Take a Bough ( Click for larger view)

Hello Alf, I love the light and POV with this image. Composition as always is spot on. The clarity of detail and color just exudes the cold I'm sure you were feeling when taking this, but imho this was worth it. Excellent work my friend.

Best Always,

Holger

To my surprise this was just awarded "photo of the day" on a well known

photo on line magazine. Surprising because the shot is over 3 years old, I

found it amongst some old RAW files, and I had a go at re-processing it

from scratch ........and well here it is. Your thoughts and comments are

always appreciated. Thank You.

Hi Alf. I am not surprised at all that this photo was noticed. It it is just quite simply a beautiful image. a serene, simple, beautifully colored, well composed, piece of art.

Hi Alf,

The f-stop works to provide the classic Sun, with its ray pattern due to the "diffraction effects".

A nice Artist "touch".

Best Regards my friend, Mike

Alf, a beautiful photograph.  Besides the wonderful composition, the range of the blue shades between the snow and sky really seem to work so well. I'm glad that you mentioned that this was taken earlier- my first thought was it is a remarkably early winter.  Regards, Phil

I think you are the only one surprised! :) We are not!! Beautiful picture that confused me at first : I thought that Britain is berried under the snow already! All is well that ends well after all. Warm regards, Tamara

The warm colors of the sunset give an excellent contrast to the colder colors of the snow.

 

Ben

A very nicely composed beautiful result, Alf!

 

Waiting for the best lighting in these circumstances is a heroic did, Alf! But you did it! Great, simple, but wonderful composition! A lot of mood thanks to the well chosen object and first of all - lighting!

 

Best regards

 

PDE

Perhaps what is surprising most about this is that you were surprised it was so well received. It is rather good to say the least.

Simple but the most beautiful.  Nice and simple foreground with the sun beams or rays at the far end.  Nice color in the sky.  Excellent composition... Best Regards,

Nice blue & pink snow to match the sky & cloud.  Good depth of field from front edge to infinity.  The placement of the tree is excellent.  The sun beams are very clean.  I bet this one makes you wonder why you felt you needed to upgrade your equipment!  Regards, Jeff

Alf the colours and textures in this shot are wonderful, no surprise it has been selected for photo of the day.

like many of your images Alf, I really get the feeling of being there...beautiful image...regards....David

I'm not surprised this image was selected as photo of the day Alf. It contains all the elements of a good photograph and is a superb winter image. Excellent color tones, and love the bunny tracks!

All the best,
Neil

Thank you so much!

 

It really was a cold one, my friends 4 x 4 got stuck in the snow and I fell into a drift ....quite an adventure, but it was worth waiting around for the sunset. 

Best Regards 

 

Alf 

 

JENNIFER 

 

Sincere thanks for your thoughts and positive feedback!

I couldn't get this looking right when I first tried to process it 3 years ago, and give up on it. I found it again last week and had another go.

 

Best Regards 

 

Alf 

 

MIKE P

 

Many Thanks for your thoughts and kind words. I believe it is the blades of the diaphragm that give the "star" shape to the light. I can't honestly lay claim to doing it deliberately, but it worked out ok : - ) 

 

All the very best my friend! 

 

Alf 

 

PHIL 

 

Many Thanks for your thoughts and positive feedback! 

 

The low light gave a good range of colour, but my earlier attempts at processing didn't really do it justice and I abandoned it ....for 3 years : - ) 

 

Best Regards 

 

Alf 

 

TAMARA 

 

I was genuinely surprised, of all the photographs they could have chosen, they chose this one that I took three years ago : - )  

I think  they have forecast snow for next week, but UK weather is so volatile I wouldn't rule a heatwave out : - ) 

Sincere Thanks & Warm Regards 

 

Alf 

 

BEN 

 

Many Thanks for your observations and positive feedback. Ideally I would have liked a few more trees, but you have to work with what nature provides.

Best Regards 

 

Alf 

 

 

RUUD 

 

Many Thanks for your thoughts and kind words! 

 

Best Regards 

 

Alf 

 

PIERRE 

 

Although I had a good layer of clothing, I seem to remember my very bones aching with the cold, it took a hot bath and and even hotter curry to thaw me out : - ) 

Was it worth it....yeah it's always worth it! 

 

Sincere Thanks & Best Regards 

 

Alf 

 

 

DAVID 

 

Indeed!  Though the more I read the more I think it was always me and not the photo that was first at fault when I tried to process it 3 years ago. 

Sincere Thanks 

 

Alf 

 

WANGHAN 

 

Many Thanks for your thoughtful feedback. It was a good combination, cold snow, warm light. 

 

Best Regards 

 

Alf 

 

JEFF 

 

You read my thoughts .......I actually did think to myself "why am I spending a fortune on new gear"  .........but then I gave thought to some of the wonderful shots I got with my humble D40 and reasoned it's nearly always about the light and not so much about the camera / lens

Many Thanks for your thoughtful feedback Jeff.

 

Best Regards 

 

Alf 

 

JED 

 

Many Thanks for your interest and positive feedback, much appreciated! 

 

Best Regards 

 

Alf 

 

DAVID 

 

It's very gratifying to read your comments, I too love images that place me at the scene.

 

Thank You & Best Regards 

 

Alf 

 

NEIL 

 

I think you are the first one that recognised the "bunny tracks" It was a part of the shot that I really liked too! 

Sincere Thanks & Best Regards 

 

Alf 

Hi Alf, there are many things in this picture that I like: The leaning tree (which is the element that leads the composition), the texture of the snow, the way the colors contrast, the sunset (or sunrise), and so on.  All this makes an amazing picture!

Kind Regards,

Rosario.

Hi Alf

I liked the fine textures and its simplicity. Alf... the blue color cast in snow absolutely looks very homogeneous with sky's color, but I just want to see how it will be if the snow gets its white color. best regards

Hi Alf,

  Breathtaking scene with beautiful colors, lighting & composition.  It doesn't surprise me one bit.   Take care, Patsy

Hello Alf,

 

This image would never have found its way to MY reject file.  It is really stunning!!!  I am no stranger to snow having grown up near the Canadian border in Minnesota.  I think the foreground is especially powerful in this image.  It easily leads up to the tree and then, of course, the rays of the sun.  I also like the rabbit tracks going up the right side.

Great work as always.

Cheers...

 

Jerry

When the snowy days are done and the sun rise again, then I shall take a bough to welcome the day....warmest regards my friend!  Cheers!

A lovely shot and I offer my congrats!

Really deserve the price! Great shot with nice admixture of cool and warm tones, all such natural looking. For just a small suggestion, i think left upper vignette is a bit heavy. Really nice shot. Bravo and congrats for winning.

Hamid.

Many thanks for your thoughtful observations, and most encouraging feedback! 

 

You are correct, the tree was a decisive factor in the composition, I couldn't quite line it up with the sunset, but I got fairly close. 

Kind Regards 

 

Alf 

 

MUSEEB 

 

It was most interesting to view the snow in a purer white, it immediately seemed to transform the snow in the image to something I would expect to see in the middle of the day.

Sincere Thanks for your observations and kind words.

 

Best Regards 

 

Alf 

 

PATSY 

 

Many Thanks for your unwavering support and kind words, very much appreciated! 

 

Best Regards 

 

Alf 

 

JERRY 

 

I think this is a good example of why we should periodically go back and re-visit some of our old works and re-apply new found processing knowledge to them. Not only do we continually learn, albeit sometimes unwittingly, but the processing technology moves ever forward too. The end result being, that sometimes being we finally get to process a photo as we envisaged it in the first place. 

Yeah, I like the rabbit tracks too : - ) 

 

Sincere Thanks for your thoughtful input Jerry, much appreciated! 

 

Best Regards 

 

Alf 

 

PANAYOTIS 

 

I am honoured that my image provoked such a poetic response! 

 

Sincere Thanks & Warm Regards 

 

Alf 

 

TONY 

 

Many Thanks Tony, much appreciated! 

 

Best Regards 

 

Alf 

 

HAMID 

 

Thank you so much for your thoughts and observations, much appreciated! 

I see what you mean about the vignetting, though I hasten to add, I didn't add this PP, its presence was a result of the low light. My processing consisted of brightening the foreground, whilst reducing the brightness of the sun itself, and some selective sharpening. Oh and yes I remember cloning out a few stray twigs from another tree far right. 

 

Best Regards 

 

Alf 

Hi Alf, I love the colors of this image; the bend tree looks so nice, and the sun shining like a start at he back it's great. Each of my visits to your portfolio is a pleasure.

Warmest regards,

LuDa