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Something a little bit more experimental/interpretative from me and I would appreciate some feedback (although I don't want to get into a debate about climate change).
I've tried to impart a feeling of a landscape changing from temperate to semi-arid under a hot and turbulent atmosphere.
Fairly simple shot with limited post processing. A tweak in luminosity and the addition of a pretty transparent bas-relief layer.
I look forward to receiving your critique.
Fraser
| Camera: | Canon EOS 7D |
| Lens: | Canon 24-105L |
| Recording media: | RAW (digital) |
| Title: | Summer, 2080 AD |
| Username: | 
fraser |
| Uploaded: | 23 Aug 2012 - 1:21 PM |
| Tags: | Black & white, Change, Climate change, Dead tree, Grassland, Landscape, Semi-arid, Temperate, Tree |
| VS Mode Rating |
Unrated These stats show the percentage of wins and the rating score that your photo has achieved. You can go to the VS Mode by clicking on this icon. Signup to e2Signup to e2 to see which photo this has won or lost against in the vs mode |
| Votes: | Voting Disabled |
 | Critique Wanted |
| Modifications Welcome (Upload a Modification) |
Comments
It's always good to see a new "Old Tree" in Scotland Fraser. So many trees were felled by the storms of last year and this spring, Rannoch Moor for instance lost both the main feature trees to Natural causes.
All I've done here is add contrast to the sky to bring out what's already there.
Dougie
hi, i can see what you are attempting and i like the idea but shouldnt the arrid land and turbulent sky be a little less blue in tint and the ground more red brown to look parched. to be honest the look you have posted seems more like a winters day. it could be a mono conversion but even on my work pc im sure it has a fairly strong blue cast.
you could play around with toning etc possibly more towards sepia but i think it would be worth trying to make the tones suggest the story line a little more cohesively.
you could take this further to make the point with a sheeps skull or similar in the rh foreground
regards
Phil
This fails to give me your message Fraser, but nevertheless that apart, I like the image. Minimalistic and evocative, it reminds me more about the effects of our atomic bombing of Hiroshima. A barren landscape, no signs of buildings or life even. Very good.
I think this is one of those occasions for not applying RoT as the narrow base suits the location of the single tree.
Frank
Thanks Dougie, your input is appreciated. I played around with the contrast quite a bit myself and settled on my version. Your version adds a bit more drama, certainly.
Phil, must be your monitor mate as the image is an un-tinted black and white version. I have a desaturated colour version too that I may add later but it does have blue patches in the sky and a low-key green foreground. Like you I felt that colour was too cold, but I can see sepia may be a help here.
Frank, I guess my intent was to spread the message by the bas-relief effect in the sky, which, to me, gives the impression of heat turbulence. The starkness of the image, which is is bleak, gives the impression of a partially destroyed temperate landscape (again, to me anyway). But I take your point. I may have a play with the tones in the colour version to see if I can enhance the impression of warmth a little (as suggested by Phil).
Also, forgive my daft laddie question; RoT?
Hi Fraser,
Its good to experiment isn't it?
I love playing with narratives - and you've chosen a topic close to my heart (see my time in the landscape series). In this case, as others above have said the narrative doesn't quite carry over. However, I believe there are many factors at play with this and its not just down to this image alone.
First. I think the composition here doesn't do any great favours to the image over all. I get why you did it, but for my money the emphasis of this image should be on the consequences of environment change not the cause. In other words IMHO the emphasis here needs to be on the tree. I really like the barren fg and I do think this adds to the image, but currently it doesn't look so much as barren than as grassy! In my modification I've re-cropped the image to give the tree more prominence in the frame.
Second. I think the processing of the needs tweaking. I see why you went for a embossed filter to bring out the textures in the sky, but for me the image lacks impact. The narrative suggests a contrast - life and death - the death of the planet due to climate change as a real threat. Hence again in my mod I have gone to town with the contrast - I want it to look harsh because the reality I am trying to convey is harsh. I've also tried to emphasise the theme by burning the edges of the image and trying to create a sense of the image being scorched - reinforcing the idea of a scorched earth. By boosting the structure setting (a localised edge contrast setting in silver effex) and slightly oversharpening the image the fg begins to look less like grass and more like a barren wasteland.
Third: the image is being seen in isolation. A narrative can often carry best when its told in numerous pieces - in other words as part of a series of images. The narrative may be lost a little currently - but when put up with numerous other images on the same theme - perhaps the message will shine out.
Finally, fourth. Ultimately, people will interpret what they want from an image. No matter how carefully we craft them - someone, somewhere will just not get it. As artists we have to just accept this.
Don't let this one image put you off - but be warned narratives in images can become addictive...
Adam
Thanks Adam, your input is invaluable and helps enormously. I've always had a problem with really pushing an image but your version is superb. To be honest I thought my version was too far back and I thought cropping it would be a suggestion that came through here. However, your pano version surprised me but makes perfect sense.
My PS skills are lacking, but my bravery is lacking even more. Must learn to push myself.
Fraser
Agree about the narrow base which suits the overall image. It looks sparten and desolate not sure about the climate change message though. Having said that I totally like the image and understand the message you are portraying through your write up. . paul
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