Stoic Tree

Harpper · Feb 12, 2004

Hey, I saw this tree while I was hiking and thought it was interesting/unusual...It's also my first picture here.

vonnagy · Feb 12, 2004

its a very nice shot, the tones are quite good. this is a good example of were you 'broke the rules' with an unlevel horizon - yet it came out really well! The angle of the hill natural gently leads to the tree and the tree leans toward the hill. You've framed this nicely too.

what are the specs on this (shutterspeed, aperature)? What camera/film did you use?

Great to see your pics here!

LaFoto · Feb 12, 2004

Yes, Harpper, I like this photo as well as "your" tree a lot, though I can never tell why I like things in the same "technical" words that vonnagy uses. What I do like is that you "give the tree room" in your photo to lean over the way it does.

Vonnagy, just one thing for you: never ask me about specifics, I won't be able to tell you. The technical side of photography has always been, is, and probably will for eternities remain a mystery to me...

craig · Feb 12, 2004

Hey, is that "Methousal" (that is how you say it. I do not know how to type it) I think you have captured the years of wind blown wear. That tree is very alone. Great job!

Harpper · Feb 12, 2004

Thanks for the comments. I tried several ways of framing this tree before I decided to keep this picture. I guess it isn't just me but the tree seems to "fit" in the way it is currently framed.

As for the specs...I used a crappy Toshiba PDR-M21 digital P&S camera. The picture only turned out the way it did because I worked on it in Photoshop. The camera is able to take decent shots but it's definitely not a DSLR. It'll do until I can save up for one.

Dew · Feb 12, 2004

this photo is hot

... b&w does special wonders to landscapes (imho) .. i love the panaramic view u gave it and the room to the right ... nicely composed, great tones .... photoshop or otherwise

vonnagy · Feb 12, 2004

Vonnagy, just one thing for you: never ask me about specifics, I won't be able to tell you. The technical side of photography has always been, is, and probably will for eternities remain a mystery to me...

laphoto, i was exactly the same way when i started posting here - mainly because i thought i would never get my head around the technical aspects. But Voodoocats got an excellent quote on his profile: Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they're yours. - just food for thought

back to harpper,
that's some excellent photoshopping skills but it still must have been a decent photo to start out with because pshop can only go so far. By the way where was that taken?

Sharkbait · Feb 12, 2004

Very nice, Ansel Adams kind of feel to this shot. Johnny likey! :-D

Osmer_Toby · Feb 12, 2004

very well composed: your horizon line hugs the lower third horizontal, and the tree is well placed in the left third vertical. i agree with the vonnagy- your line composition pulls the eye right into the tree, which is itself quite interesting.

laphoto- you will learn lots and lots by doing exactly what you are doing- giving feedback on someone else's photo and reading the feedback from other photographers. by critiquing, and reading the critique of others, you will learn the technical aspects of photography, and you will begin unconsciously to apply what you have internalized when you do your own work.

terri · Feb 12, 2004

This is a lovely shot. I'm glad you chose to render it in B&W, I don't think a color image would give that same desolate feel. Very well done!

Rules of composition are made to be learned, understood - and broken at will. ie: Mark's comment about the uneven horizon. If you'd tried to level it, something would be lost. Well done!!

Harpper · Feb 12, 2004

vonnagy said:
that's some excellent photoshopping skills but it still must have been a decent photo to start out with because pshop can only go so far. By the way where was that taken?

Yes, it was a pretty good shot to begin with. All I did in Photoshop was crop it a bit to get the widescreen affect and then added a warming filter to get better tones because my P&S doesn't have a choice of adding a filter to the lense. I've noticed with an SLR camera I don't have to edit my pictures too much but with my limited optioned P&S I have to do more work.

Shark said:
Ansel Adams kind of feel to this shot

I love Ansel Adams' pictures. I'm sure this picture was influence by his work even though I wasn't thinking about his work at the time. Kind of like an unconscience homage to his work.