"Side by Side, One Occupied"

This is the typical silhouetted Oak Tree image we often see from Central California. I decided to go out and get one of my own, despite it being somewhat cliche. Yesterday was a golden opportunity, the haze was thick which would give me a deep, rich backdrop of color. Now to find two suitable subjects. I chose these for two reasons. The first being they are so stately, standing side by side. The second reason is that the one on the right is occupied. I only had one click of the shutter before this Red-Tailed Hawk decided to vacate and swoop down for a potential meal. Please click the image for the Larger preview. Thanks for your time!

Thanks for your impressions. A Larger preview is available!

Very nice composition and colors in the sky.

Very nice image, I like the colors and composition too.

 

Cheers; Bela

Mark.... Forget the techno babble on this one. This is just eye candy for the soul, soothing, smooth - like a Wendy's Frosty on a hot day. The hawk is just a cherry on top. Gorgeous.... Mike

 

P.S..... To the favorites with this one.

 

Simple and just beautiful.

Mark, there's not a lot left to say on this one. It all works. The detail that you have retained in the FG, and it's colour is a real bonus. Is this a straight shot or have you got the dynamic range through PS?

Thank you Jeroen, Bela, Mike, Michael and Jeff. This is actually a blend of two processed RAW files from the same exposure. I could have probably done the same in Photoshop with a digital grad effect. In ACR, I like to tweak my files globally, then make local adjustments in Photoshop. A good tool in ACR is the fill light slider, which opens the shadows without adjusting the midtones or highlights. The real reason why this layered out so well is because of the haze, which acts as a separator of the objects from near to far. While enchanting, this is truly a result of smog, which is prevalent here along the Central Valley.

Thanks Mark. It's often the bad that provides good images.

I really like the colors in the sky and in the foothills in this one. This is a bit dark, but I think it works well to capture the feeling of being late in the evening. Beautiful shot.

 

Daniel

Oh man...this is as good as it gets. Perfect composition, perfect light, perfect conditions, perfectly handled!!! I love everything about it!

Hey Daniel and Younes. How you guys doin! Daniel, I always feel it is subjective as to how dark a scene like this is to be rendered. I can only recall, since RAW files are never exactly as recorded. To me, RAW images always just look flat, but I believe are close to the actual density. This was taken at least a half hour after sunset, so it was indeed nearly dark. I didn't even notice the hawk at first. It was actually after I clicked the shutter that he screeched and then took flight. Sometimes the best things are not planned, instead are surprises!

Central Valley is full of wonderful landscapes, this is an excellent example. I particularly like the color shifts from the FG to the hills and to the horizon. Great composition, Mark. Congratulations!

Hello Lester, muchas gracias amigo! I need to get over to your place soon and see what you have been up to!

It may be a bit of a cliche, but this might be the best representation of that cliche I've seen. I love the simply phenomenal colour in the sky (with a nice bit of detail in gradation and clouds), plus I also love differentiation between the bg hills.

 

Great Image.

The color of the sky definitely adds a great deal but the overall emotional impact is wonderful. The solid black sharply detailed trees set against the smoky hills is pure poetry. Oh so very well done, Mark. Right into my favorites with this beauty.

Thanks Ian and Leo for your input. The list of all who have commented on this is humbling. Most of you I am familiar with, all possessing strong artistic skills. As well, all of the comments from those I am not so familiar with are rewarding. I have taken a quick glance at your portfolios and I am also very impressed. The success of this image is certainly the separation of planes. This can be attributed to the haze. It is easy to lose that separation if this would be ETL (exposed to the left) so I strongly encourage all of you to always ETR (expose to the right) without clipping the highlights when shooting RAW. Then all that is needed is to open the shadows (I use the fill light slider in ACR and then I add yellow in Photoshop only to the foreground area below the mountains. This adds nearly a half stop in appearance). Obviously you want to set your black point so you achieve a silhouette. Finally, I apply darkening to the sky to complete the mood.

lovely scene, cheers Jana