White Out & Re-Post

I like this Harry. Certainly depicts white out conditions in the mtns. Looks like sitting besides a fireplace with something warm is the thing to do. I get a good sense of motion from the blowing snow. My only quesion is why the white pine on the right appears to be out of the snow. I know its closer and thus there is fewer snow flakes between you and it, but it still seems a little odd to me.

This is an incredible image Harry!

Sweet! Beautifully composed and the processing looks great.

this is wonderful Harry, i like it a lot

Hamed

Peter- That tree was closer than the others, so there was not as much snow blowing between it and me. Also, depending on the gusts, there was more or less visibiity in the trees behind. I tried timing shots to allow some trees to be visible and depth to the shot. Most of the time, is was just blowing snow.

I like this in color. My only nit is how much the tree on the right stands out. I understand that it does because it was closer than the others, but if you could lighten it a bit, I think it would make the image better. Whatever, it's very nice as it is.

- Dan

I like the subtle touch of color and the depth the tree in the right foreground give the overall scene. With the driving snow it must have been difficult keeping the lens clear. The driving snow gives this a very painterly look.

Very nice and artistic, Harry. I like how the snow creates depth by blending the distant trees with the background.

BTW ... I haven't forgotten about your cabin hikes here in Austria. Just gimme some time to figure out some good ones.

Harry, I really appreciate the graphic quality of your image. The subtle colors work perfectly for me and the tree at the right anchores the composition well to my eye.

Peter

Beautiful graphic image. I visually assume, as you note that the right tree is just closer or snuck in between gusts of snow. Anyway I think that the incongruity adds a bit to the tension of the image as a whole.

The left side with the hint of colour is more interesting to me. The hard contrast of the pine on the right takes away from the soft fury of snow with muted colour on the left.

The backlighting and your processing makes this appear like an etching. An interesting and beautiful effect. Very nicely done.

Wow this is great. Looks like some sort of fine art treatment with some texturing but it's just nature's canvas.

furious, violent. i love how dynamic this image is. i like the tree on the right, and wonder if you could bring even more interest to the background by deepening some of the shadows of the bokehed/whited-out trees

This is really nice, Harry. I love how you captured the conditions here. Glad you got the chance to get out during a storm.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

The texture and layered sense of depth here is fantastic. No nits from me. Excellent work Harry!

Very artsy looking image Harry, I really enjoy this. To my eye there appears to be some haloeing around the closest tree, could be my eyes playing tricks on me due to the contrast there, not sure. Anyway, nice image!

Wow, that's a storm! I really like how well this conveys the power of the storm.

Thanks All - I tried addressing some of the suggestions and processed a slightly different comp of the same scene. I found an image which didn't have the bottoms of the trees cut off so abruptly at the bottom - something that bothered me about the original post.

Dan & Gary - When I added contrast to the entire image in PS, I limited it on that right tree so it appears slightly less dark, though still more prominent to add depth. Hopefully it is not such a harsh contrast of the left of the scene.

Eva - No problems keeping the lens clear - The 100-400 comes with a monster lens shade and I was shooting perpendicular to the wind. I was in the woods shooting out into this scene, but stability was a problem. While on a tripod with IS on, found the images amazingly sharp where it needed to be (tree branches), though it may be difficult to tell at this size.

Navin & Zack - I increased the contrast in areas of the background to help bring out water ever might be hidden back there. I selectively darkened those bright areas that especially appear around the right tree and a bit in the center of the image. Not sure why, but all of the original RAWs show this brighter area, which of course is accentuated when any contrast is applied. It does seem odd to be naturally occurring but may have to do with what was behind the tree in that part of the image. I'll have to check it out on a calmer day.

Interesting. I like it, but fwiw it doesn't really convey the sense of a blizzard/snow to me--i guess since there are no flakes identifiable, it seems more like just a textured overlay. But an interesting one... Oh--i just saw the repost--well i think it conveys the mood a bit better...

Harry, this is a very strong, dynamic composition. The color works well for me. While I can see this making a fine B&W as well,
the simplicity of the scene and tones makes the small bit of color a nice enhancement rather than a distraction. Can't really think of anything I would want to change here.

Wonderful textures and mood, Harry. The color often adds a lot in scenes like this, so I think you made the right choice. I think the one crisp tree throws things off a bit, so I would prefer a composition that eliminates it.

This looks like an image that been printed on a highly textured paper. I really like the effect, and this image is perfect for this.

Harry,

Love this. Haven't read any comments yet, but my first impression: Charcoal Filter... But I think it works better when it's natural. Had to do a second take when I read that "processing was largely a creative endeavor...." but I think you just mean with colors, luminosity, etc. and that you didn't really use the Charcoal filter. This is a great image.

Lon

Lon - Yes, what I meant was that there was a very narrow band of information in the RAW capture, sandwiched into about 1/4 of the right end of the histogram. So, when I processed the RAW, I had many options open as far as the black, brightness, exposure, contrast sliders. I decided to create a more contrasty image in order to bring out the blowing snow detail and the background trees. The more I dragged each end of the histogram to the left and right, the more the image appeared to be "etched". This was a moderate amount of stretching the histogram. Where/what is the charcoal filter?

This is a great graphic photo. I love the vertical/horizontal (almost) juxtaposition. I think I would also like it in B&W, but this is so close that I don't know how much it would change. You must've been darn cold!

Love it. Very creative!

Wonderful. I have had a similar image in mind for a couple of months now,but it never seems to snow during the daylight hours on the weekend Surprised that 1/20 of a second gave the motion, but perhaps there was some wind moving the snow along. Thanks for sharing.

Agree with right tree as been said. Repost looks great! I think you found a good balance between an abstract and landscape here.