POTM [07/07] First POTM Entry

I've joined POTM for a few months now, and here is my first entry. I thought it was grotesquely elegant in the way this tree died. I was speeding down a highway in the Rockies, so I didn't have much time to composite the shot. This was a lucky one out of 2. The other was super blurred.

No post processing aside from contrast/exposure/black adjustments in RAW, and the resize.

 

i quite like this

 

I like this shot. I'm a sucker for black and white, and this image has an Ansel Adams quality to it, in my opinion. I really like the tone in the surrounding trees; they're dark, with just the right amount of highlight. I think this photo would be even stronger if you pulled the dead tree up a litle bit more. Make it almost white. Make it really "pop" against the dark background.

-monkey

 

Monkey,

I've made it a shade darker. I don't want to darken it too much or I'd start losing details in the surrounding foliage. But you're right, it was a little faded. It wasn't as noticeable in my software as it was converted and uploaded. So now, it is the newer version.

Thanks for pointing that out.

 

It still looks pretty good, but perhaps I wasn't very clear in my previous post. I liked how dark the trees were before. Now that I'm home viewing on my calibrated monitor, the trees look a little too dark; some of the nicer highlights have disappeared. What I meant was that the dead tree could have been lighter.

-monkey

 

Very good shot Reminds me of the pictures by Yann Arthus Bertrand who shoots "earth from above"
Dig him here: http://www.yannarthusbertrand.com/

 

That is awesome. What camera did you use and is there a larger version I could use for a background(with your permission )?

 

That would be a Rebel XT, coupled with a 70-200 F/4L. It was shot at 200mm at F/4 (which is why if you look closely at the full size version, you'll see some out of focus trees). I believe it was ISO100 at 1/200th shutter speed.

The location is somewhere between Jasper and Calgary - there's a lot of these dead trees that look twisted and gnarled. I think this shot might have been taken while I was in a car.

Sure you can use it as a background as long as you credit me if people ask. Just send me a private message with your email and the dimensions of your desktop is and I'll toss you a copy.