Early Morn in the Smokies (Please click for larger view)

Would you clone out the little piece of tree on the right margin about 2/3 of

the way up? Thanks for your thoughts on this.

Magnificent shot! Such a gorgeous part of the USA!

I must make myself get out earlier in the mountains.  A spectacular view and capture... Mike

To be honest I don't think the presence of the tree 2/3 of the way up on the right disturbs or interferes with the flow of the image in any way, although some may argue that it creates a slight imbalance. Personally I find that nature isn't perfectly balanced and so would leave it as it is.  Beautiful morning light, even the lens flare adds to the scene. Yes indeed I must try and make the effort to visit this magnificent place! 

Best Regards 

Alf 

Best regards, Christal!

PDE

Hi Christal,   First, I like the light in this image; it looks like late afternoon.  You handled the harshness well.  About that piece of tree, yes I would likely clone it out.  I don't disagree with Alf, but think that without the tree piece you'd catch that blue outline that appears to be behind it.  I guess this is just a matter of judgment.  Thanks for your comment on my B&W night image at Plaza de Armas.  Happy New Year.  Larry

Very nice colours, good composition.

Regrads

Wald

I would leave the trees as they are.  However, I hate lens flare and always try to do what I can to contain it.  Most annoying is the large oval flare that cuts the mountains and sky.  But I do like this better than the b&W and other one in your portfolio, as it looks over-worked.  This one seems more natural to me, and I really like the layers of colors.   

Nice work.  I am with Jeff with the lens flare even though I have a couple of images up here at photo.net with Flare. In a case where lens flare is present - I usually take two - one with flare  and another without if possible. I then sit back and ask if the flare adds something artistic to the image or not and trust me, there is no right or wrong answer.

Re the tree: I would do a proportional( as if if you zoomed in slightly)  crop and eliminate it but I can see Alf's perspective on this. 

Very Good!

Thank you all for your comments and critiques on this.  Sorry it took me awhile to get back here.  Tony and Jeff, I agree with you, and I don't usually like flare either.  For some reason it didn't bother me here.  But beyond that, frankly, I was shooting directly into the sun and I didn't know how to avoid it.  That's my story, and I'm sticking' to it!  :-)  I may play around with trying to remove it.....we'll see how good my photoshop skills are.  I always appreciate honest feedback.....thanks!

Most of the time flare bothers me, but in these harsh lighting conditions I sort of expect it.  I mean, even without the camera I see spots when it's this bright ;-).  Just for fun, here's an example without the flare (and branch), no other changes were made... Mike

Hope that didn't take you too long.  I think it would take me awhile....maybe not. Anyway, thanks!  I think I do prefer it without the flare, although it looks lighter where the flare was removed, and that would take a long time to get looking right.  So I'm not sure.  What do YOU think?  I appreciate you taking the time to help me out! :-)  We're chilling a bit also over the holiday.....at the moment watching the Pacer vs. Chicago game.....Pacers just went ahead after being behind by 20 points.  :-)

I think the light portion of sky is natural since the shot is into the sun.  As has been noted above, it's a matter of artistic license and presentation.  The drama of this shot can be realized with or without the flare.  Basketball?? With all the Bowl games on :-). I guess you  can tell that we're watching football.  Have a good week... Mike