Famous Ash

Or so spoke an old man in an old car, hailing us as we photographed some cows just a corner away. There, he said, was the famous Ash tree, often used in Dales and Yorkshire flyers. That, he says, is the photo that sells. And, just aah, wow, he's right. What a sight.

comments (14)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Wow Ludo, you have outdone yourself on this one! World class.

Care to share your process in creating this? Posted 13 years ago

Ludo Sak

Lion

Yes, thank, Ferdy, I am quite proud myself. Hey, you should be sleeping:) Uuhh, so should I.
All those lovely photos uploaded lately by JD users I was getting a bit jealous. Nothing like a bit of competion to trigger the sences..

It was a CR2 (Raw) photo shot for the purpose of a fine one-shot HDR postprocessing job. I saw the contrast and the beauty of the composition, or at least thought so. And this old man in his old mobile helped me to feel inspired. I did not even know of this tree, photographing beautiful wild'ish cows just around the bend. Hurray for the local folk!

Anyway, I took some 10 minutes, walking around the scene, pondering on the best location. Then I took two sample shots. Deciding on the best location I took foothold and shot another 5 in Raw.

The photo was imported into Photomatics Pro 4.2.1, my favourite HDR tool. A tool made for the purpose of HDR bracketing, but also capable of marvels with single shots. The photo, being single-shot, was poor in contrast, lacking both in sky and landscape. I had taken several shots, but on this one the composition was best by far. Post processing can do a lot, so I decided this one should be the one. Hence, once loaded into the Photomatics software I adjusted and played with it until I got the photo uplifted. From a bit dull it went to rather gloomy, with a lively springtime note in it. Colourful yet groggy, sad and frivolous at the same time. It reflects space, quiet countryside and times of old. Giving away 'trade' secrets here.
Btw. you were my inspiration really, to try HDR. It was on my wishlist a long time, but I really did not believe in it. After your first tries at HDR shooting some tree scapes I got the virus too. HDR rocks, though only (i.m.o.) in contrasty scenes, especially those scenes with difficult lighting. Raw is essensial, with a jpg shot you (read: I) can only go a bit. Posted 13 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks so much for the detailed explanation. The time you put into this one really pays off. I'm still in an experimental phase when it comes to HDR, but I'm glad it triggered you to give it some more tries. Now you have inspired me... Posted 13 years ago

Ludo Sak

Lion

My longest story in a log on JD, jeah:)
Watch a nice movie to get the spirit of the Yorkshire Dales a bit more.
It is a part of England not so touristy in a good way. It was our first time, and we never normally return to the same area on any holiday but this could be it.

Posted 13 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  Timeless and gorgeous scenery! Posted 13 years ago
2. 1. Ludo Sak
    
    Lion
    
    Now that is something, sometimes I just can't hold myself and react again the day after . Glad to have returned the sparkle of inspiration;) lets see what we can pull out of this technique! Posted 13 years ago
  2. 1. Ferdy Christant
      
      Lion
      
      Keep the momentum, dude. Posted 13 years ago
3. Frankhuizen Photography
  
  Lion
  
  Very nice scenery the Yorksshire Dales. Inspired me to add also a video of the area where we stayed. See comments at this photo:
  
  Posted 13 years ago
4. 1. Ludo Sak
    
    Lion
    
    Thanks, Harry and Josine! Glad to have inspired you. I am in bed now, so no watching a movie, but tomorrow I will. Looks nice! Posted 13 years ago

Ludo Sak

Lion

Funny thing that google maps doesn't see the tree on the satelite, though it has been there for many a year and the coords are absolutely spot on. (tracked by my good old faithful Garmin Colorado 300 GPS and synced at the end of the holidays.
@Ferdy: You got a GPS with you on your dream holiday to Madagaskar? Man, we are going to see some pictures, I bet:) Posted 13 years ago, modified 13 years ago

Joost Thissen

Lion

I like this HDR shot a lot! I just breathes a dark atmosphere. Could be a scene from a movie at the moment a dark force takes over the world. Posted 13 years ago, modified 13 years ago
1. Ludo Sak
  
  Lion
  
  Use the horse, Luke;) thanks for your comment, glad you like it! It certainly has something gloomy, fortunately I did not see the riders of the apocalypse;) Posted 13 years ago

Jeroen

Bull Frog

This is really,really great!!
I look a forward to see more of these pictures. Posted 13 years ago

Ludo Sak

Lion

No problem, Jeroen, my HDR adventure has only just begun!
Looking forward to the bike trip btw! Posted 13 years ago

The Fraxinus excelsior

''Fraxinus excelsior'' — known as the ash, or European ash or common ash to distinguish it from other types of ash — is a species of ''Fraxinus'' native to most of Europe with the exception of northern Scandinavia and southern Iberia, and also southwestern Asia from northern Turkey east to the Caucasus and Alborz mountains. The northernmost location is in the Trondheimsfjord region of Norway.

Info 2 1

Similar species: Lamiales

Species identified by Ludo Sak