Trees

[Michael_2010]

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

In my part of the world there are many very old majestic live oaks draped with Spanish moss. Every time I come across a particularly large one standing tall and proud amongst others, I will try to get a few photos. Inevitably, none of them ever convey the impressive nature of a tree that has survived so much history.

What’s the answer? What photographic technique can be employed to make that tree interesting within the confines of a digital sensor?

[ednorm]

First you need a hot nekkid model to pose alongside the tree.... I too love to photograph old trees, I find they are much more dramatic when I use sepia tone on the picture. It seems to add a sense of age, almost a respectability to the shot. They look like something you would see from a 100 year old picture. I think the problem is not so much your shots rather the way your eye appreciates the scene you are shooting, you are seeing something that excites your eye and the camera is displaying the tree, where to you it is something beautiful and majestic to the camera it is a tree plain and simple. Spanish moss covered trees in Fl. are beautiful, but in reality there is not much contrast there for color shots, at least to my eye. Post some of your pics I would love to see them.

ed

[navcom]

Sounds like you are suffering from a bit of artist block. We all go through it. I have one word: perspective.

Try different angles, more dramatic lighting (different time of day or different sky conditions), etc. Think outside the box. Use a wide angle lens and get really, really close to a fascinating part of the tree. Get right down on the ground next to the base of the tree and shoot straight up. Narrow your DOF so just an interesting portion of the tree is in focus and the background acts as negative space. Put the tree in the left 1/3 of the image and narrow the DOF so it's the focal point (same negative space theory applies).

Some ideas for you. There are countless other ones. The secret is to get out and try anything. Just keep trying stuff even if it doesn't make logical sense. If you think of something, do the opposite. Sometimes that helps too.

If that doesn't work, try that nekkid model thingy.

Hope that helps!

[Michael_2010]

So far I'm liking the nekkid model thingy idea best. lol

Yeah, I just need to step back and then jump in with some new angles, etc. The color problem is also an issue. Unless that tree is all alone out in the middle of a plowed field it gets lost amongst the branches and leaves of all the surrounding trees. Nothing to really make it pop.

[navcom]

Originally Posted by Michael_2010

So far I'm liking the nekkid model thingy idea best. lol

Yeah, I just need to step back and then jump in with some new angles, etc. The color problem is also an issue. Unless that tree is all alone out in the middle of a plowed field it gets lost amongst the branches and leaves of all the surrounding trees. Nothing to really make it pop.

In this situation, choosing a different time of day can be an option. Or even a foggy day when the background is hazy. Of course this doesn't work if the tree is 500 miles away...but if it's local, you can go back any time you want.

[Michael_2010]

I had some free time yesterday, so I took a drive to some trail heads around a bird sanctuary nearby in the middle of the day. Too blasted hot to get out and walk any trails, so I was just getting some ideas for the fall and probably early morning hours. But, while looking at this one particular tree, I started wondering why it is so hard to make something so beautiful come across properly on film. On film? WTH? What do we call it these days? lol

[Krusty79]

You can go to Flickr or Google Images and do a search for "spanish moss and oak trees." There are over 15 pages of results in Google. There's bound to be some images that will inspire you or give you new ideas, but I do see what you mean about the main tree getting lost in the branches of the other trees.