Winter tree
Dec, 2015Views
1243
Likes
Awards
Top Shot Award
People's Choice in mirrored-things,flowers,insects-but mirrored Photo Challenge
People's Choice in Obvious and incredible Photo Challenge
Spring Selection Award
Outstanding Creativity
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
All Star
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
Top Ranks
Top 20 rank
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 3Top 10 rank week 2Top 10 rank week 1
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken at Easter in Snowdonia, Wales, UK. It was very clear sunny weather but the trees hadn't come into leaf yet.Time
It was taken early in the day. The sky was clear and the sun was low.Lighting
The sun was low and the light had a crisp, cold feel about it.Equipment
Canon IXUS 150, no tripodInspiration
Before I went to Snowdonia I had decided I was going to concentrate on photographing trees so that I would have a selection of images that I could combine in some way when I got back and so that I had some direction when I was there. I also took a lot of photographs of sheep (as you do) and couldn't resist making a collage of sheeps faces!Editing
I do enjoy post processing. I generally use Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. The main thing I did with this image was to reflect the image four times. I tried to use a selection of different trees to create this effect and this one was the most successful. I also enhanced the contrast and the blue of the sky. When I was doing a fine art degree my main practice was photography and video and I used reflection a lot in my work. I find something very visually appealing about kaleidoscopes and I felt that doing this emphasised the natural beauty of the shapes of the tree's branches.In my camera bag
I am now delighted to have a Fujifilm XPro1 with an 18mm lens. I have used a Canon SLR and a Canon DLSR in the past with zoom lenses and a tripod. I am really enjoying the simplicity and lightness of my current set up and the quality of the fixed lens that I'm using. It means that I can always have my camera on me and never miss a shot. I enjoy moving backwards and forwards to frame the shot rather than using a zoom. I will probably treat myself to a 60mm lens soon as I want to concentrate again on pattern, colour and graphic images. I also want to get some ND filters so that I can play more with longer exposures and a polarising lens to really bring out the contrast in the sky.Feedback
I would advise following a visual creative process - i.e. take pictures manipulate them, view the results and then use these results to create new images and spark off new ideas - just keep experimenting. And making mistakes is good as it often leads to a new idea that you wouldn't have thought of otherwise. This way you can get away from the more obvious Photoshop filters and make your images more unique.
