Exposed +RP

There is a most interesting interplay of textures and shapes in your image for me, Lon. The rocks do not only anchor the trees in this scene, they likewise anchor the composition firmly. I am sure a fine art print would reveal some more subtle shades than the web version is able to.

Silvia

I'm a sucker for these type of images. The roots are so expressive, as are the rocks, and the b&w medium is perfect for letting your emotions go. On the other hand it feels a bit busy to me. I thought of simplifying the composition but I think it's the contrast that's doing it. The roots need good contrast but the rocks not so much. It's a tricky thing because the contrast brings out the emotions which is what this is all about for me. Either way this is an excellent subject and enjoyable to look at.

Your crop helped on this one. I might boost the highs just a little to get a touch more contrast and pop, but otherwise nice tones and shapes. For some reason, I was thinking this was along the Merced. Wrong set of roots. 

I like this a lot, Lon.  I see Igor's point about busy-ness.  It could be that more highlights in the trees and roots in particular would give it more unity, or perhaps cropping the smaller rocks off the bottom, though they do give us a sense of the trees being cradled. I think the top edge of the frame is perfect, but there might be just enough diversity along the bottom edge to pull our eyes there.  Either way, this is a wonderful image. 
ML 

Thank you so much for the excellent feedback!

... it's the contrast that's doing it. The roots need good contrast but the rocks not so much.

Igor - thank you so much, this comment, along with others, really opened my eyes to this image and how I was approaching it.  I'm a novice when it comes to b&w and as I've mentioned in the past I think there's little skill in selecting a template and tweaking it.  My initial approach was global in the sense of overall contrast, textures, luminosity, etc. etc.  But to use contrast selectively is something that hadn't crossed my mind - at all.  Sure, I've dodged and burned and selectively used color, saturation,etc., but again not contrast and certainly not for this image.  My goal with the rework was to try and separate the trees/roots from the rock.

Here is a repost with that thought process in mind.  I'm sure this isn't the final and I'm not even convinced it's better, I may have gone too far.  But in reworking I tried to retain the contrast and even lightened the trunks and roots a bit, while decreasing the contrast in the surrounding rock.  I also did some additional burning and dodging so the rock didn't go completely flat.

thanks for any additional comments or feedback.  I do wish the roots were more expressive and extensive, but the scene was what it was and I think there's enough there for good nature story.

Thanks again!

Lon

Edit: The rock does look pretty flat in the repost here.  I'm wondering though, if there was no original for reference, and you saw this one for the first time, would you notice that?  Hard to say for me.

I definitely prefer the repost, but I could see taking it even further. 

Lon, I like the repost as well and it works fine for me as you have it now. I really like the textures this has in the larger view of the repost.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI.

Repost works for me and eliminates my query about the bottom-most layer of rock.

Nice work!
ML

Repost looks great and is the winner for me, Lon. Lightening the trees and the roots has given them a nice tonal separation from the surrounding boulder field. The details and textures really shine when opening the large version. Beautifully done IMO.

Ed

Lon, in your repost the contrast for the roots works perfectly for me and I think the rocks might also benefit from some increase of the contrast.

And yes, I think I would have noticed the difference.

Silvia

Lon, I'm coming in late on this one, and I actually skipped down to see the repost first, so at first I wasn't influenced by the original. I prefer the reduction in contrast of the rocks from the repost, and the higher contrast in the trees. After going back and looking at the original too, what strikes me is that in the original it's the very strong shadows that take some attention away from the trees. You have addressed that in the repost, partly by reducing contrast in the rocks, and partly by adjusting the trees. However, I think the repost would benefit from additional dodging of the lighter areas of the three foreground rocks, especially the two on the left  (the one right one may be okay). It's always amazing to me how such subtle local adjustments create such major changes in the impact of the image. Kudos to Igor for sending you off on the right track.

Excellent, Lon Apologies for being a bit late to comment. As usual very well seen and crafted image. I love the way the rocks appear to ring the trees. Repost looks great. Those tree trunks/roots really pop. I could see maybe lightly dodging the prominent rocks in the foreground as they look a tad too dark. 

Everything is working here! From the lines to the shapes and textures and tones, there's a lot of interesting things to look at. The sharpening looks crazy good to me as well!  

I really like the composition, Lon. It tells a great story.

The reworked image really pops, although I agree the foreground rocks would benefit from additional tweaking. It's real close.

Thanks for taking the time to rework this.
--P

Lon, the small version has a decided "grunge" look.  The larger version loses that with the "grunge" turning into sharp, high contrast details.  It's a fascinating collection of rocks, roots and trunks that does a good job of showing off how resilient trees can be.  I think the reduced contrast in the repost is a good improvement....no more grunge look...