Morning Maple + rp

Gallery: LandscapePosted July 17, 2014240 views14 comments

My favorite Big Leaf Maple, and the Merced River in Yosemite Valley. This was made early in the morning back on the first of May. The tree had only just leafed out, and the leaves were very luminous. I thought I'd see how this looked in B&W.

Nikon D-7100
18-140mm Nikkor @ 20mm
F-11 @1/4s, ISO 100
Liberal Use of TK's Masks

Please see the large version. Thanks.

Your comments and critiques are always appreciated.

--P

Comments

14 comments

Comment posted by Bill Leggett on July 17, 2014 at 4:34 PM

Preston, the B&W conversion looks really good, and the 1/4 second shutter works well. Might only suggest a bit more room at the bottom by pulling back to 18mm.

Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments

Comment posted by Pat Sampson on July 17, 2014 at 4:55 PM

Beautiful scene Preston. I like the smoothness of the water against the detail in the maple. No nits from me. I like it a lot.

pat

Registered on May 19, 2007, 953 Posts, 15989 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on July 17, 2014 at 5:24 PM

Beautiful little scene, Preston. I am not on a calibrated monitor, but on this monitor I might bring up the mid-high tones in the water a little bit. The water looks a little muddy to my eye. Minor. Sweet scene.

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

Comment posted by Richard Teller on July 17, 2014 at 6:30 PM

I really like the scene and the composition. I am not sure about the B&W conversion without seeing the color.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by John&Patty Benway on July 18, 2014 at 9:21 AM

Very nice Preston, really nice composition, tones, and I especially like the strong flow of the river, I think that brings the whole scene together beautifully. Excellent work.
John

Registered on May 12, 2006, 626 Posts, 8700 Comments

Comment posted by Ronald Murphy on July 18, 2014 at 9:57 AM

Beautiful scene. I would brighten the water highlights a bit.

Registered on March 13, 2012, 279 Posts, 975 Comments

Comment posted by Preston Birdwell on July 18, 2014 at 11:22 AM

Thanks for your comments and suggestions!

I tweaked the water a bit in this version and added a little brightness to the high values in the trees.

Any better? I'd appreciate any further suggestions. Thanks.

Bill: Both versions were cropped from the top and bottom. I'll look at adjusting the crop. Thanks.

Richard: While I like the color version, it is processed quite differently from the B&W. I plan to print this in B&W.

--P

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

Comment posted by Pat Sampson on July 19, 2014 at 9:24 AM

I liked the original Preston but I prefer the repost. It does sing.

pat

Registered on May 19, 2007, 953 Posts, 15989 Comments

Comment posted by John Williams on July 19, 2014 at 11:35 AM

Repost rocks Preston. A beautiful BW.

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

Comment posted by Phil Pogledich on July 19, 2014 at 2:14 PM

Both versions work well for me, though I do slightly prefer the look of the water mid and high tones in the repost. I'd be tempted to burn down the upper left corner slightly, as the lighter leaves up in that area distract my eye a bit.

Registered on August 24, 2009, 123 Posts, 3099 Comments

Comment posted by Jared Warren on July 19, 2014 at 3:57 PM

I like this a lot, Preston. Looks great as B&W. Repost is even better. My personal preference would be to increase the contrast slightly to bring a little more separation of the tree from the background, but it's a winner as is.

Registered on May 11, 2012, 84 Posts, 931 Comments

Comment posted by John&Patty Benway on July 20, 2014 at 7:56 AM

Re post does it for me Preston. Very nice indeed.
John

Registered on May 12, 2006, 626 Posts, 8700 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on July 20, 2014 at 2:08 PM

This made a wonderful b&w image, Preston, and I especially like the repost. The flowing water has great looking texture and the whole scene works really well with your b&w processing.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

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

Comment posted by Peter Richter on August 15, 2014 at 12:40 PM

Your b&w processing helps me to concentrate on all the delightful textures. Very appealing work to my eye.

Peter

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