Sweetgum Profusion

Gallery: LandscapePosted November 17, 201710,624 views12 comments

This group of ~~maple~~ sweetgum trees is in my neighborhood, just up the street. It was raining lightly when I made the exposure, and fortunately, there was no wind. I like the combination of red and yellow leaves, along with the smattering of green.

Nikon D-7100
Nikkor 18-140mm @ 105mm
f-22 @ 1 second, ISO 125
Cropped a bit from the RAW file
TK's masks.

Please see the large version. Thanks!

Your thoughts are always appreciated. cool

Edit: Julia Flanagan, a forester, advised me that these trees are Sweetgum trees (Liquidambar styraciflua). That is why I corrected the title.
--P

Comments

12 comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on November 17, 2017 at 9:35 PM

Love this Preston. The diagonal, darker trunks and branches add a lot to anchor the scene. Color is exquisite.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by Igor Doncov on November 18, 2017 at 12:10 AM

A beautiful collection of colors and shapes. The composition is strong. I would suggest to also come back later and shoot the same composition when just a few leaves are left on the frame.

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

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on November 18, 2017 at 9:43 AM

Beautiful color blast! The comp works quite well and I like the image a lot. No suggestions here.

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

Comment posted by Bill Fach on November 18, 2017 at 12:41 PM

Preston: Frame filling fantastic. Love the color palette and comp and the detail in the leaves. Marvelous. >=))>

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

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on November 18, 2017 at 1:31 PM

Love it Preston. Beautiful colors (and processing of those colors.) Great job filling the frame with the autumn maple leaves. As mentioned, I really like the branches - their presence is just enough to add structure to this intimate portrait. And the variety and distribution of colorful leaves is excellent too.

Beautifully seen, captured and processed. Well done!

Lon

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

Comment posted by Steve Kennedy on November 18, 2017 at 7:21 PM

Very nice fall scene Preston! I really like how you've filled the entire frame.

Registered on March 9, 2009, 79 Posts, 676 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on November 18, 2017 at 9:00 PM

Love the details and colour with the tree trunks anchoring the composition well.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Bo Chen on November 19, 2017 at 11:52 AM

This is a fantastic image of maple trees. I tried many times and understand how difficult it is. Composition is difficult. Tree branches and leaves are random, hard to find a simple pattern. Making red stand out of green is also difficult, especially human eyes are sensitive to green. You managed to do it very well.

A few questions. Was it taken in the dawn or dusk? Was a polarizer used? Was white balance set to auto? What have you done in post-processing?

Thanks a lot!
Bo

Registered on February 14, 2017, 42 Posts, 74 Comments

Comment posted by Preston Birdwell on November 19, 2017 at 12:32 PM

Bo Chen wrote...

A few questions. Was it taken in the dawn or dusk? Was a polarizer used? Was white balance set to auto? What have you done in post-processing?

The exposure was made at 3:00 PM, PST under heavy cloud cover and a misty rain. No filter was used. White Balance set to daylight (Color Temperature 5150 K).

Post Processing:

TK v4 Lights-1 mask for all lights
TK v4 Lights-3 mask for brightest yellows
TK v4 Darks-4 mask for the trunks and branches
Hue/ Saturation
- Reds +20
- Yellows +7

I appreciate your comments, Bo. Thanks also to all of you who have commented!

@Igor: Thanks for your comment and suggestion to take another look after the leaves have mostly fallen. I will do that. There are houses close by that may show in the frame once the leaves are gone, but I certainly will take a look.
--P

Registered on November 1, 2003, 471 Posts, 5188 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Moreau on November 19, 2017 at 4:35 PM

Preston, what a collection of fall color, and what an eye to isolate this frame! These types of photos are very difficult, and this one is excellent. After reading your last comment about the nearby houses, I looked back and can see small bits of a house in the upper left, but even having seen them, they really don't distract at all from the main focus.

Registered on April 21, 2015, 64 Posts, 584 Comments

Comment posted by Julia Flanagan on November 20, 2017 at 2:17 PM

Lovely capture of trees in their autumn glory Preston. I wouldn't change a thing... except perhaps the name. The forester in me can't help but note that these are sweetgum trees (Liquidambar styraciflua), native to eastern U.S., but fairly commonly used in landscaping. They never fail go put on a show. Beautiful catch.

Registered on November 13, 2003, 59 Posts, 986 Comments

Comment posted by Anil Rao on November 25, 2017 at 1:43 PM

This has turned out so well Preston. A real stunner. The trees are majestic ... got to love the main trunks and the spreading branches. The colorful leaves then take it to a whole new level.

Registered on November 15, 2003, 234 Posts, 4923 Comments