In a break from spiral staircases this is shot taken just before dawn on a cold morning about a mile from home. Last year this great tree was really enhanced by having this new pond dug out in front of it. There were no doubt good agricultural reasons for it but it had the effect of being very kind to photographers especially as it is very accessible being next to a roadside verge, no parking available but not a problem if you arrive by bicycle. For those who follow me on Facebook this is a different picture from the one posted there on Thursday but taken on the same morning.

The picture was taken on a Tripod with a Sony A700 with a Sigma 10-20mm lens at 10 mm. 3 raw images 2EV spacing processed with Photomatix Contrast Optimiser setting for a natural look. The resulting Tiff file was then opened in camera raw for more editing. Tip – to open a Tiff or Jpeg file in Camera Raw in Photoshop go to Open As in the file menu, navigate to the file and for file type choose Camera Raw. I made adjustments to the foreground and sky using the graduated filter control in RAW. Similar adjustments can be made using tools within Photoshop but it is easier in RAW. Topaz Clarity was used for more detail.