Soli-tree Cypress

Your choice of lens and filter makes the tree have a strong feeling of importance. To me, it is not a tree...but rather an individual that stands alone and strong. The tree takes on personality to me.

After seeing Michael Smith and Paula Chamlee's photography from Tuscany...I really wish I could go there! It seems like a beautiful place.

Anyways, I find nothing wrong with this image besides a weird "halo glow" around the tree. Possible from careless burning of the sky and trying to avoid the tree?

Ryan McIntosh
www.RyanMcIntosh.net

I rather like it. Maybe the halo glow helps make it stand out

very nice baxter - has a very grand and iconic fell feel to it with the central positioning of the tree. There's a touch of the Michael Kenna about it too. Sod purism!

I really like this one. The solitude f the tree the dominance. Very strong image. Definetely more than just a tree.

ALMOST! This almost a great picture. It has a wonderful central shape supported by subtle visual elements within the clouds, as well as a nice movement around the picture by the variation in clouds. [br][br]

I say "almost" for a few reasons, but those reasons are significant enough to keep this one from being great.[br][br]

Certainly the centering of an object photographed can give it a monumental, larger than itself meaning. Think of any Weston pepper (or the toilet for that matter). It is the space around the object that gives the picture its real feeling and sense of movement. Not the solitary object alone..[br][br]

I don't feel the space around the tree is "right" and leaves the picture unbalanced to the right side. The tree itself is placed slightly right of center (though there is no rule saying that it needs to be exactly in the center). That, in conjunction with the movement of the clouds to the top right leave the picture a little too weak structurally on the left. Believe it or not, the light line in the clouds above the grass on the left does an incredible amount to give some balance to the left, but not enough. Seeing that gives me good reason to think that on some level you are aware of such things.[br][br]

Seeing that line in the clouds, I wonder what made for the poor consideration of space at the top. Possibly it is due to the use of the wide angle lens and front rise which would have caused enough light fall off for you to miss the subtle movement in the top of the picture. There is also something lacking in the grass on the left of the tree to support the left edge. By using less rise and including more grass/less sky and moving the tree 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch to the left it would have made this a really wonderful picture. [br][br]

Of course it could easily be done by cropping in the darkroom. Just be sure not to tell anyone. No one cares about cropping until you tell them you did.

[br][br]
The printing is good all in all, except for the halo around the tree. I would not call it "careless burning", but rather a "bitch to burn". I don't care much for the battle lines between analog and digital (especially as violent as some are on apug)---but a dodge as difficult as this would be easier/better accomplished in photoshop and having a digital negative made (an 8x10 neg so you can contact print it on Azo . . . )

I apologize for such a long block of text and I know it makes it hard to read. There was no way to break it up. In the past I was able to press return twice and viola. This time

Thankyou all for your valued compliments and comments on this picture.
I have been away in London (see post on London exhibitions), so sorry that it appears that I have been ignoring your efforts to comment on my picture(s).
The picture is at an early stage (hence critique gallery), so I will see what I can do to take on board your ideas.
With the light fading fast behind a big bank of thick cloud, it really was a case of set up and shoot asap, this took about 3 mins, for the B+W which I shot first knowing I could retain the exposure range (6 stops). Then I did on colour neg for same reason and finally on tranny as the light had softened. I am not sure why the halo is there, I have not done any burning in of the sky.
The inability to break up text in long posts is surely temporary.
I don't think that I am quite at the stage (a great British understatement), where it is fair to be pitched in the ring against/with Mssrs Kenna and/or Weston!