Look Closer
Sky Scraper BW
Posted by Viewfinder (Bradenton, FL, United States) on 9 August 2007 in Landscape & Rural and Portfolio.
Let children walk with Nature, let them see the beautiful blendings and communions of death and life, their joyous inseparable unity, as taught in woods and meadows, plains and mountains and streams of our blessed star, and they will learn that death is stingless indeed, and as beautiful as life.
~John Muir
But this dead tree's branched fingers seem to want to scrape at the sky in defiance of its previous demise.
Rahul from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Fantastic shot pal, i love your framing and processing here. Wonderful!!!!
9 Aug 2007 6:04am
@Rahul: Once again, you are a great encourager. Thank you, Rahul.
@Cathie et Michel: many thanks for your kind words.
ColNed Pictures from Amersfoort, Netherlands
Nice shot great processing.... good job.
9 Aug 2007 6:54am
@ColNed Pictures: Thank you ColNed.
@Craiger: Glad you like the title; naming them is half the fun. Thanks.
@Inés: Merci, Ines.
JED from Buettelborn, Germany
good capture, very graphic and b/w suits it very well
9 Aug 2007 8:42am
@JED: I appreciate your comment today.
HorseRotorVator from Newton, United States
It looks like the wind blew the branches to one side. or the rotation of the earth spinning made it point to the left. Cool shot! :)
9 Aug 2007 9:42am
@HorseRotorVator: Thanks. I like your analysis of the branches direction; this tree was growing along the coast. I think it was the prevailing offshore winds and breezes that bent it in the general direction of "away" from the shore.
@Shahab: Thanks, Shahab.
@Rebel Streetshooter: Muchas gracias, mi amigo. I appreciate your dropping by anytime. And here's a shameless plug for your site today; the Bayou Homestead image is superior.
@Mingo: Gracias, mi amigo.
@Josh: Thank you Josh; glad you like this.
Rebecca from Leicester, United Kingdom
simple but stunning. beautiful quote too! thank you for sharing.
9 Aug 2007 12:34pm
@Rebecca: Thank you for the nice things you say; I'm happy you also like the quote.
Lorraine from Canada
It's making its way back home, reaching for the light. This is beautiful...
9 Aug 2007 12:40pm
@Lorraine: Good thoughts. Thank you, Lorraine.
@MaryB: It always feel extra good when somebody gives me a "Wow!" Thank you for this today, MaryB.
Josh from New York, United States
This shot is so moody. I love the loneliness of the frame.
9 Aug 2007 2:01pm
@Josh: Yes, moody. Thank you for your thoughtful comments. Although this was captured in July, I felt the BW processing gives the sky a kind of stark, wintry look. Reminds me of Simon & Garfunkel's "A Hazy Shade of Winter" long ago song.
@alla: Merci. I appreciate your compliment.
@Alfredo J. Martiz J.: Thank you, Alfredo.
@Jen: Wow -- thank you, Jen.
Shrig from United States
This has such raw emotion to it. The b&w adds more feeling to it. I like it very much. Simple but powerful.
9 Aug 2007 3:23pm
@Shrig: Very nice response to this image; thank you Shrig. I am pleased that you like it.
@Nadine: Merci, Nadine.
Ken McCoy from Orlando-Daytona Beach, FL, United States
I like the way you've framed it - b/w is perfectly appropriate.
9 Aug 2007 3:57pm
@Ken McCoy: Always glad to hear from you Ken. Thanks much for your feedback, as always. :-)
tyan from Singapore
hi!It's moody but i dont know it looks to me like dancers lifting their faces to the sky:)
9 Aug 2007 5:05pm
@tyan: What a great way to describe this! Dancers! Thank you tyan.
@alex: Thanks; I liked today's image at your site. What were we thinking? Better yet, what is that gull thinking? ;-)
@Saed: Thank you Saed. I've been unable to connect with your site from here today so far; computer error message or something. Hope all is well.
zoloper from Bucuresti, Romania
beautifull , yet sad for the tree :) . the clouds are a nice touch to this pic.
one tune you could have done to improve the drama: darken the bottom half of the pic so the clouds were more threatening :D
9 Aug 2007 8:31pm
@zoloper: Really good suggestion. Thanks. :)
@autem: You are kind; thank you autem.
alex from United States
u need to look at my last upload............great image...where is the seagull..lol
9 Aug 2007 9:20pm
@alex: Alex, I did -- and I am wondering about which tree that seagull on your site really likes best. Heh.
@Lost Valley: I like your description of this. Thank you, LV.
Ryan from New York, United States
i like the black and white, makes this mysterious looking tree even more mysterious...nice work
9 Aug 2007 11:29pm
@Ryan: Yes, I guess this is a bit of a mystery tree at that. Many thanks for the nice compliment.
Raye Michele from Halifax, Canada
beautiful image ... and judging from the comments is has resonated with many others as well ... good work!
10 Aug 2007 12:38am
@Raye Michele: Thank you RM. The AM3 community at large is a very encouraging lot; I have appreciated all the help and insight and encouragement each has provided. And you are one of those for me today. Again, accept my thanks for coming by and commenting. :-)
@Rags: Thank you Rags. Blessings to you.
Bumble from United Kingdom
that a nice tree.
reminds me of something out of a Tim Burton masterpiece.
well done.
10 Aug 2007 1:58am
@Bumble: Wow. You do my pic a great honor to compare it to Tim Burton's work. Thank you very much for that kind of comparison.
M.E. from Encino, United States
what a mysterious picture and what a lovely post, too!
10 Aug 2007 2:26am
@M.E.: I am happy this image evoked a feel of both mystery and beauty; they are both intertwined. Thank you.
bronzebilly u.k. from cardiff, United Kingdom
hey VF--great title--great narrative--oh and b.t.w.--great shot!!--billy
10 Aug 2007 10:41am
Nikon D50
1/160 second
F/6.3
42 mm (35mm equiv.)