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Silent Sentinels
Silent Sentinels
Melethia


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Zen Photography (Advanced Editing IV)
Collection: Challenges 2006
Camera: Canon EOS-30D
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS
Location: I-35, exit 195, Texas
Date: Jul 29, 2006
Galleries: Landscape
Date Uploaded: Jul 30, 2006

 This is my little clump o' trees I've shot before. Sadly, I lost my first set of shots in The Great Hard Drive Crash of 2006 earlier this year. I can't quite re-create those as they were quite dependent on time of year for light and foliage or lack thereof. But I do find them zen-like. Drove up there early Saturday morning and had to wait for the sun to come out a bit as it started out behind some low clouds.

Post processing: I don't think I cropped this at all. Did Bear's cntrl-alt-~ thing with "multiply" for the highlights, "screen" for the low end; curves; hue/sat - adjusted hue slightly for cyan and yellow to bring out the blues and greens; did a bunch of dodging and burning to bring out the higher clouds and the shadows under the trees; USM; resize.

There's a sign there, now - one of those large commercial FOR SALE signs... I wonder about the future of my little clump o' trees.

Statistics
Place: 63 out of 329
Avg (all users): 6.0340
Avg (commenters): 7.2308
Avg (participants): 5.9038
Avg (non-participants): 6.1667
Views since voting: 1275
Views during voting: 324
Votes: 206
Comments: 34
Favorites: 3 (view)

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AuthorThread
 04/22/2007 04:30:47 PM
This is so pretty. I love the free atmosphere and all the blue sky, the smoothness of the grass and the shadows under the trees... it's almost like a fantasy setting. Wonderful!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/09/2007 10:18:55 PM
I love trees. Great angle/cropping. They look scrawny on their own but strength comes by numbers. Just a wisp of clouds to break up the blue sky. Good work!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/25/2007 11:58:37 AM
Excellent shot Deb. You're one of those people that I was talking about earlier that just have an eye for seeing an opportunity. That is what I envy most in really good photographers. There's a huge difference between being able to take a picture and see a picture. This shot is a great example that you can see a picture.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/17/2007 08:34:55 AM
This is beautifully done with the soft tones and strong composition of the trees. Very nice.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/13/2006 09:27:36 PM
Love this!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/18/2006 04:33:11 PM
The perfect blending of colors, very serene and soothing. May this piece of property be "For Sale" for a very very very long time.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/18/2006 04:15:44 PM
Deb, I LOVE your clump of trees. This is very calming and peaceful to look at. Beautifully Zen!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/12/2006 01:29:15 AM
wow...lovely painterly feel you´ve got going on here. Nice work
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/11/2006 02:55:56 PM
I didn't comment, but did vote. This photo was one of my favourites form the challenge. Quite exotic, yet very simple. The location is implied - the viewer puts whatever they want into it. Nice work.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/11/2006 02:51:34 PM
Trading post...
Excellent zen! I love the colors and the composition. The softness kind of gives it a peaceful, almost surreal feel to it. The gradient in the sky is gorgeous as well. Beautiful job all around as usual. So sad to hear it might go to the bulldozers.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/10/2006 07:12:53 PM
This was one of my favorites - I expected to find it in the top 5. Very peaceful.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/08/2006 10:22:22 PM
lovely, simply lovely.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/08/2006 06:02:06 AM
Pure simplicity. With the great images in Zen, I guess 63 isn't that bad of a finish. It might be a fun one to do in black and white too. There's enough tonal variance - might be worth a try. I really liked this one during the challenge.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/08/2006 05:53:20 AM
i love this it is definatly going on my favs!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/07/2006 09:58:59 PM
Deb, you are developing an eye for composition. Very nice shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/07/2006 12:15:48 PM
How could this have got any better? Hard to say. The composition is pretty much impeccable. I would certainly have desaturated a fair bit to calm down the picture. Lovely stuff.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/07/2006 11:48:45 AM
You was ROBBED, Deb! Very nice shot, very serene, lovely PP!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/07/2006 09:19:29 AM
This is SO underrated!!! What a perfect, beautiful zen photo! It inspires me to believe I could maybe find some beautiful landscape photography -- even in Texas! You certainly have!!!!

  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/06/2006 08:49:35 PM
Lovely, subtle, and almost pastel, a beautiful calming image well composed, and a great capture including the bank of beautiful clouds along the horizon. I very much love the sharp texture of the bark versus the wispy feel to the grass, leaves, and cirrus clouds. A really lovely image, so well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/06/2006 08:32:23 PM
Good Finish Deb, top 100, liked the colors in this image.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/06/2006 08:16:03 PM
Very nice shot Deb and another 6+ score. Great composition and layout of the trees. The colors are nice as well. A bit sharper on the trees could have made this a bit better maybe. Great work though (and you beat me again).
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
08/06/2006 11:43:36 AM
I really like the soft look to this - it kinda has a surreal feel. Nice Work!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/06/2006 09:59:20 AM
Love the feel to this shot. Well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/04/2006 04:17:29 AM
This almost looks like a painting.....
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/03/2006 04:02:15 AM
oh lovely colours and composition :o)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/02/2006 01:41:50 PM
Very serene and I love how soft it is. It looks like the horizon is tilted down to the left just a bit.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/02/2006 12:15:07 PM
beautiful silent, looks like a painting and i love it
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/02/2006 11:40:12 AM
the sentinel who does not sleep
will sleep standing up. 5
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/31/2006 08:55:17 PM
These trees do have a Zen quality about them, although Zen is not the first thing I think of when I see them. For some reason I get Friendship out of this picture. That seems weird! Great job. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/31/2006 12:58:29 PM
As little as I know about zen. . .this photo does "speak" it to me. It has harmony, peace, simplicity. I really love it. This one would make a great framed print for an office or home.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/31/2006 12:17:15 PM
I like the dreamy effect here. Very serene, good balance between sky and earth. Meets the challenge well. Trees should be in sharp focus, doing so would not destroy the effect. I would also move them to the right and crop out that little scraggly one. Horizon is a bit sloped. Overall, a nice shot. 5.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/31/2006 04:03:35 AM
Very pretty. I like the softness. The cool blues and greens are soothing and serene.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/30/2006 10:33:50 PM
Crap, I almost named my shot exactly the same! Phew... This is nicely zen. 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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