PA - 1st Place Winner

Gallery: EPA 2010Posted September 29, 20102,009 views16 comments

Photo Art Gallery - 1st Place Winner
White Oak

One of my favorite trees. Shot with an infrared converted camera using the Nikon 10.5mm fisheye. Shot in RAW and heavily processed in Lightroom 3. I then used the Topaz Simplify filter Buzsim with some modifications to the default settings.

Comments

16 comments

Comment posted by Simon Bosworth on September 29, 2010 at 12:55 PM

I like bottom-up view, it gives the feeling of the tree looming over the viewer. It looks like a book illustration to me. B&W looks very appropriate here. Very effective.

Registered on September 10, 2010, 18 Posts, 63 Comments

Comment posted by David W. Kelly on September 29, 2010 at 1:29 PM

A work of art. Awesome!

Registered on October 7, 2005, 883 Posts, 6590 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on September 29, 2010 at 2:43 PM

EXCELLENT!! I'm particularly impressed by the nice composition - so well thought out. Very, very nice. Would love to see it without all the processing too.

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Reed Bowman on September 29, 2010 at 3:31 PM

Steve...this is just wonderful. Not sure what effect the Buzsim filter applied but I love the radiance of this image..the fish-eye effect is super effective here as well....just love this!

Registered on March 2, 2009, 166 Posts, 1058 Comments

Comment posted by Crystal Kelehear on October 4, 2010 at 4:42 AM

Very powerful image. It reminds me of the Avatar Home Tree

Registered on April 23, 2008, 9 Posts, 9 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on October 5, 2010 at 8:28 PM

Very effective filtering!
Love this - the detail, light, and perspective work just great together.
Congrats on the EP!

Sandy r

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by andy puttbach on October 6, 2010 at 7:02 PM

I love this. I use to shot a lot of infrared film. Never thought of any treatments like this. Very cool!

Registered on January 23, 2007, 0 Posts, 299 Comments

Comment posted by denise ippolito on October 7, 2010 at 12:22 AM

Beautifully processed! I love the perspective.

Registered on December 17, 2009, 202 Posts, 1529 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Reed on October 7, 2010 at 11:34 AM

Love it. Super creative...and original...

Registered on September 19, 2009, 198 Posts, 1074 Comments

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on October 18, 2010 at 4:00 AM

winnie the pooh's view looking up the tree before he climbed to collect the honey! lovely work!

Registered on December 7, 2007, 247 Posts, 4792 Comments

Comment posted by Dietrich Gloger on October 20, 2010 at 1:13 AM

Wow, amazing. I am often torn on the outcome of heavy processing. Not because I dislike the idea of doing it, but because not always it is handled with skill. But this one is totally amazing and convincing. Looks like an delicately made aquarell. Wonderful work Steve.

Registered on January 26, 2007, 360 Posts, 9876 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Zimic on October 20, 2010 at 9:39 AM

Thanks for all your comments. The two images above represent the original raw image and the processed image before the Topaz filter. One of my favorite times of year to shoot trees is in the spring before the leaves fully develop. This leaves much of the sky able to penetrate through which with IR creates a very dark background allowing the tree's structure to be quite visible. I like the original as well, but for me the Topaz version separated those tiny leaves and created a much more dynamic image.

Registered on November 23, 2003, 176 Posts, 727 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on January 3, 2011 at 1:17 AM

Steve - Congrats on the 2010 Photo Art 1st place award!
Beautiful image!
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Catherine Reilly on January 3, 2011 at 5:52 PM

Steve! I'm really embarrassed to have missed this one.

Stunning achievement for the image and the PA 1st Place Award. Congratulations!

Registered on August 16, 2006, 603 Posts, 9192 Comments

Comment posted by Larry Lynch on January 6, 2011 at 8:50 AM

Way to go Steve. Amazing work and congrats on your 1st place. Larry

Registered on September 16, 2006, 773 Posts, 9940 Comments

Comment posted by Kory Lidstrom on February 3, 2011 at 7:35 PM

What an incredible image. The lighting, composition, subject matter and filter effect are all top notch. You really hit it outta the park with this one -- I'm blown away. It's one of the only time I've ever seen one of those filter effects truly improve an image.

Registered on November 19, 2008, 49 Posts, 1035 Comments