POTN G-series Speed Challenge #248 - Tree(s) in a Landscape

[BobsYourUncle]

G9 - one of first pics taken with it.

[mr7q]

G11

[rpolitsr]

powershot Pro1

[Pbskis14]

G10

[Kevan_G9]

Zee challenge, she be closed.

Ruling will be later today as I am home dealing with a son who decided to bring home the swine flu. It had me nervous, but he's doing just fine and my hands have never been cleaner.

Stay tuned...

[JimAskew]

Pohick Bay, VA 11-08-2009 w/G10

[Kevan_G9]

Thank you…you wonderful pack of tree huggers you!

Splendid job everyone. In fact, I’m going to insist that each of you stand up right now, yes, right now, put down your laptops, now give yourself and everyone who played here a hearty applause. Don’t be sheepish, I know you’re in your office or a coffee shop at the moment, but please clap loudly so everyone can here it. Atta girl! Atta boy!

I’m not hearing all of you!

So I think everyone was adequately dazzled by the photos presented here. I have to believe we even pulled the folks from the Glamour & Nude section over here to take a gander at these limbs for a while. It’s terrific to own one of these marvelous little cameras, such as we have, that give us such sweet payback for our eye and imagination. Again…BRAVO!!!

Here’s the hard part…picking three winners. I had a long discussion with the administrators of this forum, trying to convince them that, yes, there can be multiple ties in each category of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, but they wouldn’t listen to any part of my argument. So, if I’ve broken some hearts out there, please blame them, because I thought every photo had its merit.

I’m stalling, aren’t I? You can see it, can’t you? Oh well…let’s get on with it then. I had to turn hyper-critical to do this job and I will be frank with each of you, even though my name really is Kevan. So on with it…

Maureen Souza’s “Along My Walk”: A wonderful interpretation of nature’s paintbrush and your own. You caught the tree in its glorious spectrum of color. I can find no fault but to nit-pick on the house being in the scene. Could there have been a slightly better angle?

Hi-landr’s ”Lake Tahoe Fall”: Is this f’r real? Come on…be honest. There are no-no rules about exposure blow-out, but this seems to work to some extent, giving the yellow tree the brilliant pop it deserves. The juxtaposition of the tree beyond, framed so nicely, and the lone visitor lost in the wonderful scene...I wish it had been me. You did good, real good.

Courier’s “Colours and Graze”: A bit of a rough start getting the photo properly set, but you made it. In the future I would suggest your title go in the subject field, but I’m looking past that. Good use of the golden hour, the photo is rich in wonderfully warm color…er, colour. I gather there was no coaxing the beasties to turn and pose, eh? I mean…I like a nice thick mutton leg just like the next guy, butt... Actually, the only thing I would try doing is clone out the power lines overhead. That sign of industry just cuts across the wonderful pastoral scene. Welcome to the challenge.

Michael’s “Tenacious Little Tree”: I can find no fault though it is a busy photo, there’s a lot going on in the scene, with the growth on the rocks and the trees in the background, but I’m not about to say it’s too much, but it does suggest the tree is in competition. I hope the little guy makes it. Judging on how the light just pours onto it, I think it will.

Lanton’s “A Matter of Time”: Boy, you win on potential energy. What a dramatic scene. You lucky son of a gun to be there with a camera to catch that shot. Here’s my only gripe, the horizon in the background, it’s not level, nor nearly so. I appreciate from where you were standing the coastline might of trailed in a curve, but I don’t think it transfers in the photo. Could some tilting or distorting and cropping level the scene beyond? Marvelous shot and this [ ] close to perfection.

Boutty’s “Need more wide angle” : Now that’s not fare to all the others. You know how loony I am and you are trying to take advantage of that. Love the shot, very funny. Probably not the most dramatic shot here in this series, but you made good use of a tall tree, a wicked imagination, and some terrific PP talent. You brought on a big smile.

Marie’s “Mountain Ash”: I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, you should be disqualified, simply based on where you live and the magic that pours into your lens. I have two beefs: the background appears a bit sloped, and the trunk of the little tree in the background is a bit distracting running parallel to your subject ( I hesitated saying, “…your ash.”, for obvious reasons). Gee…I hate nit picking. A wonderful scene regardless.

Mountain Drifter’s “Two Old Friends”: Here’s another one that should be disqualified, you living in the heart of big tree country, in northern California. Tell us the truth…this was like fishing in a barrel, twarn’t it? You must have some of the most spectacular tree scenery in the world, not too far from your front door. Well, all I gotta say is you didn’t disappoint. So clear and well-focused, I bet had I bought the more expensive Scent-a-Monitor I would have smelled the pine scent too. Dazzling. Great looking sky and the mountain face beyond gives us the feeling of enormous scale where you once stood. I really liked this one.

Car’s “Perching Buzzard”: This photo speaks to me on so many levels I don’t know where to begin. Title aside (this is a semantic thing), I think this is perhaps the most romantic photo of a tree I’ve ever seen. To me, this is the tree where Pooh and his friends lived. Or was it from where the Cheshire Cat held up in one of the branches and smiled down from? Or are we in the land of the Hobbit? I don’t know, but maybe the others here might have a suggestion as well. Don’t you wish you were sitting under it, enjoying its company and the warmth of the day? So simply presented, it isn’t full-leafed, nor is it bare. It doesn’t command the highest spot, nor claim to be the largest tree. Yet the over all symmetry and shape of its branches is better presented than any smile Mona could muster. It’s in perfect harmony with its surroundings. Maybe it’s fodder for the writing of “Wind in the Willows”, ‘cept the tree isn’t a willow. I’m guessing it’s an Oak and any bird, even a buzzard (we would be more inclined to refer to it as a hawk, here in the states), is very lucky to rest amongst its branches. I can see this photo continued to be played with, but even in this very nature form, it’s a winner.

Teekay’s “Island of Trees”: changing gears here (that’s a car joke), This is a terrific scene of what looks to be a small village at the end of a beautiful inlet in B.C. Where are we? I think I might have preferred a more rural setting, but I can’t fault this photo. Nicely balanced, good colors, it tells a story. I like how the fallen leaves have created colorful puddles around the trees in the foreground within the loop.

tmwag’s “Autumn Wetland”: I think the trees here play a secondary part rather than the primary, transitioning the viewer from the wetlands to the sky. Another lucky grab of the golden hour, the colors are sharp and there is a precise harmony in the leaf colors of the trees and lilies and even the water grabs a hint of blue from the sky. I think if there were something (an island, a boat or big bird even) between the long line of trees and the viewer it would have added more to its story. Still…nice doing.

sunking39’s “ tourist”: A bit windy out there for yuh? Had you leaning, did it? Fun photo. Great eye-popping colors in green and blue and the tilt adds some fun to the awkward positioning of the tree. That power box has to go though. Might I suggest some very careful cloning-out of that box and maybe some light burning to hide any signs of your cosmetic transgressions? The photo might have been better served to include the trunk base, but then again maybe not. Try losing the box and you’ll have a winner.

Yapo’s “The morning tree”: Wonderful feather-like features to this tree. Very dramatic photo and just enough silhouette that the upper branches don’t get lost in the darkness above. There does seem to be a common problem running with a few of the photos here, this one too, with the horizon being at a slant. Leveled out, this photo will stop people.

Corythosaurus’ “Heavy Snow”: Don’t let my hate for winter concern you, I really enjoy this photo. Very simple, but the shades of grey subtly tell the story. The tree pins down the foreground and the two tree lines far beyond add depth and expanse until we transition further to a grey sky above. Funny how it works…the tree would have been lost without that background and the background would have been lost without that tree, truly a symbiotic relationship. Good show.

Bobsyouruncle’s “Boulevard alongside LAX”: Ok, here’s my take on this photo Bob. I use both PC’s at work and at home to view these photos as well as checking things out on my iPhone. When I looked at your photo on the iPhone and enlarged the photo enough that both light poles disappeared off the sides, and the frame was full of the two palms to the right…I gotta tell yuh Bob, the cropped photo is killuh, compared to the whole. And, if you can crop out the sidewalk as well, all the better. Take a look and see if you agree. I really enjoy the warmth palm trees provide. Thanks!

Mr7q’s “Fall colors on the Flight Line”: Minimalist, eh? I’m not sure this is everyone’s cup a tea, but I can appreciate it. I think it’s a stunning and my son said it was his favorite. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t delirious at the time. Where was this shot taken anyway? Those look to be Cottonwoods, but are a bit too far off to tell. I’m not sure about seeing fall color either, but I enjoy the simplicity of the scrubby soil and the dust hanging low in the sky. I’d like to know more about what’s behind that title too. Thanks for playing with us.

Rpolitsr’s “living in a hard place”: Now that’s tenacity. What is that brown layer of stuff, where the roots might be? Or is that the roots? The scene if full of handsome rock formations and a wonderfully scruffy tree that looks like its planning on sticking around for a very long time to come. I wish the branches had as much definition as the rock. Nice take on the theme of this challenge.

Pbskis14’s “Leftovers”: Another newbie causing problems…thanks for adding the camera reference. Fun perspective on the fall scene, though if I never have to pick up another fallen leaf and bag it that would be just fine by me. We must be neighbors as this is how my yard looks too. The topic does seem more focused on the fallen leaves than the trees, but all in all an entertaining shot. Glad to have you join us here.

JimAskew, sorry Jim the ship had already set sail and left the dock. Thanks for coming to play and please…please try again next week. Just check your wristwatch first.


The winners:

1st - Car’s “Perching Buzzard”
2nd - Corythosaurus’ “Heavy Snow”
3rd - Mountain Drifter’s “Two Old Friends”

[Collin85]

Originally Posted by Kevan_G9

JimAskew, sorry Jim the ship had already set sail and left the dock. Thanks for coming to play and please…please try again next week. Just check your wristwatch first.

Nice shots everyone (you too Jim).

[BobsYourUncle]

Originally Posted by Kevan_G9

Bobsyouruncle’s “Boulevard alongside LAX”:
When I looked at your photo on the iPhone and enlarged the photo enough that both light poles disappeared off the sides, and the frame was full of the two palms to the right…I gotta tell yuh Bob, the cropped photo is killuh, compared to the whole. And, if you can crop out the sidewalk as well, all the better. Take a look and see if you agree.

Oh I have to agree completely. And I knew I would not be in the running for a badge, or even a chest to pin it on

However, I have been out of these competitions for several months due to my webserver being crashed, burned, down and dead! I have been far too busy to build me a new one. So a few days ago I got the task done, and my webserver is renewed with a functional motherboard. I was just happy I can post pics again!! I don't like host sites with all the advertising junk. Thats why I have my own.

So once I tested and tweaked it, the first thing I did was grab my best tree shot and run in here to post it!!

I looked at the light pole and knew it was a photo killer right there. I considered cloning it out and cleaning the picture up. Hadn't thought about the sidewalk though. But as usual, time constraints let me only post the pic as it appeared straight out of the camera. I thought it would be a long ways to go and a big expense to go back to LA and reshoot from a differnet angle. When I shot this one, my G9 was brand new and this was in my first batch of picst, probably within the first 15 or 20. I was still learning how to use it over my G2.

So yes, I agree with your analysis. It is right on. The only however I have to the comment is that if I cropped out the left tree, I would not have a clean edge like the right side of my photo. I am a bit nitpicky about framing my shots and like to have things even on both sides. Cropping would have left a "chopped off" picture on the left. Yeah, the sidewalk could go away.

Oh, and great commentary on everyones pics! I can see that took a while to do.

[lanton]

Thank you Kevan for the detailed analysis. I appreciate your comments regarding my horizon. I had considered cropping it out but I wanted to show the entirety of the cliff the tree is about to fall off of. Honestly, as a novice, I overlooked it completely but will take those things into more consideration in the future. Thanks again.

hi-landr, before I even saw the title I recognized that as Lake Tahoe. I lived there for several years in the 90's. Amazing how identifiable that place is. What part of the lake is that beach?

[tmwag]

Congrats to the winners. Lovely images. Thanks as always goes to the host. Great job Kevin. It seems you put as much effort in a hosting assignment as the images you take.

[Michael Wells]

Thanks, Kevin, for a great job hosting and judging this week, and also for taking the time for all the comments. A job well done! ( and not an easy job this week, either ) I liked so many of them, I'm not going to list them all. I'll just let it go at a simple "Great job, y'all!" Congrats to Car, Corythosaurus, and Mountain Drifter!

[teekay]

Congratulations to the winners and to Kevan for choosing such a popular subject. It was the perfect time of year so I was able to drive around town and take several shots that I was happy with in just an hour.

It would be interesting to see some shots that others took that they decided not to enter. Here are a couple that didn't quite make it to my entry:

[Mountain Drifter]

Originally Posted by Kevan_G9

[size=3]Tell us the truth…this was like fishing in a barrel, twarn’t it? You must have some of the most spectacular tree scenery in the world, not too far from your front door.

Yeah I feel lucky living here, and spending as much time as I do in country like that is why I've become interested in photography. At first I thought I'd pull a photo from my files and then realized this was an excuse to go out for the day! And yes, the hardest part was choosing which photo to use. I had a couple that I liked better but the focus was more on the dramatic scenery around the trees and this one let the trees stand out with just a hint of the country behind it. Fun idea for a contest, and as others have mentioned the time you must have spent with your thoughts is appreciated.

Congrats to Car, very well done photo.

And to everyone else, good job I enjoyed looking at all the photos, with different ideas and angles.

[Kevan_G9]

Speaking of first shots taken with the then new camera, here's my offering. I need to do a revisit.