Lone Tree

[eddymerckx]

Hi All!

Took this pic at Changi Point boardwalk around 6+pm.

Details:
D80 @26mm, f10, Auto ISO, 1/400s handheld.

PP:
Photoshop CS2 changed the WB to Shade and create the border.

Areas for critique:
Help me out on the compositional and technical aspects as I'm a newbie at this. I had wanted to capture the solitary existence of the tree against an unforgiving environment yet it manages to thrive.

 

[ssping83]

compositionally the leaves at the top left hand serves nothing.. rather.. it somewhat marrs the idea of a "lone tree"..

the subject will do well if captured in full too.. or if you want the subject cropped.. crop it more.. now it's losing some branches on the right which seems unintentional..

exposure.. hmm.. not sure.. underexposed i think? i am still grappling with exposure issues when i shoot too.. maybe someone can share how they deal with scenes with dynamic range like this.. =)

cheers!

 

[dw8888]

I think you can move more to you riight side until the tree is on your left hand side of you picture.

 

[karnage]

I agree with dw888: move more to your right. Anyway, the left side is pretty straight, so it looks weird to have it in the middle, you know what I mean? Kinda cuts the picture in half. Exposure depends on the mood you want to have. Underexposure can have a pretty serious mood, kinda effect. In this case, I think a silhoutte of the tree like you have done is great. Maybe the sky is abit underexposed though, but nothing a little Brightness/Contrast won't solve. Cheers!

 

[night86mare]

the tree is not easy to shoot. for some reason, i remember seeing some photos of it last time, but then recently there is less pretty ones of it. probably because you can only do silhouette (even hdr will give you haloing if you want details, at least for sunset shoot).. also the amount of clutter around it due to stray trees, branches, means without cloning tool it is not easy to isolate.

as what others have mentioned, the top left corner serves no purpose and adds no value, only seeking to distract from the subject. good point to note here is that the balance between blackness and exposed areas is pretty good, considering. moving to the right would indeed give you a more photoegenic silhouette which is more distinct and drawn apart. another point to note is the tilt in the horizon. for most things you can keep straight horizon optional, but for landscapes, it is very obvious when the horizon is tilted

 

[fabianaino]

HI eddymerckx,

good effort.. =) I love that stretch of changi beach as well.

As most of them have said ... and I see it in that way as well ... find an angle to have the tree on the left side. From any landview, the tree seems to be pointing to the right and hence placing the tree on the left will make your photo feels more balance.

I think longer exposures will soften the photo and making the tree more "lonely" if that's what you want. As for the unforgiving enviroment, it's hard to potray the tree as such because the tree hadn't lost all it's leaves yet. I did capture some for the same tree which was "bo ta" hehe . .maybe that serves better?

In your case I think a different theme will be more effective.

If I were you, I will find a different angle, frame the sunset, make the tree my siluette, longer exposures to soften the water ...

My 2 cents worth .. =(

 

[eddymerckx]

Hi All!

Thanks for making the effort to critique. Learning as I go along and all your comments helped!

Cheers to all!