Repost: Ice-Covered Pine Tree

Gallery: LandscapePosted January 18, 2014133 views8 comments

This pine tree was 10 snowshoe steps from my campsite in Tettegouche State Park on the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota. The tree rises out of a cliff about 40 feet above the lake. Occasional high winds caused waves to form ice on the tree and bend the top.

The glow in the snow and in the ice on the tree limbs are from the moonlight.

Please comment and critique.

Location: Tettegouche State Park, Minnesota, USA

Date and Time: January 11, 2014, at 17:46

Equipment: Pentax K-5, Pentax DA 18-55mm WR at 18mm, tripod

Exposure: 8s, f/8, iso 200

Crop: About 1% of the left side to remove a star from the center-left edge.

Post processing in Lightroom 5: Reduced exposure. Little else. The snow was not dodged.

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by gary phillips on January 18, 2014 at 3:31 PM

I like the moon star and sparkle on the tree and in the snow. Too bad about the tracks, they detract from the pristine vibe here.

Registered on October 24, 2013, 185 Posts, 4136 Comments

Comment posted by Randy Runtsch on January 18, 2014 at 6:42 PM

I, too, wish the tracks weren't there, but unseen critters had wandered around.

Registered on October 30, 2013, 50 Posts, 445 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on January 18, 2014 at 9:48 PM

Very chilly with a lovely moonstar. This is very nicely seen and captured, Randy. My minor nit is that I'd like a little more space at the bottom between the snow covered branch and the frame, but understand that there may have been a major distraction there. As someone who teaches tracking, the tracks don't bother me at all (just wish I could ID them) and I especially like the little series of sparkles coming in on the right.

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

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on January 19, 2014 at 7:37 AM

I like this combination of land, lake, and sky a lot Randy.
And the 'moonstar' is the icing on the cake

Great job exposing this difficult scene, well done

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Jones on January 19, 2014 at 11:21 PM

Oh, wow, what a gorgeous sight, and captured just perfectly. The sparkling snow, tracks, moon and planet all come together so well with that spruce tree. Beautiful as is, but I think it might look a tiny bit more "comfortable with a very small amount of room on both the top and bottom to give it some breathing room.

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

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on January 20, 2014 at 4:10 AM

The two elements go very well together, although the moonstar seems just a bit close to the edge of the frame for my comfort. You could easily extend the frame out or clone the moonstar closer in.

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

Comment posted by Bill Reid on January 20, 2014 at 6:29 PM

Very nice comp and scene Randy and the tracks look quite natural. I agree with Kah and bringing the sun star lower but great as it is.Great job.

Registered on January 27, 2013, 65 Posts, 2460 Comments

Comment posted by Randy Runtsch on January 21, 2014 at 6:29 AM

Many thanks for the generous remarks and recommendations, everyone.

This new version of the image includes the moon cloned/healed lower in the frame. The blacks and shadows have been tweaked to improve details in the tree.

As I recall, I had dropped to my knees, and was backed against heavy brush to take this photo. I would have preferred to collect a few more inches of snow below the snow-covered bough.

Lastly, the cheap, but decent Pentax DA 18-55mm WR lens exhibits a slight vignette in the corners at 18mm. I attempted to dodge it away, but was dissatisfied with the outcome. The superior DA 16-45mm in my bag would have been preferred, but I lack a 67mm polarizer for that model (it's time to buy one).

PS - I just noticed that the sky in the reposted image is a bit splotchy.

Registered on October 30, 2013, 50 Posts, 445 Comments