Lake Huron

Todd, I'm afraid this just isn't working for me. I understand your interest in an isolated, gnarled old tree but here I find that the tree has too many distractions - twigs and messy little branches, and the crop is so tight I can't really see much of it and there's no room to compliment it with anything either. Isolating a subject is usually good, but surrounding it with compliments ranging from a nearly blank background to stormy skies overhead or even a reflection usually adds dynamic interest and mood. I find the image here lacks a strong point of focus, as my eye just travels around the various sticks and twigs. Also, the layered background and bridge, albeit out of focus, still add unnecessary complications - for example, I'm not sure what that bridge is without your description but would probably wonder about it otherwise, detracting from the subject. Hope that helps a little. Just gotta keep experimenting out there.

Marc, Thanks so much for commenting on a pic that you doesn't work for you. I myself find it hard to comment on pictures that i really don't care for so I will have to work on that so other people can learn. My explanation for posting this is because when I seen this I really didn't care for the tree but the background fell into thirds of different but complimenting colors, which I thought were kind of cool. I'm headed to Minnesota boundary waters in a couple weeks. Hopefully I will have some landscapes to post from there. Thanks again and love your work.

I see what you were shooting for Todd. Without the tree, the layers in the background are kind of a cool abstract. Unfortunately, I do agree that the foreground and background compete, minimizing the impact of the photo.