I recently upgraded from a 40D to a 5D mk II and the performance of this body has brought my meagre photographic abilities into doubt. The learning curve is steep, as shown by my submission below. I took this with a 24-70 @ f/3.5, ISO 400. In Lightroom 2, I desaturated the RAW capture, set recovery to +70 and boosted the clarity. I increased the contrast and sharpness, but I’m just not getting any joy. Any suggestions?
This image has got me thinking. Digital photography and post-processing can turn any initial exposure into so many different images, I feel lost in all the phase-space images this one could have become. I intentionally emphasised the blacks at the top to highlight the bark texture, but I’m wondering whether it’s just a bad composition. Thanks for your help getting me out of my existential angst! Please be unsparingly critical. It’ll help me climb that steep learning curve.


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