Shattered

Nice...i really like how you retained all the detail in the fg, and quite a cool subject! I'm a bit on the fence with all the negative space up top--while the 5 min exposure gave you some cloud movement i'm not sure it's enough to really justify all the sky. Maybe a darker sky (more contrast) would help some, not sure. But overall, i really like it.

For what it's worth, I like the negative space up top. I think it adds some drama by providing a sense of isolation for your subject, which seems to fit the sense of place.

I agree with Stan about the amount of sky Chris. Maybe a crop off the top and sides would make it tighter comp that would focus more on that wonderful bristlcone you found. other than that, I really like it as well!

Really nice. The moon light did you a great favor producing a low contrast image. The streaking clouds add so much to this.

This looks great to me as is. I seem to enjoy the feel that I think all the sky adds to this. The cloud movement works really well here. This scene works wonderful as a b/w image. I like this a lot Chris.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Both this one and the previous one are very nicely conceived and executed. My personal preference is the previous color composition, for its greater visual impact. But I like this B&W composition for its subtle drama also.

Well captured, Chris. Good job of visualizing the fine end result. Personally, I think I'd like to see a comp with the tree larger in the frame, but I like the clouds/sky at the top so I would not crop it.

The drama where the branches interact with the sky works well. Thinking about the comments above, did you happen to try a closer comp with the camera low looking more up at the tree? I'm wondering if that might have reduced the foreground, and pitched the tree higher into that great sky. It also might have minimized those background branches; they distract just a tad. (I often think thoughts like this in the field, and when I move the camera to where I thought would be awesome I find it's a disaster .)

Awesome sky and I like the choice for BW. I like to amount of sky you included, but I think I'd prefer a slightly lower viewpoint and a position more to the left to get separation between the two main branches. There's a curved line near the right edge that seems to be the result of moon flare.

Thanks for the comments. I was set up about five feet from the tree, and my tripod was completely collapsed so my camera was a couple inches off the ground pointed up. I did originally compose a lot closer to the tree, but backed up a couple feet because I thought this comp better conveyed the drama of emptiness and desolation I was going for. Thanks marcel: in retrospect I should have separated those branches. I totally missed that flare line

Chris,

I think I prefer the color version as the sky, cloud motion and point of view I think work better. But that's not to say that this wasn't doesn't work, in fact it stands alone very well. And I think a good decision to go b&w here. The cloud motion works well for the subject and IMHO justifies the amount of space up top. Not sure if there's anything I can suggest except perhaps playing with the tone and contrast of the sky.

I like it.

Lon

I really like the sky here, Chris, and think that it would lose most of its drama if it were cropped. Perhaps a different angle on the tree would have been better, but this is still nice.