The Old Apple Tree Redux

[Richard]

Third shot works for me.. just need to wait for a day with a more interesting sky... I like the way the shed has similar tones to the tree.

[Bambi]

WOW! Thanks guys for all the comments.

*sigh* this photography stuff is HARD!

I don't mind harsh-as long as it's on how to improve and not 'you should never ever pick up a camera again'. And I am grateful for how people are being so detailed in their responses.

I did lay down, but did not like how I lost the line of sight down the river so nixed that.

Moving to the left brought in some brush laying around that did not add to the shot at all.

I did take a front view of the tree and shed and will post that once I finish with it.


I was worried about over-processing the sky and having it noisy but will go back and try to burn it further. I will also play with the levels. I am working from a laptop so can't always be sure of being correct. so I try to be cautious and not over do it (like when I was over-sharpening)

When I crop to show all of the tree then everything is dead centre and it's less interesting to me. however I can take a second look and see if I can get the branches back

The snow is too blown out in the window shot and cannot be saved but I think it's due to the distortion of the window and the fact that my camera likely compensated for the darker wood and trees and not the snow. I took different exposures but the snow through the window was the same in all.

I can try to run the first one through some noise reduction and see if that helps with the sky.

Re a sunset pic: Unfortunately the sun would set behind me so I'll have to trudge over there at dawn. And if I do that I will need to figure out a)when is dawn and b) will it be a sunny day? looking at the weather it seems that it would sat or sunday. damn, I'll lose some sleep there!

When I look at #3 the reason I like is that it reminds me of two elderly beings enduring together. I also like how you have the mini view from the window (like MA).

oh and Casil- it's not an ice shed. The people who own the property like the view so they built a 3 sided shed to sit and watch the river in. It's quite a lovely place to sit in the summer (and even in the winter). Because the wood has been untreated it's taken on that lovely gray patina.

[Bambi]

Okay so I tackled Shot 3 again this is what I got playing with the contrast, making sure I didn't boost the noise and adjusted the crop. Looks better to me but I await more informed opinions. I am just not sure if it's too 'blue'


and because it seemed so close to being desaturated I tried b&w. seems to add a vintage feel:

[Mad Aussie]

The B&W version doesn't strike me much personally but that latest version of the coloured one is a very nice strp forward I reckon. The composition looks better now ... both contrast and colour are more vibrant as well. Looks like a slight blur effect used as well?
I like it!

[JAS_Photo]

I like the colored version as well. It is like a watercolor painting with it's subdued blues and greys.

[Richard]

I like the coloured version, to be hyper critical I would just rotate the camera slightly so the empty space on the right hand side of the shed is equal to the empty space on the left hand side of the tree.

It is a beautiful photo.

[Bambi]

thanks guys! glad to know I'm heading in the right direction. MA, not so much as blur effect as a noise reduction. when I boosted the contrast and levels some noise came up in the sky so I then ran it through a noise filter. I kinda liked the effect.

the final colour version is my favourite but I do like the b&w, it has a different mood to it. I might return to it and see if I can make it bit more vintage looking.