Autmnal Elements: Experiment

Hi Folks,

Just experimenting here. Interested to know whether you think this works or not. I wanted to capture the colour and feeling of autumn, but I am useless at composing leaves on a tree.
The wind started blowing so I experimented with motion blur instead. The camera was fixed on a tripod and I played around with a 0.5-2sec exposure.
I used a polariser to saturate the colours. There has been no post-processing here. This is how the colours came out. I was stunned! For me, the experiment only really worked on a composition that had a clear view of the branches, otherwise, it really was just a colourful mess. C&C Welcomed.

Canon EOS 5D, EF300mm F2.8 IS L, 0.8sec at F/29, +2/3rd stop, ISO100, Drop-in Polariser, Tripod and Ball Head, Remote Lead, Mirror lock-up.

That's a really vivid and unusual image. You're right about the branches - they provide an essential anchor for the shot. I think it works best lower down, where there's a bit more movement. To me it looks a bit like a blown up section of a Monet - an impressionist approach to photography!



Mark

I love it Elliott - really a very nice image. The composition certainly works for me - the branches are very important and very well positioned. I tried something similar last year but failed miserably. Tristan

Elliott,
This has worked really well. As mentioned Monet like. You might wan't to try doing the same thing and playing with zoom at the same time - I tried (unsuccessfully) a few years back doing this - just take the pic - say 2 seconds and change the zoom during exposure. It is good fun even if like me you don't get the results.
Andrew

Great array of colour Elliot

For me, this appears a bit chaotic to my eye, although this type of shot will obviously feel differently to different people!!

Always good to see different takes on these subjects though, and i can see the appeal

Alan

Hi Elliot it doesn't quite work for me. Its a bit too much of a half way house. But the idea is really good. I too think the tree branches are very important. I've been wondering how to do leaves blowing in the wind. Perhaps if two shots were taken one fast to get good detail in the thick branches and the other slow (this would require a bit of experimentation) to get the movement of the leaves and then selectively merge the two images. Wonderful colours.

A very nice image Elliott, works on all levels for me! Well jealous of the blue sky though!

Chris.

I suppose Monet impressionism was the kind of effect I was after. It is a bit 'hit and miss' as the branches never seem to sway in exactly the same way. I tried various compositions, areas of the tree, with more or less blue sky. I think I'm going to persevere with this as I like the result - will probably have to wait til next year now though

John V, I have tried the 'two image' approach and it does give you more control, but I really wanted to achieve something different in camera. Cheers for commenting.

I think that this is great, very unusual and effective. Well done Elliott.

Paul

hi elliot,

i like this, i was conssidering doing something similar but with the whole tree, but i couldn't find any suitable whole trees with a decent amount of colour/BG etc. i think this idea is worth persuing.

i also tried some wide angle shots of leaves blowing at me from a tree in the wind, using slow synch flash, but strangely, every tree i stood under, the wind stopped blowing

oh well, like you say...have to wait until next winter.



mark

I like it Elliott. Just blurry enough to work like expressionist paining. It could probably do with a bit more dominant branch/trunk, but it works as is for me. On the other hand a bigger static element could probably spoil whole impressionistic effect.

Cheers,
Marko

It's working for me Elliott

Just to be awkward I think I'd like it with more movement so the leaves were totally indistinct, but the sharp anchor would still be vital.