Stephen Levitas
August 2026 - Tree man aloft
Original
About the Image(s)
Title: Tree Man Aloft
This is the same tree man as last month. Here he is about 90 feet up preparing to take down the limb that I showed last month. I took about 20 shots, most of which were not satisfactory, and I don’t care much for this one, but I think it was the best because of his body position.
I shot with my very modest Sony DSC-H400, which I received for a service anniversary from my company, so it’s not a great camera, but I make use of it occasionally because it has a 63X zoom lens.
For this image, I converted to B/W, selected the man, lightened him, then again selected his face and lightened that. What do you think?
12 comments posted
I think you had a good plan and executed it nicely (but there are some white blotches that you could take out (his right knee and foot, and his left hip) Posted: 08/07/2026 20:34:52
Thanks, Wes. I was quick and sloppy. Those white blotches can come out if I do the job more carefully. Posted: 08/08/2026 04:33:43
I think you need to retire this camera. It appears the optics aren't very good by modern standards. It might deserve a place on a bookshelf like a bunch of my old cameras. I certainly don't mean any disrespect. This is about all I can honestly say about this image. Posted: 08/08/2026 01:13:06
Hi Ed,
I am very economical in the photo hobby. My prime camera is a Canon G10. Fixed lens, 5X zoom, 4 f-stops. I make use of the Sony only when I cannot get the picture with the Canon. Posted: 08/08/2026 04:38:51
I am very economical in the photo hobby. My prime camera is a Canon G10. Fixed lens, 5X zoom, 4 f-stops. I make use of the Sony only when I cannot get the picture with the Canon. Posted: 08/08/2026 04:38:51
I had a Canon G10 once. I was shooting night sky images with it once and forgot to change the settings back. Then the next day I took some photos in the bright sun and actually burned the sensor. Canon at that time would sell you a new refurbished camera at cost if you damaged your camera. I took advantage of that deal and got a G11. Posted: 08/14/2026 17:23:16
Oh, good story. I will remember that if I every damage mine.
When I chose the G10, I picked it out from amongst several similar cameras because it had very close focusing AND it closed up its lens flat, so I could actually put the camera in my pocket. I was tired of carrying around my old Minolta SRT101 and all its lenses. Posted: 08/14/2026 20:05:33
When I chose the G10, I picked it out from amongst several similar cameras because it had very close focusing AND it closed up its lens flat, so I could actually put the camera in my pocket. I was tired of carrying around my old Minolta SRT101 and all its lenses. Posted: 08/14/2026 20:05:33
I think this has worked surprisingly well. Yes, there is a bit of a halo round the edges but converting to mono has helped hide them. It's a man-at-work image and PJ ones are often not as good as one would like, because they are taken where it is happening and you can't set things up how you'd like them to be. That's acceptable. I actually think this shot is better than the one you put in last month. Posted: 08/17/2026 13:58:58
Thanks, Diana,
Yes, this did work out better than last month. I just had such an intense experience last month to step out my back door and see the tree man descending upon me with that huge limb.
I asked my tree man if it was exciting to be up so high to do this work. He replied that it was exciting, especially when the tree swayed in the wind, as it did that day. Posted: 08/17/2026 20:33:47
Yes, this did work out better than last month. I just had such an intense experience last month to step out my back door and see the tree man descending upon me with that huge limb.
I asked my tree man if it was exciting to be up so high to do this work. He replied that it was exciting, especially when the tree swayed in the wind, as it did that day. Posted: 08/17/2026 20:33:47
What can I say, brave man (the subject!), the rig in front of his face is not helping, but I guess it was unavoidable? A clearer view of his face would have made the image "pop" Posted: 08/17/2026 15:48:41
Thanks, Som, this was the best body position of the 20 shots I took, but I will see if there is another with a better face view. Posted: 08/17/2026 20:35:01
You have an interesting image with the man looking at you. I agree that his body position makes the image. Your conversion to mono, editing and cropping really helped the image. The quality of the image looks fine to me, keep using the camera when you need a long lens. It might not work for a large enlargement but is fine for smaller images like this one. Posted: 08/17/2026 19:49:27
Thanks, Tom. Yes, a useful free camera from the company. I bring it out only for the long shots. Posted: 08/17/2026 20:36:21