Old Man Wrinkles

Gallery: FloraPosted October 12, 2011158 views10 comments

Maybe it was my over active imagination due to the lack of sleep the night before but I envision this aspen as a patriarch in the forest near Kebler Pass, CO. I was drawn to the interesting wrinkles and contour in the trunk. I took another shot with a longer focal length lens that has no background but I didn't feel as if it told the story of the tree as well.

I'm not sure if this will appeal to anyone else but I would be interested in your thoughts.

Image Specs:

D700
21mm; f5.6 / 1/200 sec
ISO 200

Processing:

Curves adjustment layers to bring out overall contrast as well as separate layers to lighten the trunk and darken the background. A vibrance mask layer to boost the saturation just a smidge. A smart sharpen layer as well as a gaussian blur layer masked to further blur the background.

All comments and critiques are welcome.

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Mohammad Hosseini on October 13, 2011 at 8:15 AM

It is an interesting subject and interesting image Brian. It is nice and sharp, checked the large version. Did you try cropping off one side of it (BG)? I tried to cove the BG from the right side, I liked it better. Just food for thought!!

Registered on May 16, 2011, 15 Posts, 301 Comments

Comment posted by Patricia Brundage on October 13, 2011 at 8:21 AM

Glad you said Old Man's wrinkles!! The bark on this aspen really looks weathered and aged... lots of character. A sepia conversion might also work because of the lines and textures. Certainly has a broad appeal, especially for those of us over the age of 50.

Registered on March 23, 2006, 1111 Posts, 6531 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on October 13, 2011 at 10:33 AM

I think it is a fine detail shot, Brian. It has excellent clarity and texture. Just like us, the wrinkles tell a life story!

It even sags a little like me.

Very well done!

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on October 13, 2011 at 12:49 PM

Brian,
great texture and detail. Very nice image.

Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments

Comment posted by Albert Darmo on October 13, 2011 at 7:37 PM

Hi Brian

I bet your wife was watching you do the title

Seriously, I find this is a very interesting capture! i can see the tree was bent , where the sagging lines are. just like us humans

Albert Darmo

Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on October 13, 2011 at 7:41 PM

A little about the name...When I saw this my overactive imagination took over and I kind of envisioned this tree as if it could be a character in a Tolkein story so I thought that Old Man Wrinkles would be a great name for this tree. I suspect it must be an alpine cousin of Treebeard.

Registered on May 28, 2004, 114 Posts, 2890 Comments

Comment posted by Pat Sampson on October 13, 2011 at 8:21 PM

It feels very Tolkienish to me Brian. The bg distracts me slightly and I might try darkening it a touch more. I'm not sure. Excellent detail in the trunk and a very appealing mood.

pat

Registered on May 19, 2007, 953 Posts, 15989 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on October 14, 2011 at 11:27 PM

Brian: I like your thinking regarding the small amount of BG but with that said my first reaction was to wish for a frame filling comp. Here there is still no real sense of scale; is this 4" in diameter or 14"? The details in the larger version are just excellent. A fine find and a solid capture. >=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Angela Classen on October 16, 2011 at 1:31 PM

I think it definitely has appeal. The wrinkles lend it much character and interest. Not sure how to improve, other than maybe darkening the BG a bit as Pat suggested.

Registered on June 13, 2007, 434 Posts, 2742 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Reed on October 25, 2011 at 12:48 PM

I see a one eyed mummy....anybody else...

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