Seeing Ghosts + Repost

Gallery: LandscapePosted June 14, 2013750 views13 comments

This was made on a winter day in the Santa Cruz mountains. The day before this was made, I was hiking and failed to bring my camera. On that day there was an eerie fog moving through over the ridge surrounding this area. I decided to come back the following day hoping for the same overcast light, but instead I arrived to find clear blue skies, so I waited until just near sunset after it had dropped well below the ridge.

What fascinated me was this stark white, or nearly so, oak tree. Nothing else around it was that color, or lack thereof. It was as if it was a ghost tree emerging from some dark abyss in the forest. It was chilling and it stood clearly out among all the other trees on the hillside.

I am unsure of the FG reflection if I should keep it or completely crop it out and turn the photo in to a horizontal composition.

4x5, Nikon 300mm f/9 lens, at f45 for 1 min.

Your comments and critiques are much appreciated.

Repost: My initial main concern were the reeds becoming to prominent. But I had a hard time the first time around trying to clone them out so I left them. After the feedback here, I started fresh from the raw scan and spent the necessary time to clone them out carefully. Then I reprocessed the image with worrying about the reeds showing to much and the reworked version is below. Any additional thoughts much appreciated.

Comments

13 comments

Comment posted by Bob&Charly Nelson on June 14, 2013 at 7:01 AM

Great find and capture Youssef.
Bob

Registered on October 27, 2005, 289 Posts, 4202 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Baumbach on June 14, 2013 at 8:10 AM

Very nice Youssef. I like the crop as is. I might process it differently as I find the saturation on the tree to the left a little to much.

- Dan

Registered on November 1, 2003, 473 Posts, 7980 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on June 14, 2013 at 9:25 AM

I like this a lot, Youssef. Great find. I think I like it as presented rather than cropped. Very ghostly!

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by Jared Warren on June 14, 2013 at 10:16 AM

Very nice find. I like this crop with the reflection, although the foreground reeds are a little distracting to me.

Registered on May 11, 2012, 84 Posts, 931 Comments

Comment posted by Marc Adamus on June 14, 2013 at 11:52 AM

Very subtle, beautiful and I love the ghostly reflection. I do find the reeds a tad distraction though, as previously mentioned.

Registered on September 17, 2005, 780 Posts, 8091 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel Rappaport on June 14, 2013 at 2:07 PM

Beautiful composition. Love it as is.

Registered on September 9, 2009, 294 Posts, 2006 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Lowe on June 14, 2013 at 2:11 PM

This is very striking, Youssef. IMO this would work as is or with the crop you suggested; each showcasing a different mood. I personally like this version because of the spooky hallowen face reflected in the water. My only suggestion here would be to clone out those few reeds merging with the reflection of the white tree. Either way I like this.

Ed

Registered on February 7, 2004, 414 Posts, 7115 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on June 14, 2013 at 2:53 PM

Youssef,

Oh My, this is wonderful. that is one unique and ghostly tree, but think the contrasts with the "normal" trees is what is really making this so engaging. For me, it's all about the upper half, although the reflection is more ghostly. This works as presented, but then in viewing the larger image I now see the reeds, which I think really detract from the impact of that wonderful tree. I would at least consider the horizontal crop with just enough of the water for a base. No matter though, you've found and captured a wonderful image.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Youssef Ismail on June 14, 2013 at 7:38 PM

The reeds in the foreground were my biggest concern but I did not want mention them to see if they caught the attention of others. I tried to clone them out but I was unhappy with the results as it disrupted the ghostly reflection. Ergo the crop idea. I will try again.

The saturation was a second concern but not so much in the green but rather in the bleached tree. Subtle tones started to appear as processing continued. I'll try to adjust for that as well and repost. Thanks for the feedback.

Any other ideas for improvement much appreciated.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 474 Posts, 5555 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Coskun on June 14, 2013 at 7:52 PM

The contrast between the white tree and the greens is incredible. Great eye for seeing this composition and scene!

Registered on October 31, 2011, 170 Posts, 1240 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Smorra on June 15, 2013 at 12:08 PM

Very interesting image Youssef. I really like how you kept the image dark to highlight the white tree.

Registered on November 2, 2009, 161 Posts, 2143 Comments

Comment posted by Youssef Ismail on June 15, 2013 at 4:44 PM

Thanks for the feedback. The reeds did bother me but I had a hard time cloning them out the first time so I decided to forego it. After your feedback, I buckled down, started fresh from the raw scan and took my time and cloned them out. I reworked the image now without worrying about the reeds becoming to prominent to this version.

Any additional thoughts appreciated.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 474 Posts, 5555 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on June 17, 2013 at 1:49 PM

I like the repost, and the ghostly effect is cool!

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