Shoot a Tree

I admit it I'm a sucker for a good tree picture, whether it be drawn, painted or photographed, there is something visually fascinating about trees. The contrasts and contours of a tree can make for an ideal subject, and unlike photographing people or animals, a tree will pose endlessly without movement or complaint. Fantasy artists Michael Kaluta and Bernie Wrightson render the most incredible looking trees and I am always on the lookout for photo opportunities that will come close to matching their idealized versions. This tree with its leaning pose and hobbit hole caught my attention while walking through a Royal Oak park. To help emphasize the texture of the bark I converted the image to black and white in Photoshop. I created multiple layers in Channels, clicking the monochrome option on each, then changed the percentages of the green and red channels on the layers until I had one that gave me the look I wanted. For best results you should work with just the red and green channels, the blue channel can be ignored. You can vary the percentages of red and green however you like to achieve a pleasing result as long as the two numbers add up to 100%, 60% red plus 40% green for example.