Pinion Pine + repost

Gallery: LandscapePosted July 9, 2011787 views48 comments

This is a dead pinion pine from a recent trip to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument with Momo Vuyisich and other friends. It's in an area where there are lots of dead trees. I'm not sure if it's because they aren't quickly chopped down for firewood like in some parts of the Southwest and just decay slowly in the dry climate, or if the ongoing drought is taking its toll on certain areas where the trees marginally survive. I think it's likely the latter as the number of dead trees in the area is quite substantial and the "soil" is just rock.

While it's hard to estimate the age of a tree this size when it died, my guess is well over a century. It's tortuous branching probably echoes the habitat in which it was able to endure, and likely at times thrive.

Guy Tal has some really good images of these skeletal trees, and his images were certainly an inspiration for this one. This was an evening where Momo had picked a campsite mostly for its convenience to the trailhead of the next day's hike. Since a sunset shoot wasn't really on the agenda for this evening, it of course turned out to be the best one of the trip. We both scrambled when the clouds started to light up and ended photographing nearby trees in the glowing light.

No focus-blending here. The strong wind has the foreground flowers waving a bit, but the rest of the image is nicely sharp in the print. I think the composition might feel a bit formal, but to some degree that maybe feels appropriate for a tree that was able to reach the stature of this one

Your thoughts and recommendations would, as always, be appreciated.

5D2, 28-300 @ 42, f/16, ¼ sec, ISO 400

Repost and comment further down.

Comments

48 comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on July 9, 2011 at 12:44 AM

One thing that impressed me the most the two times I have visited the SW desert were the dead trees there. This is a supreme specimen Tony. Magnificent tribute in a way. I love the detail and splendor. The surrounding color in the sky is gorgeous as is the detail in the foreground which are an appropriate tribute to these ancients.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by Jeff Loomis on July 9, 2011 at 12:48 AM

Wow, this is stunning. Fantastic light and rich color throughout. Positioning the tree left of center allows room for the longer branches to reach across the frame - perfect.

Registered on January 26, 2010, 68 Posts, 719 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on July 9, 2011 at 1:51 AM

I like the subject, and the sky is real pretty. Everything is arranged/balanced well. Maybe that's the problem, cause for whatever reason this just doesnt grab me, feels a bit static, like a museum display. I guess that's part of the point, since the tree is dead after all--im just used to seeing dynamic/flowing shots from you, and i dont feel it here. So, an excellent shot, techwise, but not a classic Kuyper.
i click on a thumb, theres no turning back, what can i tell ya

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Andreas Resch on July 9, 2011 at 4:16 AM

That's pure awesomeness, Tony. Love the colors.

Registered on November 14, 2007, 322 Posts, 6101 Comments

Comment posted by Jake Case on July 9, 2011 at 5:49 AM

You know, this reminds me a lot of an Alain Briot type of piece with the pastel colors, low contrast feel, and the intensely graphic qualities. I hope that strikes you as complimentary, because it is intended to be. Really like this one Tony.

Registered on December 13, 2010, 38 Posts, 167 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Richter on July 9, 2011 at 6:01 AM

Tony, your classical and static composition works absolutely well for me in this case. It is consistent with the subject and reflects to me the steadyness underlying a lifespan of maybe hundred years! Colors fit in perfectly with this specific atmosphere to my eye.

Peter

Registered on November 10, 2010, 218 Posts, 2723 Comments

Comment posted by Aaron Feinberg on July 9, 2011 at 7:04 AM

Very cool catch indeed. Bet this tree would be a great subject for numerous studies! Personally I think a bit too much dead space (no pun intended) on the far right...great light and vision :)

aF

Registered on October 26, 2009, 399 Posts, 2789 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on July 9, 2011 at 8:50 AM

I like this quite a lot. Beautiful light and wonderful colors. The comp works really well for me too. To me this just looks like it should be a large print. Lots of photographs don't say that to me, this one does!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on July 9, 2011 at 10:27 AM

Tony: Marvelous color palette and a terrific subject. We're having a tree theme in Flora the week of July 24-30. One of these would fit nicely. Come on by. >=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on July 9, 2011 at 10:57 AM

Well, I wasn't surprised to see this was yours, but did think it was Guy's at first glance. My initial reaction was seeing a slight yellow/warm cast that seems to go away within a moment. I think that's me cause' I seem to see the world in more blue than most folks. I love the pastels here, and agree with Eva, it's a spectacular specimen. Pretty good for a scramble!

Chris

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments

Comment posted by Koveh Tavakkol on July 9, 2011 at 12:05 PM

Excellent and clean comp Tony!

Registered on September 1, 2009, 41 Posts, 608 Comments

Comment posted by Sarah Marino on July 9, 2011 at 12:11 PM

Hi Tony - I really love this. Everything seems to fit together so nicely. I like the feel of formality, as this feels like a reverent portrait of this tree. I also like the vibrant colors, with the sky being the perfect complement for the red foreground rocks. Really nice work!

Registered on November 10, 2008, 23 Posts, 393 Comments

Comment posted by Hamed Musharbak on July 9, 2011 at 12:40 PM

Wow!! this awesome Tony, very nice comp & colors

we want more landscape from you

Registered on June 1, 2009, 372 Posts, 2282 Comments

Comment posted by Kory Lidstrom on July 9, 2011 at 1:03 PM

Nice work Tony.

Registered on November 19, 2008, 49 Posts, 1035 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Duval on July 9, 2011 at 1:22 PM

Many species of trees that have adapted to harsh environments are relicts ( remains of lush forests ) or pioneers on the edges of different biospheres. So I'm not surprised that you found many trees that are standing snags. Since I'm not familiar with the area I won't be able to determine if the die off is recent or old. Sometimes a tree may be mostly dead with just a small part of it still living it may survive for centuries in this condition while the dead wood exposed to the elements becomes aged and wind polished. So when the little bit of the living tree succumbs it may appear as if it has been dead for centuries. One thing for certain dead trees especially ones with twisting and branching growth habits form evocative images especially when bathed in such beautiful light. I think perhaps we are a little too harsh in criticism of what appears as a formal portrait of this tree. If maybe you had been a little more creative in composition and truncated ( purposefully used )the tree I'm sure someone would have commented ' I wish I could see the whole tree.' . Probably the best comp under the conditions and great treatment of the colors which are uniformly red.

Paul

Registered on June 30, 2009, 508 Posts, 1907 Comments

Comment posted by Guy Tal on July 9, 2011 at 2:16 PM

Ah... I've been waiting to see this ever since you mentioned it. I absolutely love your treatment of the scene. It glows with warmth without being overly saturated. Makes me want to run out and camp in the desert to wait for the sunrise. In fact, maybe I will.

Beautiful work, Tony!

Guy

Registered on November 1, 2003, 566 Posts, 15507 Comments

Comment posted by Gabi Lach on July 9, 2011 at 2:39 PM

Beautiful shot, Tony. It cannot get any better. Everything looks perfect to me. Lovely!!

Registered on May 1, 2007, 101 Posts, 3187 Comments

Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on July 9, 2011 at 3:32 PM

This is awsesome, Tony. Great job. Beautiful colors.........it's a bit static but this works very well here. Techwise: excellent. Great image!

Registered on January 29, 2010, 285 Posts, 4281 Comments

Comment posted by Preston Birdwell on July 9, 2011 at 3:53 PM

Sweet, Tony. It shows the desert as I would expect to see it. There is a serene feeling to it that I really like. It would be fun do some close-in detail shots of the tree.

Nicely done!

--P

Registered on November 1, 2003, 471 Posts, 5188 Comments

Comment posted by Jeffrey Sipress on July 9, 2011 at 4:04 PM

Fine Image, Tony. The images that consistently work well usually have fewer elements and no clutter. As a bristlecone pine lover, this works well for me.

Registered on February 17, 2004, 236 Posts, 1197 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Lundh on July 9, 2011 at 4:25 PM

I love the contrast between the warmth of the light and the feeling of coldness in which the lifeless tree evokes. I can tell you really spent a little time on lining up the comp with the fg brush not restricting a clear unobstructed view of the marvelous tree. It's a keeper, and a winner at that in my opinion! Well done my friend!

Registered on April 28, 2004, 774 Posts, 4351 Comments

Comment posted by Art Escobado on July 9, 2011 at 6:25 PM

that's tight!

Registered on January 7, 2007, 0 Posts, 775 Comments

Comment posted by Michael J Greene, on July 9, 2011 at 6:26 PM

Hi Tony,

This represents a slight departure from your usual style. Perfect composition, wonderful clarity and processing. The flowers in the foreground give the scene life. Being extremely critical, I'd say the immediate foreground looks almost a little over sharpened on monitor. At first I thought the sky seemed a little bit low in contrast, but after looking at it for a few minutes it now appears just right. Great work. Top shelf image.

MIchael

Registered on June 18, 2009, 86 Posts, 2317 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on July 9, 2011 at 6:51 PM

Wonderful light and subject. Super shot, Tony. The warmth in this makes me feel good all over.

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on July 9, 2011 at 11:48 PM

A textbook composition, perfectly arranged in the frame. The light keeps it from feeling static, IMO. The sky is beautiful and the tree stark and proud against it. You've honored this ancient well.

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Bruce King on July 10, 2011 at 12:43 AM

Excellent Tony. The warm tones are awesome and the composition is very strong.

Registered on January 14, 2010, 276 Posts, 2212 Comments

Comment posted by Rafael Rojas on July 10, 2011 at 6:20 AM

Well Tony, I really like this. The composition is a bit straight, but I think there is no more need to "twist" the thing..I like those two bushes balancing the comp, and the image is clear about the idea: the tree. The cloud and light compliment it quite a lot, putting that touch of glorious and intemporal mood which suits very well the derelict state of the tree. A nice example of wabi-sabi there I would say...Love it man! :)

Registered on March 1, 2009, 56 Posts, 623 Comments

Comment posted by Tom Haxby on July 10, 2011 at 9:27 AM

Wonderful light, colors and I really like the subject matter. My only minor nit is that while the faux matting and framing is well done, it is at the expense of seeing the image larger. Would like to see a large version of this.

Registered on July 6, 2006, 126 Posts, 647 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on July 10, 2011 at 10:25 AM

Beautiful light and a superb subject. Can't find anything to nit at all. Love it.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Anthony Vincent on July 10, 2011 at 1:18 PM

Stunning even light Tony. Great framing of the pine, in keeping it above the horizon line. I must say, I too am enjoying your grander views and its good to see your take on landscape. Lovely clouds to accentuate the scene as well.

Nice work and another fine reason to click on NPN.

Registered on February 5, 2009, 199 Posts, 2775 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Pelton on July 10, 2011 at 2:38 PM

Gorgeous image Tony, processing is superb. Love the warmth of the light.

Registered on November 25, 2003, 380 Posts, 4647 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on July 10, 2011 at 2:54 PM

Tony, the lighting throughout is just amazing. It's almost as if you applied a color wash. The composition may be "formal" but it works really well here with the grass bunches counter balancing the tree.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on July 10, 2011 at 4:11 PM

This looks great Tony! Great light and the character of the tree really stands out to me.

On Firefox and on a calibrated wide gamut monitor the colors do seem a tad understated and warmish. I'm not sure if that was your intention here. Either way I really like it!

Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments

Comment posted by Gorka Lopez on July 10, 2011 at 4:48 PM

Great tones Tony! Absolutely stunning colors, to me this is the key of the image. The composition is really pleasant.

Congratulations!

Registered on July 4, 2011, 8 Posts, 31 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on July 10, 2011 at 8:50 PM

Well, it took me a while to figure it out, but from the comments, I gathered there was more of a color cast than I was seeing. I neutralized it and worked some on the saturation and vibrance and liked the results much better than the original. I think the color in the original maybe captured the light that was happening when the picture was taken, but removing that warm veil definitely helps the image's final presentation.

Sincerest thanks for the comments. I could not have gotten here without your help.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Youssef Ismail on July 10, 2011 at 9:38 PM

Tony,

Beautiful composition. I love trees and this photo makes me wish I could visit the SW to photograph these stoic trees.. I actually think the original version had more appeal color wise, but that is just me I like warm images. Other than the color, the first version had more luminosity in the tree and FG which I liked as well.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 474 Posts, 5555 Comments

Comment posted by Mat Malone on July 10, 2011 at 11:43 PM

The repost is great, Tony. That tree has a lot of character. I like the layering of the tree on top of the band of clouds.

Registered on December 15, 2008, 91 Posts, 882 Comments

Comment posted by David Edwards on July 11, 2011 at 4:33 AM

Absolutely beautiful quality of light, Tony. The warm toning is very appealing. The desert shrubbery is quite beautiful dotted around the tree, and the rich red of the ground rocks seem to emanate heat. A wonderful image. Edit - I prefer the original, warmer version.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 142 Posts, 2623 Comments

Comment posted by Anders Engström on July 11, 2011 at 10:34 AM

Its a beautiful image, I like the composition, the placement of the tree. I have compared the two versions and I actually like the color in original version in the tree and foreground, they have a sort of glowing feeling which I think is lost in the repost. However I think the repost has better colors in the sky.

//Anders

Registered on September 21, 2010, 21 Posts, 83 Comments

Comment posted by Doug Koepsel on July 11, 2011 at 10:40 AM

Tony, I can see how the warm cast from this sunset would coat the tree and brush. I have no qualms with the warmth of the original, and prefer it to the redo.

Registered on April 1, 2010, 196 Posts, 1592 Comments

Comment posted by Gary McGhee on July 11, 2011 at 6:29 PM

I too prefer the original posting Tony, I really like the warm glow the sunset has given it. Facinating old tree, you have done a great job in capturing it.

Gary.

Registered on April 15, 2010, 142 Posts, 2416 Comments

Comment posted by Rudy Ruberti on July 11, 2011 at 10:35 PM

Beautiful image Tony, but I think you might have removed a little too much of the color cast in the repost. Maybe something in between would also be nice. Really like the soft light, too.

Registered on October 28, 2008, 179 Posts, 1875 Comments

Comment posted by Vijay Raj on July 11, 2011 at 10:57 PM

One of the finest I have seen here on NPN, the quality of light is unbelievable.

Registered on November 22, 2010, 29 Posts, 100 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Jones on July 11, 2011 at 11:24 PM

Great subject, cool clouds, amazing light, and I agree, the comp fits.

Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments

Comment posted by Nicolaus Wegner on July 14, 2011 at 8:47 PM

It's not your usual type of shot Tony, but that's awesome in my opinion!

Way to branch out...I mean your composition is dead on..wait...hell, great to see new work from you. Very nice.

And I like the original post better. I feel the cast actually fits the image in a more artistic manner. Stick with it man!

What's up with the Hypno Toad gif...?

Registered on February 21, 2010, 133 Posts, 1509 Comments

Comment posted by John Williams on July 17, 2011 at 4:02 PM

My in-laws live near the Four Corners, and this reminds me of some of the great sunsets I've seen when visiting them. Too bad I wasn't photographing then!!

Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments

Comment posted by Jay Levin on July 22, 2011 at 3:28 PM

For what it's worth, the sky looks flatter to me in the original, but I would be delighted to have either one, Tony! I visit Arizona frequently and totally appreciate this stunning southwest (Utah) image. Magnificent colors, textures and superb comp. Wonderful work.

Registered on April 24, 2009, 21 Posts, 184 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on September 3, 2011 at 11:51 PM

How the heck did I miss this earlier?!? This is superb, as is everything you do, but I like this even more than your rockscapes I believe. Just beautiful!!!

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments