Tree Henge

Thanks for Looking! Comments are very welcome, however critical they

may be.

Chip, I think this is an excellent photo in many ways! Fantastic colors, lighting and subject. Those streaks coming off the sun are very interesting and in my mind, make this an outstanding photo. WOW....

This picture is amazing. I love the vivid color the sun gives the snow. Also the low sun adds to the texture of the snow. THe rule of thirds was nicely portrayed in this picture [if you know what i mean] very well done

Electric and eerie. Also looks mighty cold. Wonderful shot....7/7

Beautiful. Good job with the sun. All the best, Al

Awesome shot, wonderful colors, very nicely done Chip!!!! Congratulations.

Thanks very much for the comments-I really do appreciate it!

Would the person who left me a 3, and the one who left me 4's PLEASE show your face and let me know what about my image is fair/in need of improvement!! This scoring system is COMPLETELY pointless without an explanation for low scores.

Very nice, the only thing that bothers me is the dark wisp of cloud on the right. Apart from that it's perfect imo.

You were perfect altitude with perfect timing. Wonderful colors and well exposure.I enjoy seeing this landscape.Congratulations.Full points from me.

wonderful photo. great colours, sun star and composition. i might have cloned out the jet's stream ... otherwise perfect. well done. Oh, and the rating system is (forgive the pun) pointless. i'd put photos up for critique only.

My God Chip, this is sensational!!! Only possible thing I would have done differenly is rotate an inch to the left, get a bit more of the heavily bent tree at the edge. This is definitely one of the best landscape shots I've seen on this site, awe inspiring stuff...

 

James

Chip, I have to agree with what Marc Adamus said, this is your best work and maybe the best that I have ever seen period. Everything came together for this one perfect. Thanks for sharing this, I am truly inspired.

This is a masterpeice!.Nothing more to say....BRAVO!

 

Thanks for sharing....Marc

I too; agree with Marc's assessment; this is your best, so far! Bravo! For God's sakes, man; why do you even submit these for ratings; you know that the 3s and 4s will show up. Just submit 'em for 'critique only.' Your work is just superb; and thanks for sharing with all of us! Cheers! Chris

INcredible!!

This is one of those shots, Chip, where I think the more time goes by the more you will realize just how rare and special something like this is. The conditions you found here were extremely rare. The rime ice on the trees comes and goes but to hit it at that point where it's complimented by great light and atmosphere, before melting at all in the sunlight, is something that I myself only manage to see once or twice a year out of twenty or thrirty winter trips each season dedicated to capturing specificly that. I cannot overstate how rare these conditions are. With that said, it's the composition that separates this from any other work you've done. It is by far your best, and probably one of the top-10 or so landscape shots I've ever seen by anyone from a compositional standpoint. I've spent countless days over many years scouting terrain like this and never seen a more perfect placement of trees.

 

If I had any critique, and it is minor, it would be that the area below the sun is too dark. Acutally darker than the surounding clouds, probably a result of some effort you made to accentuate the sun star. I would dodge that a bit and call it done. It is indeed a masterpiece of an image.

This is beyond amazing Chip. As Marc pointed out, what make this image so outstanding is how unique it is. I do agree about cloning out the contrail. Everything else looks right-on. I am not crazy about the title, however. Kind of goofy to me. I don't agree about submitting for critique only because despite the occasional low scores, it is the average that counts. No matter what in a forum like this, you are going to recieve an occasional low rating from the single individual who does not like photos of pink trees. Big deal I say. Accepting ratings, however, does insure that your photo will stay in front of more members longer because it will remain in the "browse top photos" not only by # of comments, but by average score as well. Many members use the "average" criteria to browse top photos. Because your image is averaging around 6.5 for originality and aesthetics, that is a pretty good indication that the 4/4 is out to lunch don't you think. Don't let a single mosquito keep you inside.

I like the composition and the overall shot, however on my monitors at work this looks way over saturated, I have spent many a night and morning on top of mountains, so I am not new to these scenes. I hope you take this the right way, no offense intended. Ross (after looking at your portfolio this is a suprise to me, you have some very nice work, none of which is over saturated)

Beautiful

 

...ali...

Thanks everyone, for the critiques!!

Marc-I very much appreciate your thoughtful critique on this. It's very encouraging to hear something like that from someone who's work I admire so much. I'm getting a little better, but I still think I have a hard time critiquing my own work. I really wasn't too excited about this one, maybe because I had hoped for a better sky...I am glad I posted it now though. I see what you mean about the sunstar-just some sloppy post processing on my part.

Mark-yes the name is kind of goofy, but I like it...

Ross-I won't take your opinion the wrong way. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions..I disagree with you about the saturation. I worked, and re-worked this image to get it the way I want, and still don't believe I am quite there. The red glow was extremely intense, and only lasted for a few seconds just before the sun dropped below the horizon. I have seen it a couple of times while on the summit, but never quite as intense as this. I fired off shots throughout the course of final 10 minutes of sunset and it is amazing how much the color changed from frame to frame. I chose this one because of the unique color, and it was one of the final shots of the evening. I have added very little saturation, just many adjustment layers for exposure adjustment and color. (It is a single shot, not a blend.)I calibrate my monitor regularly.

Like I said before, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I appreciate the critique, and thanks for looking! Chip

Hi Chip, this is too magenta for me - the sunlight doesnt look normal. I would also clone out that small strip of dark cloud top right.Just my opinion.Otherwise a very beautiful image.

You cannot combat faceless cowards who lurk on photonet. They must have nothing better to do than sweat on a great image arriving so they can kick its guts.

The oversaturated appearance may be due to the small size of the jpeg. If this was to print 20x30 you'ld want to keep the saturation level as it is.

 

A fantastic image and I don't say that lightly because I don't do too many critiques because of a personal decision I made going back to my art institute days decades ago.

 

Looking at the rest of your gallery you show a level of consistancy that is quite hard to achieve as a single body of work. This is a very merchandiseable image as is the rest of your gallery.

 

My only small issue I have with your work in general including this image is that every element from the foreground to the horizon seems to have the same level of sharpness applied which tends to flatten the perception of depth in landscapes. Our eyes don't see that way. The eye also tends to see foregound with more contrast and vibrance with a gradual diminishing of this as elements recede to the horizon.

 

The colors and the composition makes this image pop. If nature didn't come up with these color hue combinations then you, Chip, as a post processor have a great eye for color design.

 

Great work.

Outstanding scene! The bend of the snow-covered trees frames this image perfectly. The only criticism I have is for the slightly distracting diffraction lines coming from the sun. They may be better cloned out.

Is that the same picture as the one Best buy uses as part of its display for large screen TV? I could swear it's your picture there. What is really great is the light on the snow which creates a very coarse texture and the clouds in the background. You should do great with that picture, as it should be.