark tree adds to the shot. A bit distracting for me.

Hope my verbal diarrhaea helps here.

Eugene

Ed, absolutely no problems here with the composition as presented. The new growth provides nice framing for the bare tree and it all comes together well for me. No nits here.

Ed, this becomes a special serie in a style I like very much. To me it’s just different in a good way.

Ed, I don’t find the center tree to be foreboding, or out of character with either the rest of the scene, or your intent for the image. I do love the light, airy mood of this image, and to me the center tree does not detract from that mood. What does bother me a bit is the near tree on the right, with the dark brown trunk. What I don’t like is that all the other trees are lined up more or less in one plane in the background, while this tree on the right is in a closer plane all by itself. To me this seems a little bit in- congruent with the rest of the image. I might have tried moving to the left, and getting just the trees in that back plane, which I have simulated with a crop in this rework. I had to clone away a small bit of the right tree in this crop (done crudely here).

1 Like

No problem whatsoever, Ed, with the ` sinister ’ tree - it is what it is and I wouldn’t do anything about it. Good job with the desaturation and the misty feel - with the trunks and branches presenting a fascinating array of lines across the frame. Lovely image !

Thanks folks @Eugene_Theron, @Harley_Goldman, @Ben_van_der_Sande, @Ed_McGuirk and @Ian_Wolfenden for taking a moment to leave some C&C as it is always appreciated. I guess it was just me with the tree.

@Eugene_Theron: The array of colors is what caught my attention initially. Thanks for taking the time to isolate the two trees. I think I may have an image placing a bit more attention on the tree on the left. I agree; the darker tree should go.
@Ed_McGuirk: Thanks for taking the time to do a repost. I agree that darker tree looks out of place and needs to go. I will try to clone it out as I do like the tree toward the URC. Failing that I will crop and clone.

I like the sinister tree. There is something nearby that does bother my eye, and that’s the small tree directly on this side of the sinister tree. It starts out growing to the upper left, but then takes a near 90° turn to the upper right. If it had been two branches of the sinister tree, fine, or if it was behind the sinister tree, perhaps fine, but it is somehow out of sync with the other trees, so my eye is drawn to it. There is a bit of continuity with “disrupted” trees, starting with the near sapling that is bent over to the left at the top, then the one that bothers my eye that is bent to the right, and then the sinister one that is bent all over. It doesn’t quite pull together as a progression though, although maybe changing the title could soothe my eye. Or if you could slightly darken the lower part of that middle bent tree to bring it forward a touch, that might do it. This is all little nit-picky stuff, it’s a lovely image that gives strong feeling. Makes me think of the book by Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.