Located in the oldest forest in the world, these trees live for 4000 to 5000 years, and even after dying, can stand for another 5000 more years. Which means, it is possible that some of these trees have been standing for as long as 10,000 years. To put that in perspective, that is when Mammoths became extinct... that is during Post Glacial Sea Level Rise time period... that is when Mesopotamian civilization was beginning.

[CreationBear]

Wonderful shot of a fascinating subject--the PP is striking as well...anything you'd want to share about your approach would be greatly appreciated!

[uday029]

Wonderful shot of a fascinating subject--the PP is striking as well...anything you'd want to share about your approach would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you for your kind words.

First off, I think I got lucky to spot this tree. There are hundreds of bristlecones in Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. Most people visit Shulman Grove and a few of them also drive up to Patriarch Grove, which is accessible via a one-lane wide 12 mile dirt rode from the main visitor center. This tree is somewhere along the dirt road between Shulman and Patriarch. So when I saw this tree, I was hesitant to park my car on the dirt road as it is only one-lane wide. However, since there is not much traffic, I parked my car and quickly clicked 4 to 5 pictures from various angles. I guess I got lucky with the composition. Didn't give it a lot of thought when I was clicking. The only thing I tried was not to have any other trees in my shot as this tree was uniquely shaped.

Came back home and followed the procedure outlined in the following article to convert it to B&W:
How to Convert Color Digital Images into Black and White Ones - Digital Photography School

[CreationBear]

Thanks for the "liner notes"! Certainly everything came together for you--with your bright Cali skies I thought this almost had to be an exposure blend of some sort.


Otherwise thanks for the link to the tutorial--I've yet to really get a monochrome image I'm happy with, so I'm always looking for different approaches.

[uday029]

Thanks for the "liner notes"! Certainly everything came together for you--with your bright Cali skies I thought this almost had to be an exposure blend of some sort.


Otherwise thanks for the link to the tutorial--I've yet to really get a monochrome image I'm happy with, so I'm always looking for different approaches.

I actually tried HDR to begin with. With 90% of the photo being sky and clouds, HDR created a lot of noise. It looked very artificial. So chose not to do HDR. Instead, I used the image that was properly exposed for the sky and then recovered some of the shadow areas. It is incredible how much of shadow detail can be recovered in PP.

[CreationBear]

I think the "sky" really makes the shot--it's just OOF enough to provide almost a "soundstage" or museum diorama vibe to the proceedings...a really good decision to protect it from being blown-out!

[eaglem]

A well rendered shot.

[GeoJerry]

I like it... the light (or is is light colored bark?) on the tree trunks fits well with the cloudy and slightly darkish sky.
I looked at your link but not having Photoshop I couldn't make much sense of it. In Lightroom I just select B&W mode and then experiment with the color sliders. I really need to start learning Photoshop someday.

[Janse]

I like it also!

[dcmsox2004]

magnificent shot! first impression, be great printed in large scale and on the wall asap, dave m

[mcgregni]

Very striking, and it's rare that I find a mono image to be that! I Iike how you've been able to hold the sky exposure under control while still giving quality lighting on the subject. The overall balance is very good.

[uday029]

Thank you, all.

[Scorpio71GR]

Interesting shot, I really like how the tree came out.

[Symbio]

I am fascinated.

[Adam]

Located in the oldest forest in the world, these trees live for 4000 to 5000 years, and even after dying, can stand for another 5000 more years. Which means, it is possible that some of these trees have been standing for as long as 10,000 years. To put that in perspective, that is when Mammoths became extinct... that is during Post Glacial Sea Level Rise time period... that is when Mesopotamian civilization was beginning.

Beautiful B&W shot! The texture in the trees makes them resemble tornados. I really like how that works alongside the dramatic sky.