Winter Morning

Gallery: LandscapePosted February 2, 20082,267 views36 comments

Taken on top of Farleton Knott at sunrise this morning, it was windy and cold! About fifteen minutes after taking this I was in the middle of a blizzard thinking to myself 'what the heck am I doing up here'.

This is one of my favourite trees on the limestone pavement up there. I've been trying to catch it in a diffent mood all year, so when I heard there was snow on tops I thought I'd wander up before dawn to see what I could get.

D300, 28-70 F2.8D@40mm, 1/30@F13 ISO 640. Full frame with minor fiddling in NX and PS.

Comments

36 comments

Comment posted by Winnie Ho on February 2, 2008 at 7:47 AM

Works for me, Paul! The pastel sky makes the perfect backdrop here. Looks transquil, almost meditative. Not at all like the conditions. Great effort rewarded, well done.

Registered on January 6, 2008, 93 Posts, 1788 Comments

Comment posted by Mohsen Al-Dajani on February 2, 2008 at 9:42 AM

Very dynamic image. It is in these shots when one can photograph the wind "the invisible element in landscape". Good job!

Registered on August 23, 2007, 160 Posts, 432 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Baumbach on February 2, 2008 at 10:45 AM

This is very pretty. Worth blazing a blizzard for.

- Dan.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 473 Posts, 7980 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Wegemann on February 2, 2008 at 12:01 PM

As soon as I saw the thumbnail, I thought of wind. I love that tree!

Registered on December 14, 2006, 58 Posts, 1888 Comments

Comment posted by Pat Sampson on February 2, 2008 at 12:04 PM

Glad you made the trip Paul. It's a beautiful winter image.

Pat

Registered on May 19, 2007, 953 Posts, 15989 Comments

Comment posted by Kerry Leibowitz on February 2, 2008 at 12:42 PM

Outstanding, Paul. The tree oozes character and the background sky is excellent. If I have a nit, it would be the lowest branch merging ever so slightly with the foreground layer, but that's really minor...I honestly didn't even notice it until my third viewing.

How are you finding the D300 handling noise at ISO 640?

Registered on November 1, 2003, 167 Posts, 5800 Comments

Comment posted by Chip Phillips on February 2, 2008 at 12:52 PM

Really nice shot Paul! I have thought the same thing myself a few times....mostly in the middle of pouring down rain though. I like the large cobble stone looking rocks in the fgnd a lot. If it were mine, I might clean up the twigs in the bottom left. Thanks for sharing. Chip
Chip Phillips Photography

Registered on November 26, 2007, 128 Posts, 1436 Comments

Comment posted by Rodney Johnson on February 2, 2008 at 2:06 PM

Great winter shot here. Very nice as is. It appears that you are pretty low to the ground already but If possible It might of been nice to have placed that lowest branch a little bit higher in the frame. It is still very nice as is though.

Registered on October 5, 2006, 25 Posts, 152 Comments

Comment posted by Trevor Anderson on February 2, 2008 at 3:02 PM

I might try to offcenter the tree a bit more, but it is awesome as is.

Registered on April 25, 2007, 64 Posts, 483 Comments

Comment posted by Reno DiTullio on February 2, 2008 at 3:13 PM

Beautiful, Paul, the tree says it all, and what a sky

Registered on November 14, 2003, 130 Posts, 1644 Comments

Comment posted by Jeffrey Sipress on February 2, 2008 at 5:00 PM

Fabulous image, paul. I think you really nailed it.

Registered on February 17, 2004, 236 Posts, 1197 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on February 2, 2008 at 6:30 PM

Paul: Is there any way to figure the direction of the prevailing wind up there? Superb sky and I really like how the sweep of the clouds matches the tree. Wonderful image. >=))>

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

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on February 2, 2008 at 10:00 PM

What perfect tree for photography. It's a wonder it doesn't snap off at the roots. Great light for this shot. Glad you made it back OK.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by William Vrolyk on February 2, 2008 at 10:17 PM

It is clear which way the wind blows from the looks of this tree. Like Kerry says, this tree has character and the sky behind it is just right.

Will
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada

Registered on November 1, 2003, 278 Posts, 3524 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel McKeehan on February 2, 2008 at 10:37 PM

In love with the soft colors here, the tree is a nice effect to an already wonderful sky

Registered on July 31, 2005, 99 Posts, 590 Comments

Comment posted by Seiji Nakahara on February 3, 2008 at 2:09 AM

Very powerful image! The tree match the sky.
I can image a severe weather of winter there and the tree's strong life force.

Registered on January 22, 2008, 5 Posts, 10 Comments

Comment posted by Benjamin Glatt on February 3, 2008 at 3:33 AM

This is sublime! Great subject and sweet bg!

Registered on July 15, 2007, 171 Posts, 3566 Comments

Comment posted by Kent Mearig on February 3, 2008 at 3:43 AM

This pre-blizzard light is special, and I like the way its warmth contrasts with the snow laden tree and ground. Very nice.

Registered on September 4, 2006, 237 Posts, 4748 Comments

Comment posted by Guy Rogers on February 3, 2008 at 4:41 AM

Hello Paul very nice love trees like this and the snow and sky make this somthing else.

Registered on January 16, 2007, 450 Posts, 995 Comments

Comment posted by Paolo De Faveri on February 3, 2008 at 8:42 AM

Beautiful warm colours in the sky, nicely contrasting with the cold tones in the foreground. Good composition too, I'd like to see something more around the tree though, I think the frame is a bit tight.

Paolo

Registered on August 29, 2007, 318 Posts, 1651 Comments

Comment posted by Mike Leakey on February 3, 2008 at 12:38 PM

This is great. I love how the light and clouds mimick the leaning of the tree.

mike

Registered on November 13, 2003, 2 Posts, 92 Comments

Comment posted by Eric Good on February 3, 2008 at 3:40 PM

What a fantastic tree and light to capture an image with. While I wouldn't have minded the lowest branch being a tad higher (just above the horizon), dropping the camera to achieve that may have lost the nice detail you captured in the limestone fg (?). Definitely worth the efforts, if you ask me... great stuff!

Registered on March 17, 2007, 116 Posts, 4764 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on February 3, 2008 at 3:48 PM

Paul,

Gorgeous. The colors are wonderful and this beauty of a tree shows how it's "weathered" the elements for so many years. Well done!

Lon

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

Comment posted by Jeff Hackett on February 3, 2008 at 5:02 PM

Definitely get a sense of wind, especially since the colored clouds sweep with the tree. Very nice Paul.

Registered on March 13, 2006, 65 Posts, 1119 Comments

Comment posted by Marc Adamus on February 3, 2008 at 5:33 PM

Amazing image, Paul. You can really see the effects of the harsh climate on this beautiful tree. Striking color as well, just to compliment an already compelling image of nature.

Registered on September 17, 2005, 780 Posts, 8091 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Gordon on February 4, 2008 at 6:36 AM

Well worth the trek Paul. All elements combine really nicely here..

Registered on May 31, 2007, 224 Posts, 1490 Comments

Comment posted by Angela Classen on February 4, 2008 at 2:03 PM

This tree really does have character and definitely speaks of the power of the wind. The pastel light as a backdrop is great.

Registered on June 13, 2007, 434 Posts, 2742 Comments

Comment posted by Laurent Baig on February 4, 2008 at 3:57 PM

What a great tree! This is really cool, no pun intended.

Registered on January 12, 2005, 206 Posts, 6784 Comments

Comment posted by Anil Rao on February 4, 2008 at 6:57 PM

What a delightful image, Paul.

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

Comment posted by Mike Dawson on February 4, 2008 at 10:53 PM

Great light, the tree leans with the moving clouds, congrats on the EP

Registered on February 4, 2006, 364 Posts, 8872 Comments

Comment posted by Barry R. Byrd on February 4, 2008 at 11:15 PM

sweet shot Paul- congrats on the EP

Registered on December 20, 2005, 136 Posts, 970 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Williams on February 5, 2008 at 7:22 AM

Many thanks for all the comments, it's made me very happy that people have enjoyed this image. Over the last couple of years I've looked enviously at wonderful shots in the forums here and thought to myself 'I wish I could take photo's like that', it's a suprise and an honour to have one of mine included in the EP.

Registered on August 30, 2006, 35 Posts, 56 Comments

Comment posted by Guy Tal on February 6, 2008 at 1:50 PM

A very powerful image. Congratulations on the Editor's Pick!

Guy

Registered on November 1, 2003, 566 Posts, 15507 Comments

Comment posted by RobK on February 9, 2008 at 6:06 PM

VERY NICE !!!!!!!!

Registered on February 6, 2008, 20 Posts, 101 Comments

Comment posted by Lisa Wiesbauer on February 11, 2008 at 7:19 PM

I just love this picture. The bleak, stark, cold foreground against the warming rays of a new day.
I showed this to my hubby and he suggested changing the tag to "Winter Mourning". He did this kind of stuff for over 30 years and I agreed that changing MORNING to MOURNING ends up conveying so much more to the picture, but that not be what you after.

Lisa

Registered on October 16, 2007, 23 Posts, 116 Comments

Comment posted by Kim Ritsema on February 11, 2008 at 9:39 PM

Thanks for sharing Paul...I've really been struggling with things to shoot outside right now. You've really inspired me to look to the sky for color this time of year. Kudos!

Kim

Registered on February 7, 2008, 21 Posts, 26 Comments