Bristlecone

Gallery: LandscapePosted September 6, 20111,882 views6 comments

Took a quick trip to the White Mtns with wife to show here the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest; she was very impressed. Nothing special about this particular photo other than shot in bright sun, hand-held, but a gorgeous bristlecone specimen beautiful twisted limbs, smooth weathered wood and lots of light/dark areas. This is my first BW conversion, the photo looked much better in BW than color. There are a number of areas that are "blown" but no amount of burning would tone them down. Many, many years ago I shot BW in 4x5 and med format and did all the processing in my own darkroom, I found doing this conversion more difficult than I thought it would be. Oh well, keep working at it I guess. Your comments are appreciated.

D7000
16-85
BW conversion in LR3

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Cory Freeman on September 6, 2011 at 11:29 PM

looks like a good conversion Reno especially given the time of day. Like you said, those light tones in the bark are really hard to control when not at very early or late light.

Of all the subjects in the eastern sierra I have yet to make a good image of these trees.

Registered on December 16, 2003, 107 Posts, 1341 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on September 7, 2011 at 9:55 AM

Reno, this is a stately tree indeed. Given the time of day, the image turned out well.

For those blown areas, try the 15% cloning technique. http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/bbs.cgi?a=vm&mr=58831&CGISESSID=3b76e23bd76355ae5dfac43e3831b1f5&u=1999

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on September 8, 2011 at 1:39 AM

I'd say a pretty fine conversion Reno. Great contrast in the tree and tonal range all around. I like that you've pretty much filled the frame with this old stately pine.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Duval on September 12, 2011 at 9:18 AM

The bristlecones can be a difficult subject, in Black and White or color. This is really a great standing snag, and as a high key conversion I don't know how you could have done much better. Although there are quite a few specialized Black and White conversion programs out there. Harley's suggestion might be useful. Keep going back if you can, never a wasted trip. I missed it this weekend due to lack of time and I was less than 75 miles away down by Lone Pine.

Paul

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

Comment posted by Michael R Reynolds on September 14, 2011 at 11:58 PM

Reno,
Even though this was shot in harsh light, its still a compelling image in B&W. I like the composition. Best Regards.

Registered on February 26, 2008, 54 Posts, 812 Comments

Comment posted by Rudy Ruberti on September 16, 2011 at 3:45 PM

Nice B&W image and the conversion looks good to me. Great subject, too.

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