Tree photo critique

[Jonathan Evans]

Hi all,

I was driving home today and I saw this tree amongst the freshly rolled hay. The picture was just a simple hand held snapshot and was taken at about 2pm. The sky was quite overcast and so I decided to use this picture for some editing practice to see if I could add some drama to the sky. My question is have I taken it too far?

Thanks in advance,

Jonathan



Exif:

Camera Canon EOS 50D
Exposure 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture f/16.0
Focal Length 17 mm
ISO Speed 100
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire

[flytyer57]

I think those clouds add a lot of drama to this pic, but they do look like they were painted in.

[milosh]

I agree with Flytyer, you did add some drama to the sky but it's obvious that it has been heavily processed. You could try lowering your processing a bit, to make it look more natural. Another evidence of processing (besides the odd look of the trees and the sky) is the transition from dark to bright on the trees, close to the ground. If your processing made a tree darker, then you have to apply it to the whole tree. Also, the level of brightness of the field and the rolls of hay is too high for such a dark sky, try to balance it a bit more.

[silverbirch]

I rather like it. You sometimes do see that sort of light and effect here in NZ. Interested to see the hay :-) I've just been on a short trip and was looking for Hay opportunities but it rained!