What? No tripod?

Gallery: LandscapePosted November 4, 2015690 views13 comments

The only decent vantage point from which to photograph this mature narrowleaf cottonwood was standing on a small ledge about two feet above the ground with the camera held as close to a sandstone wall at the side of the dry wash as I could position it. There was a bit of a breeze at the time too. So I cranked up the ISO, disabled the mirror lockup, turned on the lens IS, cranked down the shutter speed, and fired away. And then I still had to clone out a few stray branches from this image, of another tree just out of frame to the right.

Canon 5D II
Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS
95mm, f/8, 1/125 second, ISO 200

Comments

13 comments

Comment posted by Patricia Brundage on November 4, 2015 at 2:38 PM

See, there is no need for a tripod (except for self defense). Love how the yellow pops with the red clifffs as a background. Nice composition and execution. A wall hanger indeed.

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

Comment posted by Aaron Feinberg on November 4, 2015 at 3:09 PM

I shoot without tripod all the time. Very freeing :) Nicely seen.

aF

Registered on October 26, 2009, 399 Posts, 2789 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on November 4, 2015 at 3:49 PM

Jim, This is really nice. I like the comp you came up with here and really enjoy the colors this has. I love the contrast and how that tree stands out against the rock background. Very nice...even without the tripod. cool

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on November 4, 2015 at 5:50 PM

No tripod? Then I can't look. sad

Great color and leaf pattern against the wall. It turned out great.

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

Comment posted by David Schoen on November 4, 2015 at 5:59 PM

Golden cottonwood against red rock. Wonderful color.

Registered on November 6, 2006, 1213 Posts, 4587 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on November 4, 2015 at 9:58 PM

Magnificent glow of the tree and canyon. I'm not sure if the tree on the far right adds a lot to the image, but a tighter view of the cottonwood would have been too tight I think. Gorgeous light.

Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments

Comment posted by Igor Doncov on November 5, 2015 at 2:59 AM

What a marvelous backlit tree. The colors are amazing and the luminosity of the tree vs the duller background works really well. The graceful curve of the trunk adds a lot to the beauty. It would have been nice if the tree had a base at the bottom instead of the trunks trailing out off the edge of the image. Beautifully done. I like this a lot.

Registered on November 22, 2014, 189 Posts, 2733 Comments

Comment posted by Roel Wijtmans on November 5, 2015 at 11:45 AM

No tripod, that's blasphemy! But you'll be excused just this one time, haha. The bright yellows really stand out against the background, which is very appealing. Not too sure about the tree to the right, but cropping would not be an option composition-wise I think. Nice!

Registered on September 30, 2012, 116 Posts, 2257 Comments

Comment posted by Vance Gese on November 5, 2015 at 8:09 PM

Incredible image, Jim. The light and glow in the leaves is something we all dream of.

Registered on November 13, 2008, 298 Posts, 6629 Comments

Comment posted by Albert Darmo on November 6, 2015 at 10:01 AM

Hi Jim

Exceptional in every aspect. especially the beautiful light and color. devil

.. I just turned 82. so i have no qualms on using a tripod enlightened

& cable release...

Albert Darmo
Canada

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

Comment posted by gary phillips on November 7, 2015 at 12:04 AM

Very nice, Jim. Love the golden color against the sandstone wall. Beautifully done.

Registered on October 24, 2013, 185 Posts, 4136 Comments

Comment posted by Basil Greber on November 8, 2015 at 4:04 PM

Colors are great - the yellows in the tree and the slight purple in the rocks complement each other very well. I wish you had included the base of the tree in the shot - it looks a bit cut off as is.

Registered on November 8, 2005, 219 Posts, 1340 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Greenwood on November 10, 2015 at 10:43 AM

Igor and Basil ... this tree is growing in a dry wash with a chaotic jumble of rocks and debris on the bed of the wash. I included as much of the trunk of the tree as possible without including the base of the tree because the rocks and debris surrounding the base of the tree detract significantly from the composition in this case. Thanks for your feedback.

Registered on November 9, 2003, 229 Posts, 1523 Comments