Another Tree, Lol!

[Doctor Atomo]

Madrone

Nikon D90, Nikon 55-200vr @120mm, f/5, 1/80th ISO-200, Exposure bias -.03, 5400k +-, no post processing


This one took a lot of work to get the exposure, right, white balance and compose it in an interesting way... there is still the very edge of the bench in the right and the rock in the foreground is washed out. What else?
Is it interesting, or stone boring?
Is a scene a valid subject or should the focus be more on the tree or barbecue?

[avishek24]

I agree that the rock is washed out but I think this pic is great!. I am new to this, so again, wont be able to give you any concrete criticism, but I personally like the shadows in the picture and the overall "green" tinge. I dont think this is a boring subject at all. If it were upto me, I would keep the focusing the way it is now.

[Doctor Atomo]

Thank you for the kind words!
I am also a complete amateur!
It was very bright in the sun and with Auto (what I use to calibrate a shot) you could barely see the Barbecue or Tree.
As is you can't see any detail in the shadows, but if I wanted more details in the shadows the rock would have been even more washed out!
Some would say, perfect for HDR, but I think that if you could see the shadows and the rock perfectly, it would look too synthetic! I have seen some beautiful HDR in dark woods,with sunbeams on a stream, that you just could not get in a single exposure shot, yet your eyes would have adjusted so you would have been able to see it if you were there. I think this is the best use for HDR, to better able to capture what you see!
In this shot you couldn't see into the shadows with your eyes, why would I want you to be able to see into them in a photo? This is not a military reconnaissance shot! Lol!

[avishek24]

Lolz!
I also think that maybe you could use HDR for this image if you want to make all of it visible, but I agree, many times it give it a very synthetic look. So at the end of the day, its a trade of. Personally though, I wouldnt want to see each and every bit of the picture including the shadows. So to me, its fine the way it is.

[Doctor Atomo]

Someone once told me, (or I read somewhere) that the darkest shadows should lose detail and the brightest spots should be on the verge of blowing out. The shadows are pretty big in this shot though.