tree houseby
ZenjohnComment: Hello from the Critique Club!
My first impression is that this shot is a little too dark. The high contrast of the bark in addition to the black background give this photo an excessively gloomy feeling. This definitely is in line with the feeling of old, but it is just a little overpowering in this shot. I see some hints of dark blue in the background which make me think this photo was taken around dusk. I am very curious to know what post processing you did because that may be throwing my guess off about the time of day. If this photo was taken earlier in the day, so that the background was something more than a solid mass of black, I think that would have helped this shot out tremendously.
Another distraction is the branches in front of the tree. The vertical ones on the left side are one of the brightest elements in this photo. This forces your eye to pay more attention to it than it should. The other branches with leaves are out of focus, and since they are in front of the subject, they act as a barrier for your eye.
I feel like you were going for an "overgrown" element with the branches. This definitely adds to the feeling of "old" but I don't think nature was on your side for this. If the branches were growing up the tree I think it would accomplish the feel you were trying for (again, not much you could have done about it since this is the way nature made it).
The ladder is wonderful. Each rung is unique and has it's own characteristic that makes this shot truly something old. I would be afraid to climb this because I am sure they would break! I also like the scar on the right side of the tree. You can see where the bark has been stripped away, but seems to have started to grow back. Again, dramatically stating the oldness of this tree.
Overall I like this shot. The branches are unfortunate, and I feel it is a little heavy on the contrast, but this fits the challenge well and has a lot of character.
-Bill
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