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Just for Fun No C&C will be given: Snowy tree

StuartRae

New member
We had another couple of inches of snow yesterday. This time it was wet and sticky and covered the branches of the lilac bush in my garden.
I can't make up my mind about this shot. WDYT?

EOS 350D, 70-200 f/4 @ F9, 1/100 sec, ISO 200.

snowy-tree.jpg

Regards,

Stuart
 
Stuart,

I enjoy scenes like this myself, and have taken many photos of branches, reeds, and etc. covered with snow, frost, or ice. Such images are akin to stages without actors (subjects). Your shot has some branches at the lower left that almost pull the thing together.

Regardless, it's a very pleasant image.
 

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Hi Stuart,

To be brutally honest, I too take similar pictures every now and then and end up binning those eventually. Why? Because these kind of pictures are mainly about textures and they lack a focal point or a story as it were. I'm not saying that it is not a nice picture, which it is. But there is not much more in it than that.

So I was hoping that you can help me understand your motives for taking this picture so that I can discover mine why I take similar ones myself. This urge really bothers me. It is as if one is mesmerized on location by the unusual beauty and the atmosphere which surrounds us (snow is definitely very rare here so I enjoy seeing it immensely). So we try to capture that emotion in the picture, but it never works that way, does it? I hope I am making some sense here :)

Cheers,
 

charlie chipman

New member
I like this and the chaos pattern it presents though I think a potentially more powerful picture would be taking a less chaotic route. By that I mean moving in closer and finding patterns that are perhaps more elegant and not as random, find a couple/few branches that intersect in pleasing matter and concentrate on the details. Of course this is easy to say but I have no idea of the setting and circumstance so perhaps not so easy to do.
 

ErikJonas

Banned
Stuart....Funny how your name has "art" in it....this image certainly is art....Great shot you have here Stuart....I dont see anything i'd change here other then the location from my computer screen to my wall =)
 

StuartRae

New member
Thanks everyone for taking time to comment.

I don't really know why I feel compelled to take this kind of shot. I suppose, as Cem says, it's the rarity value. After all, it may be another couple of years before I get another chance. Then I look at the image and think "that's nice, but.............".

I think I agree with Charlie that the image may be a bit too random. I did take a few others, and here's a crop from one of them.

IMG_4293-01.jpg

Regards,

Stuart
 
I too feel your pain. I have taken more of these than I care to admit...dissappointment rate = 100%.

Though I keep trying, I think I haven't figured out what it is that I'm trying to capture.
 

ErikJonas

Banned
Stuart...Honestly the second image i am not too keen on...That first one i do really like.The second though no not really. And i dont know how to put it in beneficial terms...To me the image is flat,just not interesting...Back to that first one though, love that!!!
 

Matthew Bryan

New member
Hi Stuart. I also have the urge to take shots like yours (not as well usually) and while I agree with Cem Usakligil about the first photo not having a concise focus - the second shot - that one I really like. The first one leaves me wanting more (something I see in a lot of my own photos) - the second one the lone branch stretching out, reaching toward spring (something I'm doing right now) really captures my eye. The only thing I'd like to see is more of the branch - the top loses distinction with the clump of snow.

But that's just my opinion - I really like the second one - and the first one is the type of picture I find my self taking often, you're not alone there.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
This magnificent picture is now also the stimulus for a thread on natural patterns that we admire and get drawn towards.




snowy-tree.jpg


Stuart Rae: Snowy Tree



This magnificent picture has been made the stimulus for a thread on natural patterns that we admire and get drawn towards. These remarkable pictures are discussed here.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Hi Stuart. I also have the urge to take shots like yours (not as well usually) and while I agree with Cem Usakligil about the first photo not having a concise focus - the second shot - that one I really like. The first one leaves me wanting more (something I see in a lot of my own photos) - the second one the lone branch stretching out, reaching toward spring (something I'm doing right now) really captures my eye. The only thing I'd like to see is more of the branch - the top loses distinction with the clump of snow.

But that's just my opinion - I really like the second one - and the first one is the type of picture I find my self taking often, you're not alone there.

Hi Matthew and Cem,

Let me address the "indefiniteness" of the first image. However, there's an impressive forceful thrust of movement from the lower left to the upper right which is a subtle symbol of positive progress and effort for the future. These mixed characteristics make up the charm of the picture. It will grow on you. It will also make this photograph superb, printed large. I argue that sharp edges would admittedly better define the structures however at a cost. It would restrict us! right now it's a deep maize of a softer empty world to allow the mind populate with ideas. We get a sense of extended time in the fractal like repeats of the snow-laden branches. It invites us in to it's complexity to wander there. We can a wonder about whatever our inner mind sends forth to be measured or examined.

Photographers are, IMHO, too used to strict demands of exactness. However, oft-times the edges of things, our options and choices are more indistinct, like between good and good and evil and evil. You might rethink this. I'd love to see your impression on further visits.

Asher
 

StuartRae

New member
Asher my friend, you're a cunning old ****** :)

OK, here's the deal. You stop embarrassing me by pretending that this picture is better than it is, and I'll pick up my toys and climb back into the pram.

Best wishes,

Stuart
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Asher my friend, you're a cunning old ****** :)

OK, here's the deal. You stop embarrassing me by pretending that this picture is better than it is, and I'll pick up my toys and climb back into the pram.

Best wishes,

Stuart

Stuart,

The problem here is that this is not an ordinary picture! This will be an even more impressive photograph when printed huge and placed on a large white wall. Some times we are so much in awe of other folks work that we cannot see the gold at our own feet. Rest assured, I have no problems openly disemboweling any lesser work!

I'm try to be careful in what call "exceptional" as it reflects on my judgment. So, on this occasion, allow me my assessment as both sincere, carefully thought out, measured and I believe valid. Go with the force and accept that this might indeed by worthy of repeat visits. Not an everyday feat, by any means!

Kudos!

Asher
 

ErikJonas

Banned
I still like the first image posted in this....I shot something similar on my January 1st road trip and not in a way to copy it as i had not even seen it at that point...Mine i didnt edit till recently...I almost didnt print it but decided to and its getting comments from others...Its B/W....I like it but think i am the only one or one of the few who will like it....

Anyway...I like the image Stuart.....An when you pick up your toys leave a few hotwheel cars those are the best!! =)
 
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