Thoughts on this one

My first post here to the critique corner.

I am wondering if there are any comments on this photo. My wife wants me to blow it up to hang on our bedroom wall. I just want to make sure that I have done everything I can to set the mood for this shot.

Hi Travis,
Very nice shot and I like the conversion....have you done much cropping from the original? I'm wondering what it would look like with about 20% less foreground (and if possible a little sky above the lone branch that almost touches the top of the frame)?

Not alot of cropping done on this one.

I will include the original so that you can see where I started from.
Feel free to make adjustments and post them. Just let me know what you did .

The original is not that great an image, but your treatment has done wonders.

The perspective is so unusual - a lot of mystery in the foreground trying to figure out exactly what you are seeing. Then you get another abrupt rise right at the tree line which turns out to be the vegetation being high along a fence line. Very strange effect - all brought about by the perspective or vantage point.

Normally, I would not like such a bald sky, but in this case it helps set the mood of impending doom.

Great end result - congratulations!

Thanks for the comments guys. I think I'll have it printed as is.

Thanks again for the encouragement.

Travis

Just a couple of minor points Travis,
1. As Sugarzebra said, maybe a little less foreground, which would place the horizon about a third of the way up the picture ("the two thirds rule")
2. The horizon itself could possibly benefit by rotating it about 2 degrees left - as the whole picture seems to lean over a little?

Other than that, I like your presentation of it, and a really nice shot.

A lovely shot. As mentioned- slight horizontoal correction and you're good to go. Well done.

I like your effect, Can you explain what you did to create the amazing picture?

I'm not into the fake-looking heavily photoshopped images. But maybe she is. You obviously didn't have good light to work with. Have you tried black and white instead and leaving a more natural image than the photoshopping? B&W does well for poorly light shots since you can man-handle the image without it really affecting the image quality much.

Pyropeck,

In PS I converted the image to B&W using a channels layer, then ran a midnight sepia action.

Hellashot,

Yes I did convert to B&W first, see above. But it didn't really get me the desired effect. I was looking for a gloomy image. My overall goal is to retake the same shot at different times of the year and rotate them as the seasons change. This was just the first attempt at that. As far as lighting goes, it was not good. A rainy day in January in Michigan. I was hoping for some snow but it wasn't to be. The shot was taken on a family Sunday drive around the back roads. My wife saw the trees and thought they looked pretty "cool". So I shot it out the driver window.

Landscapes, if that is how this could be classified, are not my strong suit, but hopefully with practice I can get a little better.

Thanks for looking and commenting
Travis

I like the soft look of it. Its soft........but its not......I dunno, definitely looks great as is.

I dont like the original, but i love the PSed shot!

and maybe itll be better if you crop the foreground a little because that line (road?) that goes right under the tree, cuts it into two planes...kind of. just my 2cents from a newbie:p.

Wow that's awesome! Looks like a professionally shot photo. Your photoshop image is AMAZING. *claps*