Pine Tree detail

[Urbanflyer]

Another from a 2013 trip

pine bark-2 by urbanflyer, on Flickr

[escape]

Hello Judith,
The image of pine bark is beautiful by itself. But for me, it lacks a central point of focus. The three pine needles are not very useful in this regard. A caterpillar, a beetle, or some unique distinguishing mark on the tree would have contributed to a more robust image. Kind regards, Daniel

[Wavelength]

I replied in the other thread of the same image; somehow i feel the image would look better without those pine needles.. just a different taste

[Urbanflyer]

Hello Judith,
The image of pine bark is beautiful by itself. But for me, it lacks a central point of focus. The three pine needles are not very useful in this regard. A caterpillar, a beetle, or some unique distinguishing mark on the tree would have contributed to a more robust image. Kind regards, Daniel

thanks for your thoughts

[DanK]

I'm of two minds about this. I don't entirely understand why some abstracts of this sort work and others don't, but I think a variation on Daniel's point might help explain it. I don't think you always need something else to serve as a central focus. it can be something in the patterns themselves. E.g., one of the dark lines might, if it were positioned in the center or diagonally through the center.

[Manfred M]

+1 to both Daniel's and Dan's comments.

When we write about the subject or the centre of interest, what we are really saying is that an image needs something to capture the viewer's attention. Once this has happened, secondary aspects of the image must be interesting enough for the viewer to continue exploring the work. The trick in both of these is to keep the viewer's attention on the image, as once the connection with the image is lost, the interest in continuing to look at it is also lost.

In this image, my eyes go to the pine needles. When I follow them, they lead to the the edge of the fame and my connection to the image is broken.

[FootLoose]

I think this kind of image works best when the bark edges are well defined to emphasise the texture, pattern or shapes.
Pareidolia can also play a part. If you look at the upper right quadrant you might see a kind of face which could be brought out more with a bit of contrast boost

[escape]

I think this kind of image works best when the bark edges are well defined to emphasise the texture, pattern or shapes.
Pareidolia can also play a part. If you look at the upper right quadrant you might see a kind of face which could be brought out more with a bit of contrast boost

I thought the semblance of a bear face could be produced with the horseshoe outlining his head. There is a little circle in the place where the nose goes. Just need to add some photoshop magic to rearrange the bark a bit.

[Urbanflyer]

+1 to both Daniel's and Dan's comments.

When we write about the subject or the centre of interest, what we are really saying is that an image needs something to capture the viewer's attention. Once this has happened, secondary aspects of the image must be interesting enough for the viewer to continue exploring the work. The trick in both of these is to keep the viewer's attention on the image, as once the connection with the image is lost, the interest in continuing to look at it is also lost.

In this image, my eyes go to the pine needles. When I follow them, they lead to the the edge of the fame and my connection to the image is broken.

I think you have shown me the weakness in this image. Thanks!

[lovelife65]

I like the idea Judith, but agree with many of the suggestions. I do find my eyes locking in on those pine needles, which is not where I want them to go. I'd say, give it another shot though, as there is lots of potential.