Boardman Tree Farm

Gallery: Man & NaturePosted December 12, 20152,135 views4 comments

Hi Folks,
Here is another in my series of b/w images, this one with a tish of color retained in the farm floor/leaves. This is a treefarm near Boardman, OR (visible from interstate 84), where they grow the Pacific Albus, a hybrid of poplar (and I think a hardwood too) for use as pulp. It's a fairly sustainable form of pulp and chip production, and the trees are all harvested at about 10-12 years of age, making them fairly uniform in size within each 40 acre plot.

Canon 7D w/ 24-105mm at 95mm (because I didn't want to trespass)
ISO 160, f/10, 1/50s
Processed in Viveza and LR

I wanted to get a nearly B/W effect here, but retain some sense of autumn color. As always, let me know what you think and feel free to suggest changes or let me know it just ain't workin' for you.

Comments

4 comments

Comment posted by Roel Wijtmans on December 13, 2015 at 8:36 AM

Although I always like such unifrom forests, this one isn't really doing it for me unfortunately. There is something about the processing (I think at least, I don't know what Viveza is) that doesn't work for me. To me, it looks almost as if there is a really large amount of local contrast enhancement applied or something. I do really like the comp though, all those eyes looking at me is kinda spooky! It'll be curious to see what others say.

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

Comment posted by Marylynne Diggs on December 13, 2015 at 9:16 PM

Thanks for the honesty. I can try to proces from scratch. Viveza is a color and contrast plug-in by Nik....less used than Silver and ColorFx and I rarely use it myself. It does have some interesting effects, and this one was, I think, bleach bypass. Probably a bit too harsh. I'll take a look at other shots from the day a well as this one and process from scratch.

Any thoughts on the composition? Anyone prefer more space between the trees?

Registered on December 14, 2010, 122 Posts, 1034 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hansen on December 15, 2015 at 1:05 PM

I really like this Marylynne. Love the abstract nature of it. Initially, my eyes take in the whole thing and then begin to wander, running into pleasant surprises such as the closest tree on the right with those big eyes staring at me. Very surreal and somewhat spooky take on this. Seems a bit HDRish but in a good and creative way. I wonder what it would look like with more dark tones. Overall, very pleasing image.

Registered on May 5, 2011, 161 Posts, 908 Comments

Comment posted by Marylynne Diggs on December 19, 2015 at 7:38 PM

Thanks for the EP! Interestingly, this is my second EP of an image that did not get much positive praise from the community at large. Thanks for giving it another look!

Registered on December 14, 2010, 122 Posts, 1034 Comments