Tree Enduring

[ShaneS]

The tree is a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky...



Quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Wisdom of the Sands, translated from French by Stuart Gilbert

An attempt in PP to emulate and old print that I hope enhances the ruggedness of the landscape and captures the enduring qualities of the tree. C&C welcome.

[Mike Buckley]

This works for me, though I wonder if shooting from a lower angle and closer to the tree would emphasize the drama of the tree. I don't understand your comment about using post-processing to emulate an old print. Please clarify.

[xpatUSA]

A nice image juxtaposing as it were the oldness of the tree and that of the "print".

Being a simple soul, I would perhaps crop 1/4 off the left to make sure the tree is seen to be the subject. That done, the center of area (centroid?) of the tree becomes about 1/3 from right and the smaller trees act to guide the eye upwards and rightwards to the main subject. Perhaps blur those smaller trees and shrubs a little bit?

[pasusan]

Very nice image and treatment, Shane.

After reading Ted's suggestion I moved the litebox image over to the left to crop it and it really does look spectacular. Try it...

[ShaneS]

Ted, your crop suggestion is spot on for this image and I appreciate the time that you took to give it some thought and respond. Thanks also Susan and Mike for your comments. I will post the new crop soon...

Mike, the PP treatment that I used to emulate an 'old print' was to apply a texture to the image. I then adjusted the blend modes and opacity until I was satisfied with the overall look. I have been wanting to utilize textures for a while now and was waiting for the right image to come along - this one seemed to fit the bill and it was quite enjoyable to study the various options and the different looks that resulted. (BTW, you might have noticed that this shot is another one from my morning along the coast that I shared on a previous thread - are you sick of last Saturday's fascination with trees yet?)

This tutorial was my starting point for the use of texture: How To Blend Textures With Photos In Photoshop

[Mike Buckley]

the PP treatment that I used to emulate an 'old print' was to apply a texture to the image.

Ahhhhhhhh. Now I understand. For me, it's a nice rendition though I would never have thought it looked like an old print. That's probably because I'm used to seeing only really old prints, perhaps 100 years old or older, that show their age.

[terrib]

Shane, I really like this photo and agree that it was a good opportunity for you to use the texture. Another thing I really like is that the smaller tree is mirroring the larger tree's shape. I suppose the wind must be blowing from the right side of the picture. :-)

[ShaneS]

Thanks Terri. I think that I will work on this shot treatment a bit more with the new crop this weekend. And yes, that stretch of Oahu's coastline is quite windy and a very harsh for plant life. Only the tough and resilient can survive the rocky volcanic soil, wind and waves that batter the shore just the other side of the tree pictured.