stoculia stands proud

Gallery: LandscapePosted February 29, 20121,022 views18 comments

Skip straight to the L A R G E image ...!

among my travels in the last few months and as part of the move that took us from mozambique to uganda, i drove my car from maputo to kampala! while i had to reach kampala, the journey was the destination, nine days and over five thousand km of meditation on things past and future. i infrequently stopped to make images but quite of chunk of the journey was through stoculia and boabab country. i have a few images of those trees; i found it exceedingly difficult to make photographs of them - not least because I had to keep one eye on the road ... however, this is one scene including a stoculia tree that caught my eye. it is from a very remote and forgotten area of southern tanzania, made standing on the top of my vehicle ...

thanks for looking! thoughts welcome.

hasselblad 500 c/m, 150mm lens, handheld, ilford delta 100 b&w film.

somewhere in southern tanzania.

Comments

18 comments

Comment posted by Aaron Feinberg on February 29, 2012 at 6:20 AM

The tones and light in this are perfect. Great shot...from somewhere in tanzania ;)

aF

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

Comment posted by Abdullaziz Bin Ali on February 29, 2012 at 6:44 AM

I just love this Black & White

Registered on May 31, 2009, 112 Posts, 1590 Comments

Comment posted by Jorne de Bruin on February 29, 2012 at 7:33 AM

Lovely shot, the tones and light are just great. The thumbnail really doens't do this any justice!

Registered on June 26, 2008, 178 Posts, 2136 Comments

Comment posted by Tonia Graves on February 29, 2012 at 9:45 AM

Wonderful range of tones here. The side lighting on the main tree really makes it stand out from the rest of the forest.

Registered on October 29, 2011, 92 Posts, 1035 Comments

Comment posted by Hamed Musharbak on February 29, 2012 at 10:00 AM

wonderful B&W

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

Comment posted by Gary Reed on February 29, 2012 at 10:34 AM

Fantastic tone and detail. Love the side lighting. B/W - great decision.

Registered on September 19, 2009, 198 Posts, 1074 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel Rappaport on February 29, 2012 at 10:45 AM

Beautifully done. Love the way you were able to frame the tree with the dark background.

Registered on September 9, 2009, 294 Posts, 2006 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on February 29, 2012 at 12:00 PM

Stuart, The large version of this is Fantastic!, and a must look IMO. For me this is one of the best b/w images I have seen in awhile, and there have been some real nice ones here! Beautiful work! I love it.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

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

Comment posted by Morris McClung on February 29, 2012 at 12:16 PM

A beautiful example of this film's dynamic range, Stuart. So many tones. Excellent comp and capture!

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

Comment posted by Guy Manning on February 29, 2012 at 1:46 PM

The thumbnail looked muddy and confused but I went ahead and opened it. When I looked at the small version above I was disappointed because it appeared flat. I looked a bit closer and decided there might be some interesting detail in the large version, so I opened it.

I have to tell you this is the first time I have spent more than a few seconds studying an image on this forum. This one held me for over 5 minutes. The tonal range is magnificent in the larger version of the image. The details of the background kept me looking deeper into it. I love the low lying bushes above and to the right of the tree seem to caress the tree creating a sympathetic line with it. I also like the way the light in the upper left diffuses the distant rock faces.

There is an ancient quality to the way it is presented and the diffused light enhances the affect. This would make a stunning silver print, or even a platinum.

Registered on October 17, 2011, 13 Posts, 44 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on February 29, 2012 at 2:55 PM

The tree is isolated very nicely in this image. Love all of the details in this. Processing is quite nice as well.

Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on February 29, 2012 at 3:53 PM

Wow, the large version really sings! Beautiful dynamic range and tones - composition is very nice as well. Excellent image!

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

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on February 29, 2012 at 9:16 PM

Really, really like this, except for the paw print. It's very complex, but my eye is enjoying exploring every pixel. The detail in the larger version exquisite.

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

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on March 1, 2012 at 12:07 AM

thanks to all for comments so far. guy, i am pleased that it captured your attention - as indeed it did mine.

thanks again.

Registered on December 7, 2007, 247 Posts, 4792 Comments

Comment posted by Zack Clothier on March 1, 2012 at 1:07 AM

What a wonderful b&w image, nicely composed, this one has a lot to explore..larger version is great.

Registered on January 28, 2010, 343 Posts, 2257 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Gasior on March 1, 2012 at 5:49 PM

Beautiful
Nice comp

Registered on March 7, 2010, 99 Posts, 502 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on March 1, 2012 at 7:37 PM

Sweet!! Did you notice the face-rock on the left side?

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

Comment posted by Anil Rao on March 2, 2012 at 11:56 AM

There is so much this photograph offers if one takes the time to study it carefully. I love how various details are slowly revealed. The light and tones are excellent and the composition is non-imposing just as I like. Wonderful!

Registered on November 15, 2003, 234 Posts, 4923 Comments