Black (Oak) Beauty

This is beautiful, Lon. Very graphic w/ the dark trunks gracefully arcing amidst all the vibrant green spring leaves. Really nice work, as usual.

Looking at your shots makes me wish I would take my 4x5 out more often, Lon. Once again you mastered the composition flawlessly and made something special out of nothing but a simple group of trees.

Beautiful image! The colors works well and also the off-center composition of the oak. Not knowing how the original capture was in terms of background granite colors, I can imaging that taming them was necessary in order to create a more pleasing image and getting atttention to the oak instead of the background.
There are a lot of details in the image, I recommend everybody to view it in fullsize.

//Anders

So elegant - as Andreas mentioned: Masterfully done. You have a lot of these images, but they always convince me.

Subtle, intimate, moody, and beautiful. Everything I love about your work, Lon. You keep coming up with new takes on these oaks. I would love to see a collection of your images from this meadow arranged in a nice portfolio (paper or electronic). I can appreciate the kind of familiarity you developed over time working with these subjects and how well it shows in your work.

Guy

Simply lovely, I like the way the tree is framed and the colours are very nice. You did a great job with the bg, definitly not disturbing!

This is wonderful Lon. I agree totally with all the comments made here so far. Beautiful work.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

As close to perfect as it gets. Beautiful color, it just shouts spring. I love the dark branches amid all the fresh leaves. This is a wonderful image

You surely have an eye for these types of shots Lon. Just chiming in to say great job on another beautiful intimate shot of one of the many wonders Yosemite holds.

How many shots from those Yosemite trees do you have Lon? I really don't know, but I know that I love their beauty and simplicity. This one is no exception and I do not see anything to criticize.

PB

I love the vibrancy of this image. The colours are vivid and pop in a most natural way.

Really nice, Lon, as always. I think it's neat how after so many photos of Y that you keep coming up with new way to photograph it. Not sure how you got the fall colors in spring behind the oak, but it certainly adds some nice separation between the main tree and the background.

This is pretty sweet, Lon. The lines of the oak have a nice flow in the frame. The spring color looks great. The granite in the background looks a teeny bit too warm; I'd expect it would be cooler, given the light.

Tony: When the black oaks first start to leaf out, the leaves are quite red/orange and develop tassels (sp?) that are quite yellow. I think this is what we're seeing here.

Nice work, Mr. L!

--P

Very nice image Lon. I really like the dark tones in the trunk/branches of the tree. The yellow/orange leaves of the tree behind the oak add a nice touch of color to the scene as well. Well done...as usual !

Beautiful and inspiring as always, Lon. I like your simple, but so effective approach on photographing trees. What I like here is the lack of strong highlights. It creates a moody and contemplating atmosphere.

Wonderful shot, Lon. Certainly holds its own among your other fine shots of these trees in the valley. This is quite compelling and I'm sure a print would hold my interest for a long time.

Thanks for the response and comments folk!

Tony - Preston's right. It's amazing the amount of color during the spring in Yosemite. Also amazing is how the black oak is in various stages throughout the valley and the newly emerging buds on these trees start out red, then orange and then eventually lime green, and then lighter until the mature darker green of summer. Great stuff.

And Preston, Thanks. I was wondering if someone would comment on that. I struggle some times trying to get the granite color just right. I agree, there should be a bit more blue in the granite and I had it there at one point.... Thanks for picking up on that.

Lon

This is an awesome composition.Well done

Lovely. Graphic and powerful. The lines drawn by the trunks are really glorious.
Nice to see the work done on the good Velvia...always! :)

What you can do with trees and photographs is just indescribable. I could stare at this for hours. I have to agree with Preston on the granite wall. With it a bit more blue I think it would blend very well with the greens. Thanks for sharing.

A classic Lon oak image! Very well done. I like it!

Magnificent work Lon. I noticed immediately from the thumbnail it was "your" tree. I love the luminosity, color and contrasts. I think this is one of your bests of this tree and must be a sight to behold in a large print.

Nice graphics, works very well as a balanced arrangement. Looking at the larger picture i noticed how harmonius are reddish tones in lower trees , complementing rock wall.

Love the framing and the way you locate the trees
Excellent Lon

And Preston, Thanks. I was wondering if someone would comment on that. I struggle some times trying to get the granite color just right. I agree, there should be a bit more blue in the granite and I had it there at one point.... Thanks for picking up on that.

You're welcome, sir. I struggle with the hue of the Yosemite granite, too. What is interesting is the south facing granite (like El Cap) is decidedly warmer than the north facing cliffs, which tend to be much more blue/green. I can only guess that the color difference is due to it being in the shade and lit by the sky, and two, there is much more moss and lichen on the north facing walls.

From a processing standpoint, it's certainly a delicate balancing act to get it right.

--P

Superb in every way Lon!

I really like the contrast created by the black tree branches and you've captured it well here. Beautiful scene, Lon.

Always delighted to see one of your tree images from the Park, Lon.
I have no sugestions for improvement.

Nice comp! like the lines and detail here. light feels a tad subdued...not necessarily bad for this scene, but subdued...

Lon: Beautiful subect and a superb capture. We're having a tree theme in Flora July 24-30. Why not treat us to a few posts? >=))>