Autumn Requiem
by Ron Pederson
While the snow flies and the temps dip (-11 this a.m.), I’ve been working on images from last spring and fall. This is a composite of an old growth pine stump probably 30 ft. high (most of it) and a scene from last fall. The fall/background was treated with a faded WC filter, and a little light rendering. The old weathered stump was shot in dappled late afternoon sunlight in April. I’ve included a larger version, but the compression isn’t helping.
Comments/critiques always welcome; thanks for looking.
Comments
6 commentsNice composite. I really like the depth these two images and the different treatments create.
First, regarding the composition, you have a lot of nice vertical lines in your image, but it's that downed wood at the bottom working against that nice vertical flow that keeps tugging at my eye like an anchor. Others may not find it a distraction but a nice contrasting element.
The second thing is much less obvious in the smaller version than in the larger version. The larger version looks (to me) almost like a picture of a museum diorama. I think you've done a marvelous job integrating the colors and tones of both images. I think the light, or rather where the light is positioned on some of the foreground elements gives me this impression. For instance, the uppermost parts of the stump and the lower right of the stump merge nicely with the background. But the light on the some left foreground elements creates this sort of diorama effect. Specifically, the center left edge of the stump, the left half of the diagonal branch at the bottom, and the bright patch of leaves in the bottom left. Maybe you need to burn down the brightest parts of the foreground or maybe reduce contrast in the foreground to better blend the two images. Most probably, I need to recalibrate my monitor and get a new prescription for glasses.