Autumn in the Buffalo Peaks Wilderness

I just returned from the Buffalo Peaks Wilderness. This is an image I made with the D80 while scouting for scenes for the 4x5. I went back to my campsite (less than 100 yards) for the big camera and then I never found this shot. I hate it when that happens.

I not pleased with some of the dead branches, especially the one that cuts diagonally across the background aspens. I was tempted to break it off, obviously I didn't. Would you? I'm curious about how other folks feel about that kind of image cleanup.

Cheers,

Trimming some errant grasses from the foreground of an image is something I will do, since grass grows back quickly. Tree branches are a whole different ballgame. I would not think of trimming a live branch, dead branches are dealt with in the same manner by choosing a different composition, because even if I thought it was ugly, someone else might not, and superglue or duct tape doesn't work well on dead wood. If you really need it out of there, Photoshop would work far less destructively and would be more acceptable to many photographers. I'm glad you did the right thing!

I agree with Don and would probably move in very close to the tree on the right and shoot an extreme wide angle - easy for me to say, I wasn't there. Regardless, it's a pleasing scene with great color. I love the repeating patterns on the elk-chewed boles.

I'll third Dan's suggestion, it would be better to photoshop it out than damage the tree. I love the markings on the aspen trunks, adds a lot of interest to the photo.