Pylon
Old farm track with Oak tree, Mortimer Berkshire UK
Old farm track with Oak tree, Mortimer Berkshire UK
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Mar, 2015Views
473
Likes
Awards
People's Choice in Country Roads Photo Challenge
Superb Composition
Peer Award
Top Choice
Superior Skill
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Ranks
Top 30 rank week 2Top 30 rank week 1Categories
VHiggins
December 25, 2015
Congratulations on winning People's Choice in the "Country Roads" Challenge!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This grand Oak tree stands next to an old farm track off Pitfield Lane, South of Mortimer in Berkshire UK.Time
Taken around 1pm while heading South East on the 31st of December 2014Lighting
The low winter sun meant that the scrubby low Hawthorn hedge and brambles cast shadow across the track. It also served to highlight the tufty grass and fence posts as well as the foliage to the right of the track while giving some extra form to the tree's structure.Equipment
Nikon D40 with an 18-55mm standard kit lens.Inspiration
The wide spreading form of this particular tree is impressive, having no wind damage and being in it's prime it is a great example of a free standing Oak tree. Only the wire fence and the electricity pylons in the back ground obviously remind us that this is a contemporary image as the rest of the scene has probably changed very little in hundreds of years. A more subtle clue to relative modernity is the track itself, if this was used by horse and cart then the central grassy ridge would be muddy and churned up.Editing
The RAW image was converted to grayscale. The Highlights were drawn back and the Contrast, Shadows and Clarity were pushed up. Further localised adjustment were made to the track, hedges and grass in the foreground and some contrast and clarity added to the sky to bring out the clouds a bit more. Finally some localised sharpening was applied.In my camera bag
Currently just my rather tatty old Nikon D40 with the two kit lenses it came with (DX 18-55 and DX 55-200) and a Nikon SB-400 flash.Feedback
While my primary intention was capturing the form of the tree I was also attempting to show it and it's setting as a coherent scene that has a visual balance of some sort while drawing the eye to the main subject. Had I not been on a walk with others and had bought my tripod I would have spent more time considering this when I took it. As with any image once I have settled on a subject I tend then to focus on the lines around it and how they enter and exit the frame. Something I wasn't so aware of at the time but has become clear is how the tree's shape is in part a reaction to its setting. The subtle effect of the track and hedge to it's right and the draw of the sun to the left (South) have given a noticeable tilts to the trunk and canopy.
