Ashdown Forest - C&C Welcome!

[theambitiousstranger]

Went to ashdown forest recently and these were the 2 I felt were good enough to display. The second shot is HDR and the other has just been converted to B&W in Lightroom. Kinda wish the person wasn't slightly out of focus, but no amount of pp could fix it. Anyway, not my best shots but C&C welcome as always. Thanks in advance!

 

[Julie079]

Great shots! The tree in the second reminds me of a skeleton!

 

[theambitiousstranger]

Great shots! The tree in the second reminds me of a skeleton!

Thanks, quite a spooky tree I agree!

 

[AlanE]

I really like 1, I would not like it near as much "in focus". It has the feeling of a memory which I think the fuzziness enhances. I would list it as a favorite from your recent posts....

 

[JLNM.PHOTO]

HDR?

 

[theambitiousstranger]

HDR?

The second one yeah, not the first, what do you think?

 

[KenC]

The first is too dark and too low in contrast. There are really no highlights at all. Sometimes a low-key image is created for a reason, but I don't see what it does here.

The second has a weird sort of halo around the tree which is a little disturbing. Aside from that, it's a nice tree, but needs better separation from the background, either with less depth of field or possibly by enhancing the natural lightness of the trunk.

 

[Troutwind]

To me the first is very spectral as if a ghost is walking through a dream. The second I like much better. The tree looks almost as if it is embossed against the sky but I agree that the trunk is lost against the background vegetation.