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Autumn colours in the Lake District just can't be beat.
This small patch of woodland, by the side of Derwent Water, caught my eye for just that reason. The gorgeous colour palette of the autumn leaves, set against the almost white of the branches was just too good to pass by without photographing.
When I'm photographing 'messy' compositions such as this one I try and include a few strong elements to hold the image together. In this case it was the horizontal branches that did the trick, adding a necessary structure to an otherwise random collection of shapes.
When it come to photographing trees and foliage in a meaningful manner I take inspiration from the work of Charles Cramer, and I would recommend a look at his highly evocative images of woodlands as a real treat.
Another source of inspiration I used to create this image was the website of Darwin Wiggett, a Canadian photographer who often uses a post-processing technique in Photoshop called the 'Orton effect' which he describes in his website.
I used that effect on this image to boost the colours and add a sort of dreamy ethereal effect to the image which I find most pleasing in this case. Have a look at his website and give this a go yourself.
Filename - tree 02.jpg
Camera - Canon 5D
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 105mm
Exposure - 1sec @ f16, ISO100
Location - Derwent Water, Lake District
This image - 800x450px JPEG
Conversion - ACR & PS-CS2
Comments - Polarising filter used to enhance colours.
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