Theresa Rice
September 2023 - Survivor
About the Image(s)
This image was taken on the rim of the Colorado National Monument last week early in the blue hour. Although it was meant to be a test shot, it ended up being my favorite. It is a single image, processed in Lightroom, Radiant Photo, and Photoshop. (I tried every trick I know to get the tree to stand out more from the background and am not at all sure it worked.)
Sony A7Riii with the Tamron 24 mm 2.8 lens at F-11, 1/2 second, ISO 100, and Auto white balance with no filters
6 comments posted
Hi Theresa, this is a beautiful landscape and your image is sharp. The diagonal crack in the rocks lead the eye to the tree. However, I agree that the tree get hidden somewhere from the background. I am wondering if moving to the left and going lower would help to make this tree more prominent.
Best wishes
Michele Posted: 09/03/2023 20:26:03
Best wishes
Michele Posted: 09/03/2023 20:26:03
Theresa, Like Michele said, the crack is a nice leading line but that beautiful tree which I consider the primary subject needs to pop. I tried putting it into several HDR programs and didn't like any of them. Worked on in photoshop to no avail. Finally I over sharpened the tree and it helps a little. Mountains and sky are super. Posted: 09/04/2023 09:17:18
This is an attractive image. Through no fault of your own, it appears flat. To me, all the colors almost tend to blend together, accounting for the difficulty in getting the tree to stand out. I know you didn't have a choice, but I wish Mother Nature had cooperated with you but throwing some nice sun beams and shadows here and there to add depth and enable you to bring out the interesting tree in the foreground. Posted: 09/04/2023 17:02:36
There are a lot of elements competing for your attention here but the crack leading in and the central position of the tree tells you what the story is. I tried to bring the tree off the page a bit by using a duplicate layer in multiply mode and painting with light on the tree and then using a radial gradient to lighten it a bit. Not entirely successful for me. I think if you had gone too low, the tree would have broken the horizon so you've chosen the best option available without moving to another spot - and sometimes that option isn't available to you. Posted: 09/06/2023 09:01:55
love the foreground and tree. the crack is a great leading line. I found it a bit challenging to focus on the tree because of the background. might consider a future shot with a lower f stop to get some blur or processing to darken the background to increase contrast between it and the tree. again, I enjoyed the photo a lot Posted: 09/06/2023 11:31:28
I like the image's presentation of the strength of the pine tree. I don't know if it helps: Use LR Radial Gradiant highlight the tree, then reverse the mask to dark the background. And reduce the bottom rock portion. Posted: 09/07/2023 18:20:00