Twisted Tree I
Bristlecone Pine tree on top of Mt. Lincoln near Breckenridge, Col.
Bristlecone Pine tree on top of Mt. Lincoln near Breckenridge, Col.
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Mar, 2013Views
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Awards
Chatter Award
Legendary Award
Featured
People's Choice in HDR Composition Photo Contest
Featured
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Exceptional Contrast
Peer Award
Outstanding Creativity
Top Choice
Jaw Dropping
Superior Skill
All Star
Magnificent Capture
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Top 20 rankTop 30 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rank
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AlanJakarta
April 27, 2013
Absolutely superb artistic mono image which is very sharp & detailed & seems to have a full range of tones - excellent work. Congratulations on being featured.
akhtarkhan
April 27, 2013
Very nice dramatic storm effect and mind blowing B&W view. Nice work......well done. Congrats on the feature.
PRO+
Platinum
Platinum
catini
April 27, 2013
Very dramatic photo! Great composition and treatment, very well done. Congrats on your feature!
PRO+
Platinum
drakkardarkblade
April 27, 2013
Congrats, awesome capture. If you get a chance please check out my work.
Platinum
HaliSowle
April 27, 2013
Super photo, amazing clouds and great contrasts. Well deserved Featured Image!
Platinum
jeffmiller
April 27, 2013
To everyone who posted comments - Thank you very much. It is an honor to be recognized by much better photographers than I.
Jeff
Jeff
SigloV
April 28, 2013
Really well processed B&W image - you pushed it hard and it works so well - dynamic, strong and punchy. Superb.
Platinum
PRO
PRO+
Platinum
Platinum
traceprinslooreppin
January 21, 2014
...beautifully executed image, congratulations on your feature :-)
Platinum
believeit2receiveit
January 21, 2014
Congrats on winning the People's Choice! Well done! Well deserved!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
My son and I were hiking on Mount Lincoln near Breckenridge, Colorado. There was a group of Bristlecone pine trees on a slope and we stopped to photograph them. A thunder storm was moving in fast across the valley and the clouds were rolling and twisting in the sky. The clouds really make the image unique. This is due to their rapid movement between exposures. Twisted Tree I is a horizontal formatted shot showing the angle the tree has been growing along the slope. There is a Twisted Tree II that is a vertical formatted shot with the tree leaning away from the camera.Time
This photo was taken late in the afternoon. It was overcast due to the thunderstorm building around us. Since my son and I were one of the tallest objects on the mountain and I was carrying a lot of metallic equipment, I took these photos as quickly as possible. We did not want to get hit by lightening like the tree I was photographing.Lighting
I wanted to make sure the entire tree was in focus so I shot this at f-11 to get a good depth of field. The sun was over my left shoulder and was periodically obscured by the clouds. Because of the coming storm and possible lightening, I did not wait for the clouds to break and get some direct sunlight. The diffused light worked well because it gave the entire scene a nice even exposure.Equipment
I used a Nikon D200, an 18mm-135mm f 3.5 Nikon lens, ISO 200 at f-11. I took a series of four images with the intention of doing an HDR color photo. My camera was mounted on a Manfrotto 055MF4 tripod with a Manfrotto 3265 pistol grip gimbal mount. The images were taken about thirty seconds apart with shutter speeds of 1/500, 1/250, 1/200 and 1/125.Inspiration
I saw some photos of the bristlecone pine trees in a gallery in Breckenridge. I asked the gallery owner where these trees were and he gave me directions. The next day my son and I went out looking for them. Instead, we found this single tree out away from the group on the mountain ridge. This tree had a lot of character. It appears to have been struck by lightening at some point and the winds have bent it to one side. There were branches on the ground from the trees that used to grow around it, like the bones of his ancestors.Editing
After I got home I processed the four images in Lightroom and then did the HDR in Photomatix Pro. The color image was really vivid and almost unnatural so I decided to see what it would look like in black & white. I used Silver Efex Pro and this is how it turned out. I think the monochrome image is much more dramatic.In my camera bag
This photo was taken back in 2011. Now I use a Nikon Z7 camera with a Nikkor 24-70mm f-4 S lens. I also have an adapter ring so my old Nikkor lenses will fit the new Z7 body.Feedback
Taking HDR photos requires a little planning. But sometimes all the planning has to be amended to account for changes and opportunities. I did not plan on the movement of the clouds or the fact this photo looked so much better in B&W than it did in color. Sometimes you have to be flexible. Be creative and always use your imagination.
