Linda From Maine wrote:
For me, the softly filtered light has an ethereal feel, creating a very nice mood. In trying to understand why this one is very successful (IMO), I came up with two comparisons: #1 is a wider scene and there is some of what Keni suggested - lack of clues to its depth - plus the colors I would be more likely to associate with darker/saturated. The lone tree has no "issue" regarding depth and it's obviously fog or selective processing (high key). This is poorly expressed, but the best I can do at the moment. Enjoyable to ponder, thank you!
For me, the softly filtered light has an ethereal ... (
show quote)
The lone tree was, in fact, taken in fog on a cold winter morning (on a hill across the street from my home, BTW), well after sunrise -- to allude to the topic title ;-). The tree was, actually, hardly visible; I had to boost contrast considerably. I'm glad you like it.
In regard to the first picture in my initial post: what I tried to convey was the feeling of light that I saw when looking at the scene; I feel that a darker rendition would not convey that feeling of light. If you look carefully at that image, you will see some clues to depth -- primarily some shadows -- but they are not obvious.