Oak in Morning Sun

[twood]

This was taken shortly after sunrise. I would appreciate any suggestions on how to improve this photo.

[ShaneS]

Tim, this is a lovely tree and the atmosphere is great but there is a bit too much sky in this composition for me. Did you try a landscape crop for this?

[IzzieK]

I agree with Shane...too much empty space up top of the frame. Once you have crop that a bit, since the tree is leaning to the right, I will suggest cropping to the right too. In my eyes that will work. Other opinions might vary.

[Shadowman]

Get a little closer. I like your inclusion of the foreground with the shaft of light, but other than the light three is nothing else of interest to see.

[dje]

Hi Tim, I also think you can improve this image by cropping in closer. I tried a portrait shape crop and a landscape shape crop and preferred the portrait shape. I kept all the foreground and took away a fair bit of sky and some of each side to keep the proportions right.

A couple of other things you might like to try

Increase the contrast using the Levels adjustment (middle slider to the right)
Add some Detail Enhancement using Nik Colour Efex if you have it. This basically gives Local Conrast Enhancement.
Sharpen it a bit.

With this sort of treatment, I think it's a lovely image. There is good light and the fog in the background adds interest.

Dave

[Kodiak]

•
Hey, Tim,

Though I agree that… NOTHING'S MORE BORING THEN A BLUE SKY
(read a no detail sky) I think your shot is perfect as it is!

IMO, the negative space puts the emphasis on the morning sun and the
sky that comes with it and all this space is presenting an oak tree in a
coherent meaningful scene… artistic intent oblige!

[Geoff F]

My first thought was for a crop - but where?

If it was a plain blue sky, that would be an easy decision. But there are so many shades of blue there, gradually changing in intensity. So I would leave well alone and settle for the excellent scene you currently have.

[bnnrcn]

Hi Tim, I would leave it as it is too . Very nice image

[FootLoose]

I don't think you could do anything to that shot that would 'improve' it. I like it just the way it is.

You could, however, shoot the same subject in different ways to make a different photo of it. What strikes me about it when I look at in the largest size in lytebox, is the layers of colour from the foreground to the mountains. You could take a landscape shot and produce the kind of image that Dave has suggested to reveal more of those layers.

[Caddy]

artistic intent oblige!

+1

[deetheturk]

Very nice Tim!

David

[twood]

Thank you all for your great comments. I made several crops of this image and chose to show this one with the large amount of sky. I thought the colors of the sky and its vastness diminished the dominance the tree itself exerts on the landscape. I will play with your ideas. Lots of good comments.