B & W Texas: C & C, Please.

[p360]

330100

[p360]

Is it that bad..?!!!

[drdragon666]

for me yes and no, OK I'm not to good at commenting and i only say what i see which will be different to the next person

OK i like the tree and everything but the sky for me is to confusing i had to look to work out if it was sky or sea

also not sure if true b&w would be better as on my crap screen it looks sepia

but as long as you like it thats what counts

[p360]

ok.., my fault. I changed it to Sepia.

[xMrLpz]

very nice scene. great shot

[TekHouse]

You have some posterization in the sky area, but I think the composition is good.

[61ache]

Looks a little "cooked" in PP--could just be jpeg compression. Overall, nice picture.

[sapearl]

Nicely done Pratman - great contrast. You did a good job of retaining the gray tonality of the low hills in the background. I love the cloud detail and shape as counterpoint to lone tree. I wonder how it would look if you cropped just a bit off the sky and perhaps an inch or more off the bottom. I feel that's a case where less would actually be more from the standpoint of impact.

This is one of those situations where b/w serves the subject matter well as opposed to a color interpretation.

[rab3rd]

overall not bad. My opnion, and thats all it is,

composition: you are missing out on some great rolling hills in the background by centering the tree.

the shot would feel much bigger (like Texas) if taken in a landscape orientation, that would also allow the rolling hills to play a bigger part in the image.

PP: Looks a bit over cooked to me, not bad just a little. The sepia works but maybe tone it down a bit.

Anyway, what really matters is if YOU are happy with it.

Have a great day.

[p360]

Thank you all, for your kind words. It's definitely "cooked" with PP. I was after a specific effect, and I think I've achieved it.

As far as the reason for not showing the hills in the background, and shooting in a portrait and not a landscape mode, I wanted to highlight the tree. My wife and I were driving from Phoenix to Austin on I-10 when I saw this tree. As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted its image. The tree is my primary subject, the eventful sky being the secondary one.

Now having said that, all your points are well-taken. More of the hills in the background would have provided that "Texas" enormous feeling. I agree.

Thank you again.

[sapearl]

You are very welcome pratman - glad we could help.

I understand the rationale for your composition and give you kudo's for spotting the compostion during your drive. It can be challenging to drive and think photography at the same time ;).

As for the sky being a bit cooked, well, I thought the same thing but that's a technique I will also employ myself in b/w:

http://www.pbase.com/sapearl/image/99046680

It can look pretty funky sometimes in color if not handled well, but to me b/w is a unique interpetive look the photographer can represent of the world. Keep up the good eye and post more. :D - Stu

Thank you all, for your kind words. It's definitely "cooked" with PP. I was after a specific effect, and I think I've achieved it.

As far as the reason for not showing the hills in the background, and shooting in a portrait and not a landscape mode, I wanted to highlight the tree. My wife and I were driving from Phoenix to Austin on I-10 when I saw this tree. As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted its image. The tree is my primary subject, the eventful sky being the secondary one.

Now having said that, all your points are well-taken. More of the hills in the background would have provided that "Texas" enormous feeling. I agree.

Thank you again.