Dan, first off let me say this has a very unique look and deserved comments long before 85 reviews. I did not see this in ES&S as I usually only skim the gallery these days. It is still early for me and my eyes have not adjusted fully, but is it a bit soft maybe? However, even if that is the case or there are other questionable items, it surely does not hurt to ask or comment on them. Not sure Dan, other then the sharpness it looks very nice to me.
Posted by John W. Wall on January 14, 2010 at 12:18 PM
It might help to know the story behind it. Is that an oak or tanoak, and are the black patches therefore signs of Sudden Oak Death? Did you leave the cross-shaped twig in there on purpose?
Posted by Harley Goldman on January 14, 2010 at 12:44 PM
It is not really doing much for me. I like the colors, textures and shapes of the tree, but the stick on top looks very out of place to me.
Posted by Lon Overacker on January 14, 2010 at 4:23 PM
Dan,
No, it's certainly not "that bad." I do think it's more interesting because of the "cross" interacting with the trunk, vs. this being aesthetically beautiful like your tree in the fog work. I would agree that it's slightly soft and the color balance is a little cool, but doesn't really explain the no comments in ES&S. I would simply attribute that to timing. I was certainly going to comment on it, but for the most part, I'm chronological, and I wouldn't have got to yours til about now or later today. :-) Unless you post something that combine snow and pink, the comments seem to have tailed off recently. I wouldn't sweat it.
It's a cool image, but doesn't keep engaged as long as other images might.
I certainly appreciate the formal "design" of the photo Dan, but as others said, it doesn't evoke an emotional response for me. Part of that is that tree bark photos are done so often, that it's hard to make them 'special' - though I appreciate that's exactly what the cross shaped stick in the foreground is supposed to be doing, but it does look out of place. Also.. people respond better to red... if that tree had been red, you would have had more responses Not sure why that is. Guy said the same thing to me (that red is popular). That doesn't just apply to sunsets, which of course have a lot of red, but might be one reason why people respond well to sunsets.
Posted by Robert Dayton on January 14, 2010 at 6:20 PM
Dan, I can't speak to its sharpness. Until now, I didn't see it.
It certainly embraces seveal of the elements of art--lines, colors,
and textures which I find in this case to be admirable. It's an
interesting abstract.
I like it. It looks like a open wound, I would agree after little color balance it will look nice.
Also, i might burn the trunk a little and selectively increase reds saturation for the red thing to pop may be...
Posted by Rudy Ruberti on January 14, 2010 at 9:23 PM
Different, but not bad at all. I'm really not a big fan of the stick, though, and I think it's because it kind of has an insect-like feel to me, if that makes any sense.
Posted by Paul Duval on January 14, 2010 at 10:57 PM
Dan,
Welcome to the Commentless club. No it's not that bad. I have to agree with most of the consensus though the stick gets in the way of appreciating the bark lichens etc detail of the tree. IMHO.
Paul
Posted by Steve Sieren on January 15, 2010 at 12:29 AM
I think part of the reason is the numbers seem down a bit in the ESS forum, and there are a lot of new people that are not commenting. The texture doesn't seem to be coming through like it should. If you could feel the trunk it would stimulate one of the other senses besides vision. Just a thought Dan.
I've looked at this several times, It is not that bad. The color is pleasing, and the contrast is fine.
I've posted some images on ESS that had upwards of 90 views and zero comments, so perhaps the lack of comments may be due to timing and also that there are a lot of viewers (lurkers) and fewer folks leaving comments.
--P
Posted by Eric Good on January 16, 2010 at 11:24 PM
Dan,
Let me say, that I don't think I would have recognized this image as yours if your name wasn't attached to it. While there's nothing inherently bad about the image (colors,contrast exposure, etc.), but it just seems to lack the mood and thoughtful composition that I often associate with your work. The only thing that I can think of that might have been interesting to try here would be to place the darker strip off-center more, and also place that four-cornered twig opposite the dark strip for some added tension. I have no idea if that was possible, or if it would work, but that's what popped into my mind when I initially viewed this.
Discussion
12 replies- Dan
No, it's certainly not "that bad." I do think it's more interesting because of the "cross" interacting with the trunk, vs. this being aesthetically beautiful like your tree in the fog work. I would agree that it's slightly soft and the color balance is a little cool, but doesn't really explain the no comments in ES&S. I would simply attribute that to timing. I was certainly going to comment on it, but for the most part, I'm chronological, and I wouldn't have got to yours til about now or later today. :-) Unless you post something that combine snow and pink, the comments seem to have tailed off recently. I wouldn't sweat it.
It's a cool image, but doesn't keep engaged as long as other images might.
Lon
It certainly embraces seveal of the elements of art--lines, colors,
and textures which I find in this case to be admirable. It's an
interesting abstract.
Also, i might burn the trunk a little and selectively increase reds saturation for the red thing to pop may be...
Welcome to the Commentless club. No it's not that bad. I have to agree with most of the consensus though the stick gets in the way of appreciating the bark lichens etc detail of the tree. IMHO.
Paul
SS
I've posted some images on ESS that had upwards of 90 views and zero comments, so perhaps the lack of comments may be due to timing and also that there are a lot of viewers (lurkers) and fewer folks leaving comments.
--P
Let me say, that I don't think I would have recognized this image as yours if your name wasn't attached to it. While there's nothing inherently bad about the image (colors,contrast exposure, etc.), but it just seems to lack the mood and thoughtful composition that I often associate with your work. The only thing that I can think of that might have been interesting to try here would be to place the darker strip off-center more, and also place that four-cornered twig opposite the dark strip for some added tension. I have no idea if that was possible, or if it would work, but that's what popped into my mind when I initially viewed this.
~Eric