Ancient Watcher

[Lesley Jones]

I was drying my hair one Sunday night and caught the end of Countryfile (or something similar). They had done a piece about some of the oldest trees in Britain and much to my delight, they were within driving distance. We arranged to spend the afternoon there while we had a week off work just over a year ago, but it turned out to be a hot day with wall to wall blue sky and sunshine.

The trees are absolutely amazing and I would have gone just to spend some time with them. I took a few photographs in spite of the conditions, but processing has been a nightmare. I lost count of the number of times I have gone back over the files and if anyone asked, I honestly don't remember how I got to this one.

 

[Pete Askew]

But it does work very well though and in some ways the contrast between the detail in the shadows cast by the branches and the much lighter areas around them really add to the strength of the image I think. Also the light helps lose the background detail which could have meant a loss of separation withe main subject. I like the image and the processing you've done.

 

[Brian Moore]

Great shot. How old is that tree Lesley?

 

[Chris Dodkin]

I think the PP suits the subject very nicely Lesley

 

[Lesley Jones]

To answer Brian, I think they said the trees were about 2,500 years old. To find a group of them together in a very quiet nature reserve was just incredible. They are yews and have spread an incredible distance. I took this one from the other side and there you can see just how big it really is. The processing on that was even worse though - I may put it up at some point just for the tree.

I think you are right about the processing Pete. I had to crunch it down to fit in the detail, but then the mid tones were flat. I may have brushed over some areas with fake HDR to bring it back to life.

I'd love to go back in the winter