Remnant

A lone tree survives because of a drainage ditch in a former prairie that is

now a wheat field (as are all of the surrounding prairies and hills as far as

the eye can see). A heavy fog is lifting, and the distant horizon almost

blends with the sky. Your comments and suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks.

Wonderful to find an abandoned, lifeless tree like that out in the middle of nowhere. More fog would be even better. Could you have achieved a more direct face to face vision of the tree, moving to your left and making the dividing line between the fields more parallel to the bottom of the frame? Or emphasised a more diagonal line? It’s easy to ask these things without having been there at the original source! An inspiring image. Best regards.

Jon, thanks for your comment.  I had just enough fog left to make the horizon line almost (but not quite) disappear.  Earlier on the ditch did form a diagonal through my frame, but I eventually decided to go with a 2:1 ratio and emphasize the tree more, so with the crop the foreground became a bit messier.  I can't recall why I didn't face this more squarely, but it's not too far away and I'll have a chance to go back and try it again.

The levee as we know to be source of water relates to the tree coming to life once more with its partially developing leaves give so much symbol to this meaningful b&w landscape. Beautifully done.

Lester, thanks for your comment.  The tree persists for two reasons:  water in the canal, and it's just out of the way of the wheat combine.

Sad!  The glory and glamor of the autumn is gone. The winter is coming or is already there.  However, the pring is not far away.  As long as we could pass the winder, the life would be more lovely again.  Best Regards,

Wanghan, yes, it is a pretty bleak look, which is the main reason why I wanted to photograph it.  For whatever reason, bleakness is attractive to me.  In addition to the autumn leaves being gone, these fields are now stripped bare of the wheat that one covered them -- the land just seems dead, and the fog blots out the sky.  Spring will bring new life, but in the meantime I'm hoping to see this same scene covered in snow.

Beautiful subject, very nice tone, but the composition is a little to tight at the right bottom. For me. IMHO.

Bela, I'll keep that in mind.  This was cropped top and bottom, so I should be able to move the frame down a bit.  For me, it's that large branch near the bottom to goes out to the left that really contributes to the crowding.  But even the trunk and the top of the tree may be a bit out of balance.