River Bottoms

Wonderfully dynamic composition, with the arching trees and little stream. Nice detail and the B and W looks great. Gorgeous!

This is another amazing take from your trip to the river bottoms, Nick. This almost looks to be a B&W, but the little hint of color is wonderful.  I really like the graceful curve of open water and the way it takes me into the scene. I am really liking your processing on these. Keep them coming.

Ed

Nick, I just have to say that your black and white work is wonderful, and evokes a gently dramatic mood. This composition is excellent. I like how the water mimics the curves of the branches. The tonal values look great! Beautifully done!
--P

Really nice, Nick. And I really like the hint of color, and so as such I'd never suggest converting to B&W. The dusting of snow on the trees, the exposure and overall balance of the composition is excellent considering the rather bleak weather. Very nice work!

Very pleasing shapes Nick, it works in a simple and beautiful way.

I like the way that the trees seem to be stretching out over the creek.  I think your comp works well here due to the interesting shape of the creek and the trees.  The snow helps to simplify the scene as well. 

Nick, this a very graphic image with a lot of impact for me. As you said, finding good comps in woodlands can be a challenge, but you did a great job distilling this image down to few key elements. The way you have arranged the open water in this composition is outstanding, it creates a sense of depth, and gets my eye moving back and forth across the scene. I would suggest cropping a little away from the top, removing some of the white in the sky would place even more emphasis on the graphic shapes of the trees and water.

This is a great, post snow, view of the river and woods, Nick.  Those leaning treas as well as the shape of the river poking through the unmarked snow look great.  With all the snow, b&w definitely looks like the way to go.

Very nice, Nick. You captured some nice forms in this nice winter scene, and I like the processing.

Thanks guys for your thoughts and suggestions on this. Much appreciated as always! This looks pretty much like a b&w image but it actually is not a conversion. The scene was almost in b&w naturally with just a hint of color in a little of the grass and just a slight touch in some of the tree bark. I lowered the saturation a very slight amount (mostly yellow) and the processing was mostly Lightroom and then dodge and burn in CS6. Thanks all, Nick

This is excellent, Nick. Great lines and those arching trees provide some nice framing. The snow does a wonderful job simplifying what I suspect would otherwise be a very chaotic scene. Beautiful as presented but I could see experimenting with trimming a bit off the top to minimize the bright areas and direct the eye more toward the center. 

Thanks Dave! So glad you like it. Ed mentioned cropping a little off the top as well and I think that might work! Nick

Nick: I think that you'd be hard pressed to find a better composition. It deserves a big spot on your wall. Richard

Ah geez, you did it again.  
Man these are nice!!! The trees are so cool, leaning over like that.  I really like the feel and texture of the snow in this, and the comp, with the stream coming through the trees and angling out in front, that balances everything perfectly.
Super!

This is really sweet, Nick. My initial thought was a top crop, but doing some scroll cropping, I like it better as is. Nice strong graphic quality to the image. It is a fine winter image!

Richard, Genny and Harley, Thanks and I'm so glad you liked it. Cheers, Nick
Harley, I did try a crop now but like you decided I like it best the way it is. . Thought it may work but once I went past just a tiny bit it just didn't seem to work for me either, and the very small amount just didn't seem worth while. 

Nick, what makes this image exceptional for me is the juxtaposition of the complex structure of the trees with the clear-cut shapes in the foreground. The subtle hints of colors finally draw my attention even more.

Peter

Really nice! The leaning trees add such a dynamic to the comp. A beautiful winter scene beautifully processed!

Beautiful, Nick, simple but elegant, well done!

Really nice lines using the water and sweeping trees with snow. Lots of tones in this, wondering if toning down the sky would change anything. Very nice.

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts on this one. Much appreciated! Cheers, Nick