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Photo posted by Lon Overacker in the Landscape gallery on 12/05/17 at 5:41 pm EST
Registered on 11/24/06, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments
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To photograph is to hold one's breath, when all faculties converge to capture fleeting reality. It's at that precise moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
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Comment posted by gary phillips on 12/05/17 at 11:06 pm EST
Registered on 10/24/13, 185 Posts, 4136 Comments
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This is beautifully seen Lon. I love how this very symmetric clump of alders is framed against the dark backdrop. I'm torn on the dark lower right being evened out a little or darkening the rest of background to match. If you do nothing, it's still a crazy good image. Love it.
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Comment posted by Igor Doncov on 12/05/17 at 11:54 pm EST
Registered on 11/22/14, 189 Posts, 2733 Comments
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For something different I'm wondering how dropping the clarity slightly would affect this image. The reason I bring it up is because the image on the comments page started to look more interesting than the large version. I would keep the darks as is, however. Just something different to try.
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"If you want to make more interesting pictures, become a more interesting person" - Jay Maisel. |
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Comment posted by Peter Richter on 12/06/17 at 01:23 am EST
Registered on 11/10/10, 218 Posts, 2723 Comments
Comment last edited by Peter Richter on 12/06/17 at 01:31 am EST
Lon, what makes this image special to me are the tangible details of the barks. This is indeed a "b&w scene" to me, I do not miss colors at all.
My only suggestion would be to open up the shadows in depth of the forest at the right, I just wish to see some more details also there.
Peter
PS: it is somehow comforting to me that single shot images still work nowadays
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Peter Richter
Vienna, Austria |
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Comment posted by Mark Seaver on 12/06/17 at 09:53 am EST
Registered on 01/23/11, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments
Lon, what a difference the large version makes. The small one seems very flat, but in the larger version, the alders and the grass really stand out. The symmetry of the four and their separation from the background make this very attractive. In contrast with Peter, I'd like to see the background on the left a bit darker to let the alder branches stand out a bit more. (Yeah, NPNer's...they're never satisfied... )
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Mark Seaver
Burtonsville, MD & Emigrant, MT
seaverphotos.com
Weekly Challenge Moderator
Macro/Close Up Moderator |
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Comment posted by Nick Bristol on 12/06/17 at 10:58 am EST
Registered on 02/01/04, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments
Lon, What a great looking b&w image. At first I though about bringing up the darkest shadows a little but then when I clicked on the black arrow in the detail box everything was right there. This is excellent when looking at the largest detailed view!!
Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI.
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Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on 12/06/17 at 7:41 pm EST
Registered on 09/17/10, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments
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Crisp, stark, and lots of details to engage the mind. Really had no suggestions until I saw the comments below, and then thought maybe either bringing up the levels on th lower right to match a little more closely the lower left, or tone down the left a bit to more closely resemble the lower right.
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Comment posted by Jim Hansen on 12/06/17 at 10:22 pm EST
Registered on 05/05/11, 161 Posts, 908 Comments
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Love the simple arrangement of alders Lon. I think the foreground grasses add a lot as well. Nice B&W treatment.
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Comment posted by Ed Lowe on 12/07/17 at 09:27 am EST
Registered on 02/07/04, 414 Posts, 7115 Comments
The large version is a must see to really enjoy this "simple stand of alder" Lon. First off great eye to spot this and visualizing this as a B&W. This has such a wide range of rich tones and the details in trees and the FG grasses are mesmerizing. I look forward to seeing more of your tree images as you do them so beautifully.
Ed
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Comment posted by Ed McGuirk on 12/07/17 at 10:30 am EST
Registered on 11/29/17, 19 Posts, 260 Comments
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Lon, this is a lovely B&W treatment of this scene, really outstanding job. The tonalities in the grass and the shadows are handled perfectly, leave the shadows just as they are. The texture in the bark looks wonderful as well. Just a simple stand of Alder, but this image has a lot of depth and character to it. Bring on the rest of your trees, I can't wait to see them.
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Comment posted by Lon Overacker on 12/07/17 at 12:21 pm EST
Registered on 11/24/06, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments
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Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. I've definitely been playing around with opening up the darker area on the right to at least bring out a little more detail. I was wondering about that and you all confirmed, so thanks!
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To photograph is to hold one's breath, when all faculties converge to capture fleeting reality. It's at that precise moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
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Comment posted by Preston Birdwell on 12/08/17 at 1:07 pm EST
Registered on 11/01/03, 471 Posts, 5188 Comments
This is lovely, Lon. The tones, especially in the Alders are spot-on. I do find the dark area on the right slightly distracting, so it would be a nice exercise to see if you can bring it up a notch. The grasses add a fine sense of scale. Well done, sir!
--P
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Preston Birdwell
Columbia, California, USA
NPN 429 | California Nature Photographers (CANP) Moderator | 'NPN Discussion' Moderator
“If you want nice fresh oats, you have to pay a fair price. If you can be satisfied with oats that have already been through the horse, well, that comes a little cheaper" Author Unknown |
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Comment posted by Harley Goldman on 12/09/17 at 5:22 pm EST
Registered on 11/19/03, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments
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My kinda image, beautiful!!!!! Channeling your John Sexton! I would not change a thing.
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"You were born an original. Don't die a copy."
- John Mason
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Comment posted by Bill Chambers on 12/11/17 at 5:19 pm EST
Registered on 04/10/05, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments
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As usual of late, I am very tardy to the party! I like the choice of B&W here, Lon, but would love to the color version as well. Very elegant in it's presentation and composition. To me, the grass is a little too bright and seems to draw my eye downward away from the true subject matter, therefore I would suggestion burning that somewhat. Other than that, I find myself really enjoying this.
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Bill Chambers
Gulf Breeze, Florida
Please visit Enchanted Light Photography
"You don't make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.” - Ansel Adams |
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Comment posted by Anil Rao on 12/12/17 at 11:05 am EST
Registered on 11/15/03, 234 Posts, 4923 Comments
Comment last edited by Anil Rao on 12/12/17 at 11:08 am EST
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A very, very elegant photo. Simple and yet so complex. I especially love the darkness of the background.
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Anil Rao
Santa Clara, California
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Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on 12/14/17 at 09:06 am EST
Registered on 09/27/06, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments
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I like very much the image as posted, the asymmetry in light levels of the background works for me and of course the way the subjects stands out from the background is a big part of the success of the photo.
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Comment posted by Jeffrey Sipress on 12/15/17 at 7:38 pm EST
Registered on 02/17/04, 236 Posts, 1197 Comments
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This is very effective and a pleasure to view. Less is more!
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| Jeffrey Sipress, Santa Barbara, CA |
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