Mary Bateman's Tree (click for larger view)

Now, dare I wait for you to tell a story or should I blunder forward before the masses......... Hmmmmnnnnn

 

I just love the definition here........ so crisp.

Another great image with so much to look at and look for....

Well done my friend.......... have a great New Year.

Best regards

 Mary Bateman (1768 – 20 March 1809) was an English criminal and

alleged witch, known as the "Yorkshire Witch", who was tried and

executed for murder during the early 19th century. Born to a farmer in

Asenby, North Yorkshire, she became a servant girl in Thirsk, North

Yorkshire but was eventually released due to petty theft. During the

1780s, she became a minor thief and con artist who often convinced

many of her victims she possessed supernatural powers. By the end of

the century, she had become a prominent fortune teller in Leeds who

prescribed potions which she claimed would ward off evil spirits as well

as acting as medicine. In 1806, Bateman was approached by William

and Rebecca Perigo who believed they had been put under a spell after

Rebecca had complained of chest pains and asked for her help in lifting

the curse. However, over the next several months, Bateman began

feeding them pudding which was laced with poison. While Rebecca

regularly ate the pudding, her husband was unable to eat more than a

spoonful. Rebecca's condition worsened however and she finally died in

May 1806. William Perigo continued to pay her for more than two years

until he discovered one of the "charms" which he and his wife had

received from Bateman was worthless paper; he went to the authorities

who arrested Bateman the following day after William lured her to a

meeting. Although she proclaimed her innocence, a search of her home

turned up poison as well as many personal belongings of her victims

including the Perigo couple. In March 1809, she was tried in York and

found guilty by a jury of fraud and murder. Sentenced to death, Bateman

attempted to avoid her execution by claiming she was pregnant, but a

physical examination disproved this. She was finally hanged alongside

two men on 20 March 1809. After her execution, her body was put on

public display with strips of her skin being sold as magic charm to ward

off evil spirits. Bateman's skeleton is on display to the public at Thackray

Museum in Leeds. Of course the tree has nothing at all to do with her, it

just looked like a witches tree :- ) Your thoughts and comments are

always appreciated. Thank You

Happy new year to you ,and all of yours my dear friend.

 

Saad

Alf,

Thanks for sharing the story.  First time I had heard it.

 

Love your image.  Nice and crisp with a perfect composition.  The rocks in the foreground are great and your sky is stunning.  Lone tree is not bad either.  Cheers, bb

OK, another solitary tree  . . .  

Except - - this one appears to be holding back a potential avalanche!  This rock formation is spectacular, and your image shows every detail and every nuance.  The purple hue in the clouds is equally as spectacular.  Your choice of DOF highlights the rolling hills of this magnificent area of your country.

My best to you and yours for everything that a new year brings.

michael

Hi Alf,

  Thanks for the story.  Wonderful image with beautiful composition, details & colors.  Happy New Year!! Patsy

Hi Alf,

A great story to accompany this gorgeous scenery.

Well shot my friend.

Best Regards and a Happy New year 2014, Mike

 

Thanks for the fantastic story!  The photo is excellent too, with such great detail.  The lone tree deserves a name anyway!   Aloha.

Brilliant shot, and a superb tale, Alf! Love the way the clouds echo the shape of the uplifted branches. Superb work my friend! Have an excellent 2014!

All the best,
Neil

Hi Alf, 

The composition is excellent.  And I really like how the tree and sky complement each, and there's a nice mix greens throughout.  I'm viewing the large version on a 27" iMac and to me the foreground, especially towards the corners, does not seem sharp.  So two questions popped into my head: (1) Do you find that the 14-24 is soft in the corners?  (2) Would f/8 have made things better or worse (I'm sure you tried it at a variety of f-stops)?  All the best, Jeff

LOL, boy am I a sucker for a story.  Read the whole thing to find out it doesn't have anything to do with this tree!  However, this is fast becoming one of my favorite trees.  Rocks are rocks and well done, the solitary tree has a haunting feel (especially bare) and the ominous clouds add to the ambiance.  Very well done (and an interesting story nonetheless)...  Mike

This is so beautiful. I like the foreground, the lonely tree, the vivid sky and the beautiful colors. The composition is also good.

Sidsel

Hi Alf-Well,here is my last posting for the year & i see another tree & it makes for an interesting scene. To my vision ,there is a similarity,either the bare branches mimic the clouds or vice-versa.Would you agree or believe I should head toots-sweet to the nearest optometrist.Actually, it's a nicely shaped tree & probably quite attractive when it spings to life in the spring.Love the detail in the boulders,you are very good at capturing detail,in your previous posting the details in the grasses was superb, almost 3D As usual head for the larger size & to me your image is improved in the horizontal mode,but then, I'm not fussy about verticals.Well, it is getting late & will be pondering all the big ideas & projects to be accomplished in the coming year & as usual my track record is nothing to brag about.Expect I have a lot of company Again,for you & yours I wish for a Happy & Healthy New Year,Very Best Regards,My Friend-Ross PS-Really appreciate your well thought & interesting comments on my images

A very nicely composed beautiful result, Alf!

I wish you a Happy New Year...

With best regards,

Ruud.

 

One can just feel the coarseness of the rocks and the icy chill of the moorland.

Great story about the tree; seems a bit slack to poison one's best customers.

 

Best regards,

 

Patrick

Another great landscape from you Alf, the clouds looks like being irradiated from the tree. The stones' pattern looks great and very detailed. Excellent my friend and thanks for sharing this piece of history.

Best Regards and very happy new year.

Patrick

Hi Alf, loved the story.

Great landscape full of texture and contrast.

Ahhhh there you go, you should have waited for the story : - ) 

 

Although strictly speaking, the story isn't really relevant other than an explanation of how the title came about! 

 

Many Thanks! Very pleased you liked this one Grayham! 

 

Sincere Best Wishes for 2014 my friend!

 

Alf 

 

SAAD 

 

Happy New year to you and your loved ones! 

 

Alf 

 

BILL 

 

I wasn't aware of the story myself until I googled the words "Yorkshire Witch"  I think it would make a great movie though! 

I tried to line the branches of the tree up with the cloud, but it wasn't quite in line, but after trying several angles this was the closest I got. 

Many Thanks Bill! 

 

Kind Regards 

 

Alf 

 

MICHAEL 

 

Happy 2014 to you too my friend! 

 

I have taken photo's of this particular tree before, and I have to say because of the terrain and rock formations, it can be quite a challenge to get it right. The sky did help enormously with this one though.

 

My very best wishes to you and your loved ones this coming year! 

 

Alf 

 

PATSY 

 

Many Thanks for your thoughts and kind words, much appreciated! 

 

Happy New Year!

 

Alf 

 

MIKE P

 

They often say that truth is stranger than fiction, and this story certainly bears that out.  

I'm really pleased you like this one! 

 

Happy New year my friend! 

 

Alf 

 

DOMINICK

 

Yes, I think you are right, the tree deserved a name!

Standing alone for god knows how many years, facing the elements in a most hostile environment and clinging to life amongst a rock strewn hillside, least we could do was give it a name : - ) 

Many Thanks Dominick, Best Wishes to you my friend! 

 

Alf 

 

NEIL 

 

That's just what I was aiming for, that connection between the tree branches and the clouds. It didn't line up perfectly no matter which angle I took it from, but I am very pleased you liked the results.

 

Sincere Thanks & Best Wishes for 2014

 

Alf 

 

JEFF

 

Many Thanks for your thoughts and great feedback! 

 

My very close proximity to the rocks was probably the main cause of the slight softness at the foreground. This lens is fairly well renowned for its corner to corner sharpness, and I have had no complaints at all with it's performance.  "Would F/8 have made better or worse"  Well in terms of perceived sharpness I would say marginally better. However even at say F/ 11, with the rocks at such close proximity I think there would still be a problem. 

The reason I didn't get further back so that everything would be crisp, is that I needed slight elevation to show the rocks from slightly above whilst retaining the separation of the tree branches from the land mass.  It was actually a bit more complicated than it looks. 

 

Best Wishes to you Jeff! 

 

Alf 

 

MIKE M 

 

Ha ha ....Gotcha! 

 

It is a great tree though and as Dominick commented above, it deserved a name!  

The tree does indeed have a haunting, or a mystical quality about it and I was very fortunate to be able to capture the connection with the sky.

I think that story would make a great historical type movie! 

 

Many Thanks Mike! 

 

Alf 

 

SIDSEL

 

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

 

Best Regards 

 

Alf 

 

ROSS 

 

I am glad you noticed the connection with the sky and the tree branches. I did try and line them up, but it wasn't going to be perfect no matter what angle I tried it from.

I like bare winter branches, and autumnal colours, but don't really get too excited about trees in full leaf in the summer. 

Some shots can only really be fully captured with a vertical shot, when you consider this was taken at 14 mm with a full frame camera. But I take your point, I do prefer the horizontal shape myself most of the time.

 

Many Thanks for your thoughtful feedback and kind words my friend! 

 

My Sincere Best Wishes to you and your loved ones for 2014! 

 

Alf 

 

RUUD 

 

Thank you for your interest and kind words! 

 

Happy New Year to you my friend! 

 

Alf 

 

 

PATRICK O

 

I guess most people in business could think of a few customers they would like to poison : - ) 

Sincere Thanks for your thoughtful feedback, much appreciated! 

 

Best Regards 

 

Alf 

 

PATRICK C

 

Thank you so much for your interest and positive feedback! 

The connection between the tree and the sky was what I was aiming to capture! 

 

Sincere Best Wishes & Happy New Year! 

 

Alf 

 

JED 

 

Many Thanks for your interest and thoughtful feedback! 

I had a good day out at Ainsdale Beach on Sunday, interesting wreck revealed at low tide, only a small one but I got some nice shots.

 

Cheers Jed All the best mate! 

 

Alf 

 

Well composed with all elements in places, good colours. Happy New Year, Alf!

Jeff Bryce said "The composition is excellent. And I really like how the tree and sky complement each" .... other and I agree.  The light area of the sky seems to mimic the shape of the top portion of the tree and find that particularly appealing.

 

I appreciate your explanation on the 2nd aspect of Jeff`s comment.

 

PS one heck of a story from the "Good old days" (*_*).

!

Hi Alf, A great storyline which makes the image all the more appealing. I like the POV and the composition in general. Alf I hope you and your family have a great New Year. Take care my friend.

Best Always,

Holger

Interesting story has this tree! And your picture maintains the usual superb qualities, Alf! Perspective and depth, wonderful colors, perfect composition with nothing less and nothing more! Bravo my friend!

 

Best regards

 

PDE

Many Thanks for your interest and positive feedback! 

 

Best to you for 2014! 

 

Alf 

 

TONY 

 

Sometimes taking the shot can be a whole lot more complicated than it looks, but of course you would know that.  

This tree was not in the right position when I was standing upright, neither was it when I was kneeling down, consequently the shot was taken in a kind of half crouch with the rocks directly beneath me.

I think the story would make a great movie! 

 

Sincere Thanks for your input Tony, much appreciated! 

 

Alf 

 

HOLGER 

 

I am very pleased you enjoyed the story and the photograph, and thank you for your thoughtful feedback! 

 

Sincere Best Wishes to you and your family for 2014.

 

Alf 

 

PIERRE 

 

Thank you so much for your thoughtful feedback! 

 

Getting the perspective right was a bit of a challenge, this tree looks so very different from every angle.

 

Best Regards 

 

Alf 

 

Sad story...wonderful photo, very evocative of a harsh landscape and a harsh life. Very well done!.

Warm regards,

Dimitris.

Dear Alf, compliments for this little-big composition: if it was possible a...6 here is veryveryvery right!