Tree and Rock, Yosemite National Park, California

Joel Collins | jwc3@mindspring.com | http://www.mindspring.com/~jwc3

-- Joel Collins (jwc3@mindspring.com), August 28, 1998

Answers

I love photos like this. Simple. Elegantly simple. My one criticism is that there is quite noticeable vignetting.

-- James Tarquin (tarquin@erols.com), August 28, 1998.

Ditto on Joel's comments.

-- Paul Lenson (lenson@pci.on.ca), August 28, 1998.

Opps. I mean James.

-- Paul Lenson (lenson@pci.on.ca), August 28, 1998.

I'm not sure it is vignetting. It may be due to use of a polorizer, but in any case I think a more uniform sky would be desirable.

I also like the look better when I crop some off the right and bottom. THis moves the rock out of the middle of the photo and removes some of the ground.

-- brad mills (dbradmills@aol.com), August 28, 1998.

I might be wierd but I kind of like the light falloff in the sky in this picture.

-- Fredrik Mvrk (fmork@yahoo.com), August 28, 1998.

I have to disagree with you Brad. The crack in the bedrock running from the center to the right effectly pulls the boulder over (the boulders actually right of center anyways). The tree, the boulder, and the crack are the subject here. I think the darking of the sky via the polarizer helps to bring contrast, although I would have preferred a vertical graduation rather then circular. However, since it forms a halo around the boulder, I'll have to change my opinion on this since it does reinforce the composition.

-- Paul Lenson (lenson@pci.on.ca), August 28, 1998.

I think it is interesting to note that if the big rock was a board positioned at the angle showen and resting on a fulcrum located in the exact center of the image, the tree and the boulder would be in perfect balance!

-- Lester LaForce (102140.1200@compuserve.com), August 28, 1998.

really high grades for composition and orginality. the only problem, for me , is the light falloff.

-- wayne harrison (wayno@netmcr.com), August 28, 1998.

i'm with Fredrik (we can be wierd together i guess) i like the uneven sky brightness.

it kind of makes the small rock "glow" or something i can't put into words. (the bright spot seems centered on the rock more then the center of the picture) if i didn't know that light falloff was a "defect" in camera lenses, i'd definetly think this effect was "on puropse" and even though i know it is (or maybe a side effect of polarization) a "defect", with it being this pronounced, i might think it was on purpose anyway.

i like it and think with am even sjy, i'd like it less...

-- Sean Hester (seanh@ncfweb.net), August 28, 1998.

I am with Sean. Vignetting adds to the picure in this case.

-- (andreas@physio.unr.edu), August 28, 1998.

A very pleasing composition. Next time push the rock about 4" to the left....( Joel.... I am JOKING! ) I don't think I would change anything on this one. I am going to guess that in the original image the sky isn't quite as dark as the scan? It would be interesting to see them side by side with proper lighting. Scans are never exactly like the original even with the big $$ monitors.

-- Don Carter (carter-graphics@pobox.com), August 29, 1998.

I like this photo also. My one and only criteria used on myself is "would I spend x-dollars and make a print destined for framing"? Or, put another way, would I get tired of looking at this print after, say, more than a week? I think my mind would get a little bored with so little to absorb. This, inspite of the desirability of photos with such clean simplicity.

Is it just me, or has anyone noticed that this photo is like those optical illusion games where an obviously square sided picture or line drawing looks like a trapezoid? With narrow end being the tree end of the picture.

-- Bruce Settergren (setterb@home.com), August 30, 1998.

This is an excellent shot; I really like it. At least on my screen, the sky is too dark and the top of the tree sort of merges into the sky. If the dark sky is the result of polarizing, I would reduce it a bit. Of course, the sky in the original image might not be as dark, as it has been pointed out. Once again, great job.

-- Shun Cheung (shun@worldnet.att.net), August 31, 1998.

Thanks for the feedback on this iamge. I shot this one with a Nikon 6006 and a 70-210 Nikkor lens. As many of you have guessed, I used a polarizing filter to darken the sky. Someone thought that the darker corners at the top of the image were due to vingetting, but that is not the case. If that were the cause, wouldn't the bottom corners would be darker, too?

It's the composition that makes the photo for me. I really enjoy these simple, almost stark photographs. Keeping it simple is not always easy when you're surrounded by the many wonders of a beautiful place.

One valuable photo tool that helped with this shot is a hedge trimmer. It only took a few minutes to trim the branches off of the tree to get the shape I wanted. I recommend this tool for any serious nature photographers. (That's a joke, of course! :^)

Joel Collins | jwc3@mindspring.com | http://www.mindspring.com/~jwc3

-- Joel Collins (jwc3@mindspring.com), August 31, 1998.