Early in the morning today it was a beautiful light outside, so I went outside to snap a few. The same lens, Canon 100mm F:2.0, which made those soft background with the birches, can also deliver what must be the sharpest pictures I have ever made. Not in and off itself of any artistic importance, but it feels good to do. A hobby thing, like hi-fi. Of course if nice pictures can manifest too, hurrah.
You should see the 35cm x 50cm (13" x 19") print of the tree picture. Technically (tones and sharpness) it's way beyond anything I ever did back in the 35mm/darkroom days. And that's due to digital technology, not what I have learned still, I think, because I was about as good as anybody I knew. (Here is an unedited file.)
Not to mention that making a print in a darkroom, especially such a large one, is time consuming, hard work, and very messy. (And that's even just for B/W. Color was way harder.)
Update: below is an alternative version of the tree picture, edited by Blerim Racaj, who I blogged recently. It's darker, warm-toned, and cropped to remove the sky. All things I could easily have gone with. (The print I made of the picture is actually warm-toned and a little darker (prints are often darker).) I tried cropping it, but decided that the bit of sky added dimension to it. What do you think?
I just compared to the print, and the tones are *exactly* like this! Funny. And I have to admit it looks better.
Re the cropping, I'm in a period where I don't tend to as much for the abstract as I used to. You never know, I may go back.
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