The Breaking Sky...

I haven't been too inspired, nor had the time to get out and shoot much despite the deep love of winter that I've had. I do hope that the situation fixes itself with the start of a new teaching semester in late January.

I did make it out at the end of the New Years storm to Wagon Hill Farm in Durham, as the sky was breaking. I put the bright part of the sky behind this lone tree, and this is what I got (well, minus some work with the clone tool brush hog on the foreground).

While I like the shot, I'm not overly sold, and would like some feedback on the composition.

Thanks in advance...

Hi Jim! I have to agree with Bob on the comp but overall it's a nice shot. I like the brighter sky behind the tree (it seems to highlight the tree) and the gray and white tones are really nice. HOPEFULLY, YOU'LL BE INSPIRED SOON!!!

Jim, wonderful and dramatic mood to this. Not sure how you would crop this to get the main trunk less centered. Now if you could reshoot this you would have some options. Although as is really is pretty nice...I like the trees in the distance. They may give enough balance to overcome the centered trunk.

Bill

I like this Jim. The centered trunk doesn't bother me and I like the simple nature of the image.

I have to say that I didn't like this at all...at first. But the more I looked at it...the more the simple, but wonderful, nature of this shot sank in. Great shot.

I absolutely love the dramatic mood in this shot! The 5 or 6 trees in the lower right seem like offspring to the main tree. The only thing I might try is to burn some of the clouds to give it a more dramatic feel. All in all, very well done!

I like this photo. Being a vertical and such a strong B&W I like the tree relatively centered. I love the sky breaking thru. It actually makes me wish for a little of the white stuff (here in CT there is none). Hope to see more like this one!

I think it works quite well with the tree centered in the image. Beautiful!