Birch trees through alder branches.

This is a picture of 3 birch trees looking through a bunch of alder

branches (red). The intent of this when I took it was to try to capture

the colour of the alders. I think the colour seemed so impressive at

the time because it completely surrounded me. Any shots I took that

actually focussed on the alders themselves seemed to deaden this

impact. This recaptures the feeling for me, does anyone else get the

same feeling?

I know how you mean about these alders. They don't make so great of a subject on their own without a good background. Even then, they usually look cluttered. I think you did find a nice way to capture their red color here. Another way to do this, which I have not tried, might be to find a small patch of the alders with deep green in the far background. Angle the shot up, focusing on the red alder and keeping the distant green out of focus.