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Photo posted by Lon Overacker in the Landscape gallery on 01/03/18 at 9:55 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 Lon Overacker on 01/03/18 at 9:57 pm EST
Registered on 11/24/06, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments
Here's the other rework, with is the same image file as the original posted a couple days ago, here.
Thanks for any comments,
Lon
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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 Bill Chambers on 01/03/18 at 10:33 pm EST
Registered on 04/10/05, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments
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This is far superior to your earlier post IMHO. I still don't care for the short bare branches in the extreme left bottom, but the brightening of the tree really brings this image to another level. Even then, however, this is not an image that really thrills me, which is sad because the bare tree itself, especially brightened, is a fantastic subject.
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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 Lon Overacker on 01/03/18 at 11:19 pm EST
Registered on 11/24/06, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments
Thanks Bill for your honesty.
Ya know, one of the reasons I continue posting and commenting here, is that we don't have to love every image that's posted, and certainly don't expect everyone to love what we post. Honest opinions are all we're looking for.
One thing is certain that I think we all can agree upon, is that the feedback is valuable and more often than not, we are improving our work when we consider that feedback.
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 scott lanz on 01/04/18 at 10:19 am EST
Registered on 11/14/03, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments
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I also think "Take II" is a major improvement, Lon. I like the way the bare tree stands out, and I think straightening the tree is a big improvement as well. My only nit are the small, bare vertical trunks or branches in the far LLC, but this is minor. Overall, I like it. I appreciate the rework and being able to see the changes.
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scott lanz
Youngstown, Ohio
www.lanzscape.com |
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Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on 01/04/18 at 1:53 pm EST
Registered on 07/24/06, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments
Lon, I think the rework is the best rendition. There is nothing else there that offends the eye (amazing what a difference straightening the tree made).
Nature seldom gives a perfect picture that fits in a square/rectangular format. My opinion is formed around what commands or dominates the scene; and here, the tree certainly does. All the rest of the scene supports that subject. Any imperfections are just lumps in a beautiful and tasty gravy.
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Phil Hodgkins
Savannah, Georgia
NPN # 1998
Flora Gallery Co-moderator |
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“The task is...not so much to see what no one has yet seen; but to think what nobody has yet thought, about that which everybody sees.”
― Erwin Schrödinger
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Comment posted by Ed Lowe on 01/04/18 at 1:57 pm EST
Registered on 02/07/04, 414 Posts, 7115 Comments
Even though I liked the prior post the brightening of the tree has elevated this another notch, Lon. I am still leaning; pun intended; toward the second version here. It just seems more natural and relaxed with the tree at a slight angle where as the other seems to rigid and structured. I hope that makes sense.
Ed
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Comment posted by Julia Flanagan on 01/04/18 at 2:10 pm EST
Registered on 11/13/03, 59 Posts, 986 Comments
Lon, I like this new version with the lightened bare tree. Would you mind explaining your processing to "boost" the bare tree? The lightening does not seem to have affected the remainder of the image, but I'm puzzled as to how you did this given the very fine branching of the bare tree.
Thanks,
Julie
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Julie
Bristow, Virginia
"How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures." Ps.104:24. |
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Comment posted by Ed McGuirk on 01/04/18 at 2:38 pm EST
Registered on 11/29/17, 19 Posts, 260 Comments
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Lon, I really like this version of the image a lot (much stronger than the earlier post). This is an amazing tree, and I like how you lightened it in the re-post, it really pops out from the background now. I also like the slight lean too, it makes the image more dynamic. I love having both the yellow and rust colored foliage, the dark rusty foliage (oaks?) in the background really makes the tree stand out. I also like how you chose to crop the branches on the right side of the tree and not show the entire tree. I think that crop places more emphasis on the interesting shaped branches on the left side of the tree. This is a very stark image, but has a lot of impact with me.
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Comment posted by Lon Overacker on 01/04/18 at 6:33 pm EST
Registered on 11/24/06, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments
Comment last edited by Lon Overacker on 01/04/18 at 6:35 pm EST
Thanks for the comments folks! And for the validation of the rework. As I've said, the feedback we get is so helpful in improving our work and images. So Thanks!
Any imperfections are just lumps in a beautiful and tasty gravy. - Phil
Phil - LOL, one of the best photographic analogies I can remember! 
Would you mind explaining your processing to "boost" the bare tree?
Julia, thank you for your comments - and what a great question, thanks for asking! With out writing a novel, which I tend to do... I'll try and summarize a few things. As we all know, there are countless ways on accomplishing things in Photoshop. And my disclaimer? I have no idea if my methods are the best, most efficient or least destructive in PS. One thing I have learned though is that questions like this are what spur me to learn more about image processing. Having said that, I was able to increase the luminosity of the tree in a number of ways. But first, you are correct that it would be quite impossible to select the tree itself with all the tiny branches and color/tone variations to make specific adjustments to the tree. The MAIN key (at least for me) is to address adjustments to tones, color, luminosity, saturation, etc., rather than trying to select objects like a single tree. Keeping that in mind, here are a few things I did:
1. Starting in RAW, I used the Luminance in the HSL(Hue, Saturation, Luminance) adjustment. Knowing that the tree contains more blue/cyan and very light tones compared to the rest of the image, I boosted the luminance values of blue and cyan. Now these are global adjustments so the cyan was also picked up in the color/luminance of the pine trees. But that's ok. I also made Clarity and Vibrance adjustments as I do with most images.
2. Once in PS a great way to adjust luminosity without affecting color is by using a B&W layer (or a Hue/Sat layer can be used too.) The key though is to use these adjustment layers with the Blending mode set to Luminosity. Here I did the same thing as in RAW and increased the sliders for the blue and cyan adjustments. This actually turns out to be a pretty good sample image for this technique. The reason I say this because the yellows are concentrated in the willow, the reds mostly in the rusty oak leaves (as well as in the willow) and the greens of the pine/cedar - although I've let them go fairly dark. So I could also tweak the yellows/reds/greens to go a little darker, which by default make the white-ish (with blues and cyans) appear lighter. Hope that makes sense
3. The other round about way to make the tree stand out is to increase contrast - lights go lighter, darks, darker. Any number of ways to do this. One tip I picked up somewhere was the use of LAB mode (instead of RGB.) Now this is a topic for an entire tutorial and there are lots of them out there. I'll link to one. But I've been using a duplicated layer I process in LAB Color mode and add it to the layer stack using a variety of Blending modes and opacities. Mostly use Soft Light, Overlay, but also Normal works as does Color and Saturation blending modes. Here's one tutorial. Or just google "using LAB Mode in Photoshop" and you'll get tons - some quite advanced and complex. The link above is one of the more simple ones.
4. Another way to increase contrast or give an image a little punch is using a Curves or Levels Adj layer. The trick is to just add the Adjusment layer, but do not make any adjustments. Simply change the blending mode to Soft Light and change opacity to taste. Real simple. Got that one from Mr. Preston Birdwell! Thanks buddy!
Attaching a rough idea of what the layers look like.
Hope this helps. Feel free to contact me if you need more clarification.
Lon
thanks again everyone for your help!
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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 Bill Chambers on 01/04/18 at 6:58 pm EST
Registered on 04/10/05, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments
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Lon, I keep coming back to this image because of the wonderful bare tree. It's just too good to leave behind. I would like to offer suggestions on how to make it more pleasing (to me), but I really don't have any. I would like to play with it some - may I have your permission to capture a screen shot and play with it a little? If you would prefer that I not, I certainly understand. If granted permission and I come up with anything I like I will email to you and not post it here.
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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 Harry Lichtman on 01/04/18 at 8:18 pm EST
Registered on 09/17/10, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments
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Processing of the tree looks great Lon. I can remember an image of yours using similar trees, maybe a BE that I thought was much better from a compositional standpoint. The stark tree within the context of the other trees still doesn't grab me. Maybe a tighter view of the tree and it's branches would be stronger for me. The brightening of the tree does make it stand out more and creates more dimension.
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Comment posted by Lon Overacker on 01/04/18 at 9:04 pm EST
Registered on 11/24/06, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments
Bill - Absolutely and I appreciate you asking and offering to take a look and offer alternate suggestions. I am more than happy to send a more appropriate RAW file if you want that. But certainly you can start with the screen shot. Drop me an email any time.
Harry -
I can remember an image of yours using similar trees, maybe a BE that I thought was much better from a compositional standpoint
Not sure if a typo, but I can't figure out what "BE" is?
Thanks all!
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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 01/05/18 at 7:34 pm EST
Registered on 11/01/03, 471 Posts, 5188 Comments
I like what you did with the light on the main tree, and on the rework in general, but I think the composition with the leaning tree has more emotional impact, and shows the forest as it truly is.
--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 Mark Seaver on 01/06/18 at 3:11 pm EST
Registered on 01/23/11, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments
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Lon, I like the increased contrast and the extra view of the bare tree in Take II. Your processing has created a combination of starkness and mystery that make this easy to look at repeatedly. To me, enjoying repeated views is what good photography is all about. The bare verticals in the lower left are both somewhat distracting and interesting. In the long run, I think they add to the atmosphere.
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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 Harley Goldman on 01/07/18 at 1:49 pm EST
Registered on 11/19/03, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments
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Yep, this one works for me. Nice job on the repost.
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"You were born an original. Don't die a copy."
- John Mason
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