Morning Blue Oaks + Alt

Preston,

Pretty much ditto on all that Paul wrote.  Definitely a great portrayal of the California landscape, especially of the oak woodlands and foothills.

I'm in agreement with Paul, at least my initial thought was a crop off the bottom; I'd say at least half of the lower row of grasses and as much as eliminating the greens in the LRC. Of course you've already made a crop choice and this also works as presented.

Subtle, but I like the space in both upper corners allowing the oak canopy and tree in general to be nicely framed and presented.

Processing looks great too.  Great job with these oaks.

Lon

ps. On the way to Monterey last week, I saw some oaks that are already starting to leaf out!  yikes, it's only the beginning of February!

Thanks for your comments, gents!

I liked your crop idea, so I did that. Just to note: The saturation paining I did was in the greens in the background. I did not adjust the the yellow/green saturation in the foreground grasses. In my original, I also burned in the background behind the oaks.
--P

I do like your repost better Preston as it enhances the gracefulness of the tree.

Preston, this wonderful portrait of a tree shows me your emotional closeness to these oaks. To my eye, they offer an amazing kind of personality.

Your processing fits in perfectly with the scene in my opinion. I appreciate your original crop a lot, the foreground grasses lead me nicely into the depth.

Thanks for sharing!

Peter

Nice look at the local oaks. I prefer the original post. 

The tighter crop is the ticket for me, Preston. That little crop from the bottom seems to place more of an emphasis on the details and textures along with the character of these beautiful oaks. The subdued light was perfect for this scene.

Ed