Rider of the Tempest

This certainly has your trademark style, which is a good thing. These smaller sized web files just don't do your images justice. I would love to see the detail in a larger size. The point of view makes my neck hurt a little. The rustic tones of the earth and sprawling sky add a lot of mood. Well done Marc.

Sorry. I don't know why you can't just add a larger photo after you've already posted Michael.

Wow, that is a gorgeous light show, and processing of the tones here are perfect. (I am sure I would have ruined this by making it too bright.) Symetry of the clouds and rocks pull me right into the subject.

I know this is a "critique" forum, but you'll have to settle for, Whoa!

The old tree is a super subject on it's own let alone the fantastic light you have captured with it.

Gary.

What gorgeous color, light and composition Marc! A magnificent sight , a magnificent tree.

Thanks folks. If you don't know, this is a Bristlecone Pine, the oldest species of tree in one of the oldest groves on Earth. Lying down on my back I couldn't stretch half way across this subject here. It's 12ft-diameter girth isn't evident here as there wasn't anything next to it for scale. It was probably 2000-3000 years old at the time of its death and has been standing there for hundreds of years since.

Spectacular..that sky is indeed amazing Marc, and you did a great job in taking advantage of it. Your comp really pulls in a lot of the sky and removes any unnecessary clutter.

Fantastic light!

wtf...

Just awesome detail in the sky Marc,

Bristlecones are my favorite tree, dead or alive..Nicely put together and great use of the substrate with it's leading etch lines. Bristle cones favor the dolomitic rock, it excludes the few other trees that inhabit this high altitude environment. I believe it makes the soil very alkaline in PH.

Paul

That light is incredible, but what I'm really impressed with is that you found some interesting leading lines out there. I don't remember seeing many in Bristlecone groves

Nice take on a tree I know well. I think a crop of the right to eliminate the blue area will help.

Absolutely incredible light and your processing looks amazing as usual. Well done.

Epic in every regard, Mark! I have to get out there some day and photograph these magnificent trees.

Ed

Very epic! The radiating lines are classic Adamus. My one reservation is that the wide angle distortion and low point of view seems to have squished the form of the tree somewhat? Not actually having been there I can't be sure but I think it's the effect that Michael is talking about regarding the POV. I personally like what you've done with the blues here.

Kah, you can find a few other photographs of this tree here and there from different perspectives (Floris has one that comes to mind) and in all of them, you'll find that 'squished' type of feel. This is because the tree is actually 'squished' It's nearly as wide as it is high!

My monitor is calibrated for print right now (a bit dark) so I can not comment on luminosity here, but the image is very dramatic and I love the combination of light, hill and tree. I'm torn on the cropping idea to eliminate the blue area or just some of it. The blue open space might pull the eye that way a little but to lose some of that foreground or sky, I'm not sure would be a good idea. I think I would be inclined to leave it as is.

I'd say excellent here Marc, up to your standard.

This is a hellish shot (in a really good way). For the composition, the twirls in the tree are a perfect match with the clouds, and the light is just dramatic. Excellent work. I loved it.

Excelente work, thank you for sharing ...........

Very special light and comp, Mark. Is the tree still alive?

Tony, it is not. It has a brother next to it that's about 20ft across on one side that is still hanging on though. The two of them are five times bigger than any others in the immediate area.

Love the great looking sky.The low down looking up approach is refreshing. Would love to see a pointer on your blending skills.

Vijay, all the blending was done by hand using my unique painting style. It's very easy when areas that do not line up perfectly all have similar texture, like this rock. The DOF work took about 5-10 minutes. If it's wildflowers or something though, it gets much more time consuming to clean up any imperfections with the blending and sometimes automating the process with 'auto-blend' or Helicon can save a little time, but still, very time-consuming.

Such a great subject and an incredible sky. Pure art.

Fabulous Marc! I have always admired your work and this is no exception. The perspectives are really compelling. Some gorgeous light.

That sure is some epic light! I like how you got the leading lines in by working the up close and personal wide angle perspective.

Nice.

It must have been a great evening to be out. Awesome sky and subject, and it looks even better in a dark room.

Awesome shot Marc! Thats some wonderful light you captured here.

Geez Marc, the weather gods must really owe you something. You really should chase tornadoes with me next year, im sure with your luck we'd have an EF-5 ready to run over us in no time (just picture that last second capture of fields and forests being sucked up to heaven)
Anyhow, no nits at all, a definite addition to your top-shelf shots!

epic light and landscape indeed! I have not seen a bristlecone myself, but they always look both tortured and beautiful at once. It is intriguing how every element seems to be reaching out in this composition.

An awesome shot, Marc. I like your darker, moodier images, and this one is very cinematic... almost apocalyptic. I like your perspective to the tree with the looming fg emphasizing those fabulous cracks and textures. The detail is wonderful and your color work is beautiful. It seems you're really liking that 14-24 lens!

This is an absolutely stunning image, apart from the gorgeous light I love how the bright cloud is placed just behind the tree. The composition works extremely well. Fantastic!

Stunning in everyway Marc!!

one of ur best IMO

Hamed

Wow.....one of your best bud. Not much else to say, lol.

That sky is amazing.
The warm selective light below is so alluring.
This is such a photographers - image. Does that make sense?

Why do I expect the gods of Olympus to descend at any minute? The sky is truly spectacular and the elements of the image perfectly balanced. This image really leads the imagination on. Nice

Thanks a lot, folks.

Stan - absolutely. When is best? I'll be there. I'd throw a couple weeks at it, easy. I'm not sold on being all that lucky though. For this shot I had pre-visualized, I waited until a week with thunderstorms forecast (I wanted lightning in the image too..oh, well) and then scouted the Bristlecone forests, taking up residence there for the whole week until the one nice light show I saw materialized and I knew where I wanted to be. It was a waiting game for this, but at least Bristlecone hiking is a great way to spend a week.

Matt - no, sorry.

Anthony - look forward to seeing more from you. It's been awhile! Hope things are well..

It looks like an evil medusa god is erupting through the rock in a fiery storm. Great conception and pov !

What else can be said? I am always amazed at how you can convey such a dark scene with so much detail. My attempts at blending bristlecone have been pretty tough due to the random thin branches that jut into the sky, but you've done so well with this. Truly incredible work here

Sick! Gawd, what an amazing sky! It has your name all over it, that's for sure.

Jared, thanks. Just to clarify, there was no blending or any manipulation of the sky here in the slightest. Any blending was for DOF, and was affecting the rocks/foreground only. At f/11, I was able to get everything past the immediate, lighter colored rocks in focus in the same shot. The other exposures were bracketed focal points to record the rocks sharp throughout. The tree/sky was a single exposure. I agree, that blending around those fine branches would have been very tough.

Very cool!

Epic shot indeed...One question though, need to blend 4 exposures for DOF at 14 mm? Maybe the foreground is at some cm from the lens? (i cannot appreciate it on the image). Or the reason is not stopping down the lens? With 14 mm and hyperfocal, I think you get a damn big DOF with f/11-f14? In any case, for final print quality it is true focus stacking is really imposing itself...tell the medium format guys!
Dramatic light which really suits the subject...Well done, again! ;-)

Thanks for the question. It helps others understand. The immediate foreground (lower edge of the rock) was only 5 inches from my lens. Yes, at f/11 on such a wide angle you can get a huge DOF. In fact, you can get a DOF of about 25 inches to infinity in focus with proper selection of hyperfocal point. However, 5 inches is much closer than 25. I know you can't appreciate it here because there is little sense of scale on display, but the ultra-close perspective to the rock was critical in developing the lines you see. At my minimum focus point, I got everything from 5 inches out to about mid-way through the foreground rock in focus. I used 3 separate shots to get the entire rocks in focus because even though I could have done it with two, it is easier to blend when the focal point is not moved as much between exposures (smaller increments are better). I did not stop down because in any case (even f/22 where I loose a LOT of sharpness throughout) I would have had to blend for DOF, and if I have to blend anyway, better to use the best aperture.

Definately looks like something out of Lord of Rings. An underworld wizard indeed. Thanks for explaining your choice for focus stacking on such a wide angle shot. I would think as some others that it would not have been needed. SKies don't get much better!

Excellent

Definately looks like something out of Lord of Rings. An underworld wizard indeed. Thanks for explaining your choice for focus stacking on such a wide angle shot. I would think as some others that it would not have been needed. SKies don't get much better!

WOW! Holy $%&*! That is amazing! No other words.

Dang, that's pretty darn superb, Marc.

Marc, It has been interesting reading all the comments, and your thoughts in return. As you mentioned...it does help others understand.
This is a fantastic image! Wonderful work.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

yeah, that's alright. ;) Hope to see these awesome trees one day.

This is an amazing light show.

Hi Marc

Very nice! Great dynamics and lines of tension throughout. I wouldn't change a thing.

Be well, Shane

Really an amazing image, Marc! It's a joy to look at.

One of your best Marc----I can't wait to be there again in the fall... Isn't this place special... I bet this will make quite the signature print.

amazing Marc,
the light is just wow

Beautifully processed and what a sky! The composition makes excellent use of the lines in the tree and the rock. The only slight distraction for me is the tree branches near the bottom left of the tree. This looks like another tree in the background, but it may very well just be from the large bristlecone in the photo.

You said it was one of your "best to date" of your career the other day on the phone, and you were right !!!!

WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW !!!

Amazing work

Just bushes there, Aaron. I am in fact hiding another tree in the background so I couldn't really move left or right here. Thanks.

Powerful image indeed Marc! That fiery colours in the sky add such a strength to the tree. Its almost alive! Nice one

Wow, Marc, this is amazing. One of your best ever, IMO. The emotion in it is palpable and INTENSE.

Amazing Marc. Has your signature style written all over it. Fluid composition with everything having its place. And what an epic sky!

Holy cow. This is simply spectacular. Really beautiful and just... engaging. Absolutely gorgeous.

Hi Marc - I love the intensity that comes through this moment - the feeling of what it would have been like to be there at this moment in time, witnessing this display of light in such an interesting setting. Really exceptional in every way.

Marc: Maybe it says something about me, but I really like the often dark tones to your images in addition to the usual (for you) exquisite comp. What's magical is the way you never overdo it - this image is just light enough to preserve all details, yet dark enough to create that unique feeling as the light closes out. Randy

Just Frickin Awesome! Damn your work pisses me off (in a good way, if there is one ).

There's something about the way the exceptional fleeting sky drama contrasts with the agelessness of the rocks and tree that works very well for me. Powerful.

Very nice colors, light, tones and perspective. I'm seeing sharpening halos around the tree branches but would assume those are from the web compression? Nice work as always.

No Shawn, it's monitor compression. It depends what your display settings are at in terms of resolution. For example, I can't see them at all on this screen.

Exquisite light on this gorgeous tree, and an exceptional sky.
Not enough superlatives for this one..
Sandy

epic! what else can we say?

Impressive shot Marc, very powerful, composition, perspective, color and light just incredible!
Jose

stunning. Great meaning and drama. Nicely controlled.