Late Autumn Maples

Gallery: LandscapePosted February 1, 2011246 views23 comments

Found these maples one evening this past November, long after the leaves were all down. The moss on the trees catching some of the cloud-reflected evening light was quite nice. Contrasted well with the blueness in the background.
4x5, 210mm, warm polarizer, Provia 100F. Flatbed scan, and the always incredibly useful TK masks.

Large image provided for your evaluation.

Your suggestions, thoughts, comments, as always, are appreciated and valued greatly.
Thanks.

Comments

23 comments

Comment posted by Andrew Morrill on February 2, 2011 at 12:25 AM

Love the detail and how you've very successfully ordered the chaos. It has a very Charles Cramer type aesthetic and feel to it - very artistic. The very saturated mossy greens feel a little over the top on my monitor (just slightly - could just be the monitor), but I bet they would still look great in print as is. Definitely a winner!

Registered on June 10, 2010, 51 Posts, 216 Comments

Comment posted by Floris van Breugel on February 2, 2011 at 12:39 AM

The way the mosses stand out is just fantastic! Beautiful work, Vance, been missing these kinds of images from you, thanks for posting another one. This is now my neck of the woods, so I'm extra psyched to see such beautiful work from here!

Registered on December 19, 2008, 306 Posts, 4840 Comments

Comment posted by Dietrich Gloger on February 2, 2011 at 12:41 AM

Amazing use of light Vance! The large image is fantastic - so much depth in that version.

Registered on January 26, 2007, 360 Posts, 9876 Comments

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on February 2, 2011 at 2:39 AM

vance - lovely light being caught in those mosses. I'm not 100% sure about the colour: it could be my eyes or my monitor? doesn't quite ring true but cannot put my finger on it! Also tiny crop off the left to get rid of the branch that creeps into the top left ... but great work, as ever.

Registered on December 7, 2007, 247 Posts, 4792 Comments

Comment posted by Julian Barkway on February 2, 2011 at 5:54 AM

I really like the composition, Vance, but some of the greens (esp. in the background trees) look a little forced to me - like you're trying to make Provia look like Velvia in PS.

Registered on January 18, 2007, 344 Posts, 1961 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on February 2, 2011 at 9:41 AM

I love the glow of the backlit moss, and I always love the beauty of barren limbs. I like your comp a lot in this as well.

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Lorna Taylor on February 2, 2011 at 9:44 AM

Wonderful velvety greens. Lovely shot!

Registered on November 12, 2010, 254 Posts, 3083 Comments

Comment posted by Anil Rao on February 2, 2011 at 9:56 AM

While the composition is really neat, the color palette and the light on the moss are what makes this really special. Very nicely don, Vance.

Registered on November 15, 2003, 234 Posts, 4923 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Richter on February 2, 2011 at 10:45 AM

Vance, I like the bright green moss on the trees. In this context it works well for me to stress the different green shades, even at the cost of a "natural" look.

Peter

Registered on November 10, 2010, 218 Posts, 2723 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on February 2, 2011 at 11:47 AM

Wonderful color and light. Good to see you posting again!

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on February 2, 2011 at 12:55 PM

This is wonderful, Vance. When I first saw it I felt like I was looking into an aquarium. Just has that feel to me. The colors might be just a tad strong, but I think that is what I like about the look and feel this has. Really nice work!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Jay Nielsen on February 2, 2011 at 5:41 PM

That moss highlights and accentuates the edges of the brances very nicely. I like the awesome saturated color.

Registered on October 6, 2008, 137 Posts, 720 Comments

Comment posted by Alex Mody on February 2, 2011 at 7:03 PM

Yeah, this is just perfect.

Registered on December 25, 2007, 163 Posts, 1896 Comments

Comment posted by Ben Horne on February 2, 2011 at 7:38 PM

The light quality here is fantastic. I especially like the way that the reflected light from the sky gives a nice blue cast. This is also a rather difficult exposure, and you did a fantastic job maintaining nice rich detail.

Registered on August 27, 2009, 51 Posts, 959 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Dayton on February 2, 2011 at 10:16 PM

Beautiful, Vance! No suggestions for improvement.

Registered on November 11, 2008, 281 Posts, 3958 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on February 2, 2011 at 10:31 PM

This is sweet, Vance. Almost like there is a back-light or glow to the moss. Wonderful light. Also like the comp with the strong foreground shape and it's echo in back. An image like this in the chaos of foliage in the NW is quite a feat.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Vance Gese on February 2, 2011 at 11:19 PM

Thank you everyone for the honest critiques and comments. I agree that the greens, especially in the cedars in the background, could be pulled back a little (after working on an image for hours, I think my eyes get too accustomed to color and I fail to see the sats creeping up). Stuart pointed out that tree creeping into the frame in the upper left; I fussed with that fool tree when I was composing this image. Tried to burn it a bit in processing. I'll try a bit of a crop as I agree that it is distracting.
Thanks again everyone. Your input is really appreciated and tremendously helpful.

Registered on November 13, 2008, 298 Posts, 6629 Comments

Comment posted by Reno DiTullio on February 2, 2011 at 11:22 PM

Gorgeous, great light, love the greens, well done Vance

Registered on November 14, 2003, 130 Posts, 1644 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Hartmann on February 3, 2011 at 1:16 AM

Electric!

Registered on January 15, 2009, 13 Posts, 772 Comments

Comment posted by Guy Tal on February 3, 2011 at 8:58 AM

The mosses almost look luminescent and stand out beautifully from the deep greens and blues of the forest. I can smell the pine in the air. Absolutely wonderful.

Guy

Registered on November 1, 2003, 566 Posts, 15507 Comments

Comment posted by Anthony Vincent on February 3, 2011 at 9:07 PM

Man is that cool. The glow on the mosses is just splendid. Terrific find Vance.
You do these so well and oh my is the larger version awesome.

Great job

Registered on February 5, 2009, 199 Posts, 2775 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on February 4, 2011 at 1:40 AM

Beautiful Vance. I really like how you've captured this, including the tree in the background that repeats the patterns and lines up front. I would agree with some others that the yellow/green moss is a bit neon for me. And an additional clue to the overall saturation is the deep blue of the very background; that also is a little strong. That blue also shows up in some small patches of some of the tree trunks.

Some minor tweeks and this is yet another great image to add to your portfolio. Which I must repeat myself..... wish you had online!