We recently spend a few days on the east side of the Sierra, and did a short trip to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. There was a bit of snow left on the trails, but not much for this time of year at 10,000+ feet, unfortunately. On the shady side of a hillside, I looked down and saw this little scene.
Specific Feedback Requested
The snow was sort of dirty, especially in the shadows. I cloned out the larger dark bits and reduced the clarity in the snow shadow areas, to lessen the dark spots. Does that work here? Any suggestions about dealing (or not) with dirty snow are welcome. Any other suggestions are welcome, as always.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
a7r3, 53mm, f/8, 1/80s, ISO 400.
I love this picture. It’s so simple and artful. In my opinion a white frame would take this to another level. I call these type of compositions - Ying/Yang comps. Where each half intrudes into the other half which gives it that balance. The texture of the wood is of course marvelous but it’s those complementary graceful arcs that excites me the most. And the deep blacks give a pronounced boundary. Really nice work.
@Ronald_Murphy and @Igor_Doncov, thanks for your comments. Ronald, I did raise the saturation and contrast (by dodging/burning) of the wood. It might do with a bit more saturation, though. Igor, yes, it was the graceful arcs of snow and wood that caught my eye. Here’s a version with a white frame.
This is wonderful, Bonnie. I like the fact that the snow shares equal billing with the tree as those graceful curves takes the viewer around the frame. The repost looks even better with the frame as per @Igor_Doncov 's suggestion. Glad you were able to spot this intimate landscape and share it with the rest of us.
What a different spin on the bristlecone pines, kudos to you for for seeing this. I love how you used the shadows here, it makes the textures and colors of the trunk really stand out. At first I wondered about the dark wedge in the ULC, and whether it was a distraction. But I did a rework removing it and didn’t like it as much as having it. I also think adding the white frame makes having that dark wedge work even better.
@Igor_Doncov, I like your name for this composition, the intrusion and intertwining of shapes is very powerful visually.
Thanks, @Ed_Lowe and @Ed_McGuirk, for your appreciation. Ed M., I’m glad you decided you didn’t mind that ULC wedge of dark; I went through the same thought process.
This is exceptional, Bonnie. So graceful and black/white contrast is perfect. Your saturation increase looks nice, but I wouldn’t increase any further. Great capture!
Late for the party on this one, Bonnie, but I just had to chime in - great stuff. Wonderful use of contrast, texture and line and isn’t that what photography is all about? The repost just ups it a notch.
