Alive Again

Hey Marc,

Hope all is well! As for the image very nice. I love the streaming clouds and the stars add to the drama.

Wicked. Love the lines and cloud movement.

That's great Marc, very impressive show. I can see why you wanted to come back. Black and White treatment works ideally here

Sweet! The lines here are fabulous, terrific how the bottom leads left and top leads right. The lighting works real well too--im tempted to say the clouds are a tad bright (amost looks like an aurora) but in moonlight i imagine they would be pretty bright. There's an odd arc-like line crossing behind the tree which hopefully isnt an old contrail cause it would be a pain to clone out--but I think it has to go--cause it screws up the nice lines

I think it might be flare, Stan. Thanks. I'd never even noticed it.

This looks fantastic to me Marc. Truly inspirational B&W work. The bright clouds add a fantastic contrast to the tree, and I love that the stars are popping through the clouds. Beautiful work here.

Sweet! looks like the clouds were really moving here if only 30 seconds.

It looks perfect to me

I really like the movement of the clouds in this scene

very nice work Marc

Wow...very cool shot. Leading lines that close are great. If I had a nit, I think it feels a tad dark in the forground. I don't think lightening those fg rocks would be that impactful to the mood, but would balance better with the sky.

The lines of the clouds work incredibly well here with that foreground! And the little stars poking through are a wonderful touch.

I would crop a hair off the bottom to get rid of the incontinuity in the left most line.. but that might just be me.

Guys, thanks. I really went back and forth a lot on both the lines and brightness in the foreground, trying it several ways, several times.

Love how the cloud streaks mirror the foreground rocks. That's one great tree too.

Very nice, dark enough to be spooly but light enough to see plenty of detail.
The composition is beautiful as well as the sky.

Very dramatic. Excellent composition and I love the effect of the clouds.

Guy

Great use of diagonals to create an energetic composition. The tree has a real "sorcerers apprentice" feel to it - like it's calling out the sky.

Fantastic! This tree makes a wonderfully dramatic b/w image. The clouds are awesome, and then the stars! Great look and feel.


Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

"The tree has a real "sorcerers apprentice" feel to it - like it's calling out the sky.

An astute observation with which I completely agree. The opposing lines in the rock and the moving clouds make this a brilliant study in contrasts.
I agree with Floris' observation for the reason that the bright rock in the lower left corner appears to be slightly out of focus.
That small nit notwithstanding, this is a beautiful, almost primeval image perfectly created.

Just FYI about the rock, it is completely in focus. Getting everything in focus was easy here. The rock didn't have as much dirt/lichen on it as the others though, perhaps adding to a more smooth appearance.

Really, really cool, Marc. Love the diagonal lines from the top and bottom.

Great photo and fantastic BW conversion...!

Pretty sick. f16 is pretty intense for night shots so guess it wasnt too dark out? got lucky w/ the direction of cloud movement too as it perfectly compliments. Now encouragement to get back to my other tree. Nice work sir

aF

wicked shot Marc. thought on first glance this was the bristlecones.

Very dramatic exposure well composed as usual.

Eerie and haunting.

Fantastic mirroring of sky and foreground...all bringing me straight to the juniper. Fantastic comp. I did notice the arc showing up behind the tree (Stan mentioned above)...but it's not distracting enough to me to worry about! Beautiful.

This is just dripping with a dark, uneasy mood. The streaking clouds against the stars set this apart. Excellent comp and technical execution as usual.

This is a real stunner! I really like the way you have managed to capture stars. Normally I do not find slight star trails appealing but here they seem to move in the same direction as the wind and it really works in this case. Amazing image IMO!

Classic image for you, Marc. Looks like your avatar. Only you could come up with something like this.

Exceptionally haunting and wicked looking image. I think you are at your best with these types of situations, and you always bring out the mood perfectly!

Chris

Absolutely beautiful. The image is very much alive and full of energy, tension, and intrigue.

Hi Marc,

I love the way you handled the sky with the streaking clouds and clear stars. That is a difficult effect to achieve and you executed it very well. I agree with Floris about the crop. I think you could get away with skimming away just above the horizontal line in the rock. I am curious as to what is in the lower right hand corner where the ground meets the sky? It looks like a bush and maybe some cliffs in the background? Whatever it is, I think if it were mine that I'd clone it out (if you believe in that sort of thing). Anyways, a solid trademark shot. You seem to gravitate towards black and white on these isolated tree shots. I'd be interested to see a color version too.

Michael

Your signature style is all over this one; I knew it yours immediately from the thumbnail. It's an effing awesome image of which I have nary a nit. Superb emotion with this one, and the converging sky and FG lines are very compelling. Exposure is spot on, too. How many visits do you estimate it took to finally get these conditions?

Very nice lines, Marc. The rock strata is fascinating. I like the way the tree seems to be lying on the rock. The streaking clouds offer lots of dynamic movement giving very nice contrast to the silhouette of the tree.

Kory, thanks. I think I pointed this guy out when we were on our way through here last November. Fortunately there's lots to do, but I had passed by at least a dozen different days before I got the moon in the right spot and clouds moving the right direction to pull this off.

No any additional thought
The composition is excellent as well as the movement of the clouds
perfect

Outstanding shot, Marc. This is the second one you've pulled off with your camera on the ground--- new tripod?

Nice, I like the "V" created by the lines in the FG and the streaking clouds. The stars are a nice touch. I agree with Stan on the mystery arc, definitely has to go.

Wow, great shot! I like how you pre visualized it and were able to get it.

Awesome ! All your captures are so dramatic and wild !

A little too dark and strangely threatening for my tastes. The composition and subject tree are great and the repeating lines in the sky and shadows work well. Usually I object to a tonal range being too gray, in this case it is too dark and not enough grays to give dimension in the tree and foreground rock.

I seem to be the odd man out on this so take this critique from a lover of b&w images with a grain of salt.