Trees at dusk

[John R]

A grove of pine trees shot at dusk at High Park using the movement of the camera to accentuate the beautiful bark.

JMR

[cmi]

I really like the first one.  It looks exactly like illustrations in old books I read from say 25 years ago. Think topics like introspection, maybe depression. Im not sure I actually liked these illustrations back then, and also now, the view of the first one is a bit depressing, at least for me. But that doesnt mean this one is bad, quite the contrary. I think its a kinda "quiet", or "calm" piece of art.

The other two very short... in the second I see the movement too much and the third dont want to talk to me.

But bravo for the first one. Keep em coming!

[walter.sk]

A grove of pine trees shot at dusk at High Park using the movement of the camera to accentuate the beautiful bark.

JMR

To my eye, the third image has the most potential, and reminds me that there is a procedure known as the Orton technique.  If you Google it you will find references.  It consists of shooting in in-focus and out-of-focus image and then combining them.  There is a trick done with exposure for the technique, which I don't remember.

However, if you had a sharp version of your 3rd image and you placed the blurred 3rd image over it as a layer, you could erase through some of the tree trunk r reveal some of the sharpness of the sharper image, perhaps with  less than 100% opacity.  That would give my eye something sharper to grab on to, yet maintain the nice impressionistic feel you have in the image.

[John R]

To my eye, the third image has the most potential, and reminds me that there is a procedure known as the Orton technique.  If you Google it you will find references.  It consists of shooting in in-focus and out-of-focus image and then combining them.  There is a trick done with exposure for the technique, which I don't remember.

However, if you had a sharp version of your 3rd image and you placed the blurred 3rd image over it as a layer, you could erase through some of the tree trunk r reveal some of the sharpness of the sharper image, perhaps with  less than 100% opacity.  That would give my eye something sharper to grab on to, yet maintain the nice impressionistic feel you have in the image.

I am familiar with the Orton technique. I have a website many such images. But I wanted to show similar things can be accomplished in-camera. Although I am not averse to fixing or repairing images, I think it would defeat the purpose if I left out the movement in some of the images. I have posted elsewhere and the response is always split, some people like the "artistic look", and some just plain don't like it. Thanks for your comments.

JMR