A sapling and its shadow

[limr]

Because it's been getting a lot of attention (well, relatively speaking, of course) on Flickr, I thought I'd post it here and ask: if you like it, can you tell me why?


rShadow by limrodrigues, on Flickr

(For those interested, Praktica FX2, CZ Jena 50mm f2.8, HP5+ in Caffenol H (RS))

 

[Designer]

I see a fairly interesting composition of line and texture with a good range of tone, although I'm not convinced that the heavy dark line is a shadow. Still; you get points for making people think about it by your clever title.

 

[tirediron]

It's an interesting image. It's got a somewhat dark, yet ethereal quality. I do like it, but I think I'd like it even more if you did a little dodging/shadow-lifting in the upper left-hand area. There's a bit more dark than seems ideal.

 

[jcdeboever]

Because it's been getting a lot of attention (well, relatively speaking, of course) on Flickr, I thought I'd post it here and ask: if you like it, can you tell me why?


rShadow by limrodrigues, on Flickr

(For those interested, Praktica FX2, CZ Jena 50mm f2.8, HP5+ in Caffenol H (RS))

Great composition using line. Wonderful texture. Nice blend of blacks, grays, and whites. The whites add serious interest in that it appears as a mountain waterfall.The one dark branch shadow is interesting in that it is not coming from the two branches so it makes one wonder if it is graffiti, mold spot, or from another tree in the foreground not seen. The other interesting thing is you can not decipher if it's a crack in the wall or a branch. What brings it home for me is the crack or branch in the upper 1/8 of the wall in that it runs all the way across that keeps (along with the all the V's) the viewer looking inside the frame. Wonderful capture, superior looking skills. Gives me a sense that I am at a decision health wise that needs closure. Well done. IF I had another vote left, I would nominate it for FEB POTM.

 

[KenC]

I like the idea a lot, but the large very light area on the right kind of draws me away from the tree. I'm also not crazy about the branch leading exactly into the upper right corner. You might try cropping about 15-20% on the right and then darkening just a bit on the left and right sides. (or not - this seems like an image everyone may see differently)

 

[Tim Tucker]

To be honest I think it appeals because it has a simplicity and contrast 'punch' that gives an instant understanding and recognition amongst an audience that flicks through images. The flickr crowd do seem to react more to the 'instant grab' style. Not detracting from your image in any way.

 

[robbins.photo]

I like it. Mostly because I know you'll hurt me if I say I don't like it.. so.. ya, love it.

Lol...

Ok, seriously, I do like this shot. The sapling is almost reminiscent of veins running through the cold stone behind.

 

[Derrel]

The mountain watefall aspect of this resonates with me. I think it might be possible to selectively dodge those whites to create more of the waterfall vibe.

Having seen the image after reading a title, and then opening a web page, at first my mind was, "Huh...that's one hell of a big shadow for such a skinny tree!" and the of course, I saw the real shadow. This picture is a sort of visual perception trick, a visual amusement and delight for our sense of perception. It has a fun sort of , "Look, a pretend shadow! Wheee!" sort of levity. Oddly, my eye barely goes to that tree leading to the upper right corner...I've looked at the photo multiple times now, and despite a comment about it above, to me the upper right corner utterly disappears: I focus in on the left side third, over and over and over, and then go right over to the far right side, to that amazing waterfall.

This is the kind of photo that would be great to look at in a moderately large print. some images are great as screen images, some are not. This one's pretty interesting even at this small size on-screen on an iMac, but larger, I think the grain would come more to the forefront, and that would bring the sort of elevated authenticity of film up and into the enjoyment of the picture.

I like it. Why? This is a shadowplay picture, which is its very own "thing" in photography, and has been for a long time. It's about the way shadows cast themselves onto the world. The light itself is interesting, sort of dappled into large-ish areas, each about 25% of the frame area, where the light itself has been modulated. The large, central line looks like a shadow from a tall coniferous tree nearby--but we can wonder, is it really?

 

[limr]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone!

It's an interesting image. It's got a somewhat dark, yet ethereal quality. I do like it, but I think I'd like it even more if you did a little dodging/shadow-lifting in the upper left-hand area. There's a bit more dark than seems ideal.

I like the idea a lot, but the large very light area on the right kind of draws me away from the tree. I'm also not crazy about the branch leading exactly into the upper right corner. You might try cropping about 15-20% on the right and then darkening just a bit on the left and right sides. (or not - this seems like an image everyone may see differently)

It's very interesting how different people see this To be honest, I rarely think about dodging or burning. I'm not saying I shouldn't think about it, just that I don't. Part of it is probably because my skills aren't so great with those tools, but that's sort of a chicken-and-the-egg problem: I forget to use the tools because my skills aren't good, and they aren't good because I forget to use the tools...and so on...

But it's also true that I hesitate to use those tools in shadow-play shots like this because I tend to think that what nature provides me is usually better than what I can do

As for the crop, it's interesting. This was already cropped down a bit. When I get home later, I might post the original frame and let you all have at it!

To be honest I think it appeals because it has a simplicity and contrast 'punch' that gives an instant understanding and recognition amongst an audience that flicks through images. The flickr crowd do seem to react more to the 'instant grab' style. Not detracting from your image in any way.

Good point. Most of my followers on Flickr are from here or Filmwasters, so when I do get attention, it's almost always from fellow photographers, but this one did get some attention from people I've never gotten "likes" from before.

I like it. Mostly because I know you'll hurt me if I say I don't like it.. so.. ya, love it.

Lol...

Ok, seriously, I do like this shot. The sapling is almost reminiscent of veins running through the cold stone behind.

Thank you, that was the correct answer

 

[limr]

Great composition using line. Wonderful texture. Nice blend of blacks, grays, and whites. The whites add serious interest in that it appears as a mountain waterfall.The one dark branch shadow is interesting in that it is not coming from the two branches so it makes one wonder if it is graffiti, mold spot, or from another tree in the foreground not seen. The other interesting thing is you can not decipher if it's a crack in the wall or a branch. What brings it home for me is the crack or branch in the upper 1/8 of the wall in that it runs all the way across that keeps (along with the all the V's) the viewer looking inside the frame. Wonderful capture, superior looking skills. Gives me a sense that I am at a decision health wise that needs closure. Well done. IF I had another vote left, I would nominate it for FEB POTM.

First of all, thanks for the thoughtful comment and for the would-be nomination!

The mountain watefall aspect of this resonates with me. I think it might be possible to selectively dodge those whites to create more of the waterfall vibe.

It's interesting that you both mentioned the waterfall, as I didn't see that at all until you two mentioned it!

Having seen the image after reading a title, and then opening a web page, at first my mind was, "Huh...that's one hell of a big shadow for such a skinny tree!" and the of course, I saw the real shadow. This picture is a sort of visual perception trick, a visual amusement and delight for our sense of perception. It has a fun sort of , "Look, a pretend shadow! Wheee!" sort of levity. Oddly, my eye barely goes to that tree leading to the upper right corner...I've looked at the photo multiple times now, and despite a comment about it above, to me the upper right corner utterly disappears: I focus in on the left side third, over and over and over, and then go right over to the far right side, to that amazing waterfall.

This is the kind of photo that would be great to look at in a moderately large print. some images are great as screen images, some are not. This one's pretty interesting even at this small size on-screen on an iMac, but larger, I think the grain would come more to the forefront, and that would bring the sort of elevated authenticity of film up and into the enjoyment of the picture.

I like it. Why? This is a shadowplay picture, which is its very own "thing" in photography, and has been for a long time. It's about the way shadows cast themselves onto the world. The light itself is interesting, sort of dappled into large-ish areas, each about 25% of the frame area, where the light itself has been modulated. The large, central line looks like a shadow from a tall coniferous tree nearby--but we can wonder, is it really?

I was hoping you'd comment! You always give such a great, thorough analysis

As I said above, I never even noticed the 'waterfall' or thought about burning to bring that out, though now I might try that. I agree that this photo looks better large and I would really like to print it in a few different papers to see how it looks. Whenever I eventually start wet printing, I think this will be a good one to practice "real" dodging and burning.

 

[Derrel]

I was thinking about how I would make a darkroom print from this negative...and I thought I would bleach the waterfall areas using Farmer's Reducer, to be able to precisely manipulate the lightening-up of the waterfall segments. I live in an area where there are many waterfalls of this cascading type. I think at times waterfalls appear because, sometimes, rocks were actually shaped or stained by mineral-rick water that has actually run down rock faces. I bet this would look nice on a neutral-toned, glossy finished fiber based paper. But it might also look pretty good on a warmer-toned, more trending toward sepia paper.

 

[limr]

I was thinking about how I would make a darkroom print from this negative...and I thought I would bleach the waterfall areas using Farmer's Reducer, to be able to precisely manipulate the lightening-up of the waterfall segments. I live in an area where there are many waterfalls of this cascading type. I think at times waterfalls appear because, sometimes, rocks were actually shaped or stained by mineral-rick water that has actually run down rock faces. I bet this would look nice on a neutral-toned, glossy finished fiber based paper. But it might also look pretty good on a warmer-toned, more trending toward sepia paper.

Funny you say that. I printed this out on my dinky little inkjet that does a passable job on photo printing for, say, color proofing or small prints just for a quick postcard or something. I did print this one out as a 5x7 and it came out much warmer-toned - not quite sepia but getting there. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would and I did then think of playing with the toning of the digital image.