Larry Treadwell  


Autumn Rust by Larry Treadwell

November 2024 - Autumn Rust

About the Image(s)

Autumn Rust
Nikon D850, 80-200mm f2.4 Nikkor lens @ 105mm, ISO 200, f8, 20 seconds, tripod.

I was in northern rural Georgia to see Anna Ruby Falls and hopefully get some fall color. I was heading back after not finding any interesting fall color and driving back roads through the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest (I love the southern names of forests) and was somewhere on Hwy 19. The day was ending, but I was in thick forest and could see the sky was glowing orange. I kept telling myself, “I’ve got to find a foreground” but was having no luck until a came around a bend where a gap in the trees allowed for a view of small field covered with some bare trees and some bushes well past their fall “prime”. Personally, I like working with a limited color palette as it intensifies the few color that remain. I used a longer focal length to limit my field of view to just a single part of the field. The setting sun was dropping behind the tree line and left the field in shadow, while the sky was quite bright. I didn’t want the sky to be the picture so I let the sun continue to set until the sky got much darker. Then I selected a slow shutter to let the clouds blur (streak?) so they would be less dominate. The foreground was much darker and so in post it required several masks to brighten it. I also used a number of additional masks to work on separate bushes to enhance their color and luminosity (especially the yellow trees). I increased the value of the whites to make the bare branches stand out and also used a color range mask to select the green trees and bring out the green color. Then, I selected the foreground and sharpened it in Lightroom. Originally, I liked the sharper foreground, but now I think I pushed it too far. My thought was to create some contrast between the blurred clouds and the sharper trees. But maybe that idea didn’t work too well either. I’m sure you guys will offer some advice on the issues I brought up.


This round’s discussion is now closed!
5 comments posted




Michael Jack   Michael Jack
Nicely seen. I liked you did not lighten the trees too much because it is apparent from the sky that it is getting darker. I think you are right, the foreground trees look a little over sharpened to my eye and appear a little lighter than the more distant trees when a bit darker would be my preference. It might be a false perception created by all the white tree limbs. You did a nice job of creating cloud movement. I see some dark spots that appear to be incongruent to the rest of the clouds. I think having very sharp trees and really soft, moving clouds is a maker's choice. For me, my style would have been to keep the clouds sharp with the trees or have both be softer. Again, just me.   Posted: 11/14/2024 23:07:20



Barbara Gore   Barbara Gore
Hi Larry. When I was out exploring for fall foliage this year, I found myself drawn to the white leafless trees with a touch of color instead of a tree with full colorful leaves. I like how the barren trees stand out in the image. I also like the simple color palette and the softness of the clouds. The lighting of the sky and foreground work well together. For me, the trees are a bit crunchy, and I wonder if a more consistent softness or artistic expression maintained throughout the entire image would enhance the image more.   Posted: 11/19/2024 16:41:18
Larry Treadwell   Larry Treadwell
Thanks, I thought the trees wee a bit too sharp. That happened when I tried to bring out the white tree. Probably went too far   Posted: 11/19/2024 21:42:36



Arne Skinlo   Arne Skinlo
I always love to see your pictures as you put so much effort into them. Eventogh it is a great image, I have a few points I would like to forward. To me, the sky is competing with the forest in being the hero. Using a long shutter speed was a good decission, but my suggestion is to make it less vibrant and may be more to the blue to make colour contast. When it comes to the forrest, I would suggest to darken from the bottom and the sides and pick a few trees as focal points by lighting them and give them contrast. In cases like this, bracketing works well since you will have a better starting point for editing the forest.   Posted: 11/24/2024 07:00:28



Adi Ben-Senior   Adi Ben-Senior
Larry,
Not sure what to think of this picture. Usually the edit is spot on and the exposure too. I think it is missing 1/2 EV and
the trees far back are showing lighter skies from behind. Im guessing this is something to do with the edit. Im not sure.
  Posted: 11/29/2024 22:25:35