I Like This Picture

[LightSpeed]

The first one isn't showing up for me. It's a little box with an x, so my vote is on #2 lol. But seriously, I do like the b/w. I'm a fan of b/w anyway. I agree with blackrose. I see life in it. I don't think this photo would have quite the effect if it wasn't centered. Definately works here. The tree behind it is kind of distracting. Just scoot over a bit until the back tree is hidden by the front tree.

Yeah, change the angle, so the image doesn't work as well. Instead of the nicely rounded and even background, we get an oblong monstrosity that can't even be straightened without making the main subject " cock-eyed".
I like it in B&W. I didn't see the color version.

I'm surprised some of you didn't suggest a chainsaw and a stump grinder.
And a bulldozer to remove the things that distract you. Stick a woman in a bikini and heels in front of the tree, everybody gets distracted, nobody complains.

 

[TMBPhotography]

I'm surprised some of you didn't suggest a chainsaw and a stump grinder.
And a bulldozer to remove the things that distract you. Stick a woman in a bikini and heels in front of the tree, everybody gets distracted, nobody complains.

I lol'd at that

 

[unpopular]

I'd like to have seen more detail in the black blob-o-death in the middle. I don't mind breaking the "rule of thirds" and I think it should be thought of more as the "suggestion of thirds". So many people are lazy and will just look for golden ratios without considering the image itself.

Still, the whole "one tree hill" thing has been done and done and done and done so many times it's getting kind of stale. I think the subject has a sort of cheap archetypal quality to it that people will find attractive and soothing without a whole heck of a lot of effort - psychological eye candy - we're instinctively drawn to it for whatever reason.

The image is good for what it is and you have a lot of great texture going on here, despite some exposure and background issues which others have brought up. Though I think the image is running into the problem of being a cliche.

 

[blackrose89]

Though I think the image is running into the problem of being a cliche.

this is something I thoroughly disagree with people in the photography community making judgements on.I don't believe cliche should be a fault. There are no right or wrong subject matters. If the photograph is good on a technical level and works, the thought of being "cliche" should never come into play. That's implying that there are subject matters/ideas that are off limits which is just not true. Thinking a photograph is cliche is a personal opinion, not a technical fault. People rarely stop to consider that the reason these subject matters are done over and over because these photos can be very eye pleasing. The eye doesn't know when something is cliche, the eye only knows beauty.

 

[Dom6663]

this is something I thoroughly disagree with people in the photography community making judgements on.I don't believe cliche should be a fault. There are no right or wrong subject matters. If the photograph is good on a technical level and works, the thought of being "cliche" should never come into play. That's implying that there are subject matters/ideas that are off limits which is just not true. Thinking a photograph is cliche is a personal opinion, not a technical fault. People rarely stop to consider that the reason these subject matters are done over and over because these photos can be very eye pleasing. The eye doesn't know when something is cliche, the eye only knows beauty.

I think the cliche phrase your trying to state is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Which is true. And cliche photos may be aesthetically appealing regardless of technicalities. However with such a huge competitive photography community, cliche subjects wont get you much further than stock photography. As a photographer you want to stand out, be unique, taking good photos of cliche subjects just doesn't get you there. Strictly my opinion.

 

[unpopular]

There are no right or wrong subject matters. If the photograph is good on a technical level and works, the thought of being "cliche" should never come into play.

I am very happy that you have this sentiment, however, I also disagree with you on some things here. While I agree completely that there is no wrong subject matter, the problem though isn't in as much the subject, as it is the execution.

If you Google image search "Half Dome Art" you will find very little variation from Ansel Adam's studies of the peak. This does not mean that there isn't any room for any other interpretation, as evident by the few which break away from the cliche approach.

The problem with this is that these cliches offer little perspective about the world which the artist lives in. They are done over and over, as you said, because they are pleasing to look at - but they also only appeal to our most shallow and primitive emotions. Cliches don't inspire the audience to be participants in the art we enjoy, but rather as passive spectators. This beauty runs only as deep as the image itself, and the subject often does not lend beyond what is objectively present in the frame.