Black Tree White Sky

Black Tree White Sky
Black Tree White Sky

“If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree.”
–Jim Rohn

This photo of a lone tree, shot in McKinley Park along Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, originally included the hazy blue sky, the foreground grass and corresponding shadows, and the blue waters of Lake Michigan in the background.  All nice things, but they were all distractions from the subject.  To place the focus where I wanted it, I converted the image to black and white to remove any color distractions.  I cropped the bottom portion of the image to take away the foreground and background distractions like the grass, shadows and lake.  I then boosted the contrast to push grey tones toward either white or black.

I added a small touch of texture overall and then processed the image twice in Topaz Impression to take away a bit of “edge” and add a whimsical paint-like feel.

Day 208 of my 365 photo a day project.

Black Tree White Sky
Black Tree White Sky

By Scott Norris

Emotion. Mood. Feelings. This is what I capture through my photographs. Whether it is landscapes, architectural elements, still life, or macros - it is a very personal journey as my own fears, triumphs, beliefs, and shortcomings are exposed with each photo. In the end, it is all about telling compelling stories.