Mossy Embrace

Gallery: LandscapePosted May 18, 20111,174 views42 comments

I went to the Hoh Rainforest last week for a few days to revel in the spring rain. It was wondrous. That place is so incredible, and the best part is, so few people photograph there because it's so frickin' hard to find anything that works compositionally, and there are certainly no icons. I also met up with NPNers Alex Mody and Paul Marcellini (his poor Florida blood had a rough time in the morning's 35 degree drizzle).

Anyways, I really liked this vine maple I stumbled on. I recognize that some may find it a little over saturated, and I welcome your thoughts on the matter. Fact is, I reduced the saturation by 18, and didn't even use a polarizer (shot with my Nikon 14-24 @14mm). It's just that green/gold out there.

Larger version included.. I highly recommend viewing that one for the details!

Thanks for your thoughts.

Comments

42 comments

Comment posted by Anil Rao on May 18, 2011 at 3:18 AM

This is really nice, Floris. The composition offers a great sense of movement that makes it very exciting to take in. The contrast and saturation seem fine to me.

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

Comment posted by Julian Barkway on May 18, 2011 at 4:34 AM

I was greatly impressed by the Hoh when I went there in 2004 but, as you say, finding a workable composition there is a nightmare. So you've done pretty well to find such a perfect comp. It looks like it's exploding out of the frame...

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

Comment posted by Dennis Harding on May 18, 2011 at 4:36 AM

This looks great to me Floris. Top shot and great comp. it's not over saturated on my monitor at all. And you are so right finding a good comp out of all the chaos in the forest is always challenging.

Registered on January 19, 2011, 33 Posts, 408 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Richter on May 18, 2011 at 4:42 AM

Your centered composition is ingenious, Floris. The lines are leading centrifugal and then back again, stunning dynamics! I also enjoy the diversity of green shades, which you present in a natural way.

Peter

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

Comment posted by Alex Mody on May 18, 2011 at 5:15 AM

This is definitely not oversaturated to my eye, and well, you know how I feel about this awesome shot. Great work, man.

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

Comment posted by Abdullaziz Bin Ali on May 18, 2011 at 5:29 AM

Love this Floris
Superb

Registered on May 31, 2009, 112 Posts, 1590 Comments

Comment posted by Aaron Feinberg on May 18, 2011 at 5:51 AM

Nice find and yea, the color in the NW blew me away too. Might suggest a slight vignette but great take away from a difficult scene

aF

Registered on October 26, 2009, 399 Posts, 2789 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Lowe on May 18, 2011 at 7:26 AM

Love the intimate details and lush greeens in this forest scene, Floris. The mossy vines are superb as leading lines and draw me into the image giving it a wonderful sense of depth.

Registered on February 7, 2004, 414 Posts, 7115 Comments

Comment posted by Derek Yow on May 18, 2011 at 7:49 AM

Gorgeous image Floris! The colors look realistic to me.

Registered on May 18, 2010, 26 Posts, 655 Comments

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on May 18, 2011 at 7:51 AM

gorgeous, floris. the composition is superb. the only minor reservation is the small twig that stands up right in the center. it's small but somehow it sticks in my eye!

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

Comment posted by Robert Stough on May 18, 2011 at 8:03 AM

It's always tough finding good compositions in a dense forest environment but this one works really well. The sinuously twisting mossy branches overhung with those bright green leaves are just beautiful. The saturation looks fine to me. I think you were right to reduce it a bit but the wet conditions and diffuse light are always going to make for strong foliage colors.

Registered on November 20, 2010, 26 Posts, 273 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on May 18, 2011 at 8:38 AM

Great composition Floris, and really neat place. Would love to go there sometime - Paul must be lost, this isn't the Everglades! Saturation looks good to me, about what I would expect from a place like this. I bet the aroma of the wet greens must be overwhelming. Nicely done.

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

Comment posted by Nicolaus Wegner on May 18, 2011 at 8:50 AM

Definitely seems like a difficult place to pull off a well composed photo, but I think you managed it well enough. Never been there so I've not a clue as to what possibilities lie within. I'm sure someone is going to come out of there with a killer shot someday that will have all you guys rushing there in droves. ;]

On the larger image, the dead tree in the center seems to throw things off a bit, but not by much.

I agree with the exploding comment. Sums things up pretty well.

Registered on February 21, 2010, 133 Posts, 1509 Comments

Comment posted by Hamed Musharbak on May 18, 2011 at 8:51 AM

Nicely done

Registered on June 1, 2009, 372 Posts, 2282 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on May 18, 2011 at 9:05 AM

Floris, Just looking at the large version and I have to say Wow!...because that is what happened when I clicked on it. Love the looks of this. The comp works great, so you did very well in a place where it sounds like that would be pretty tough, and I can see how it could be just that. The color and saturation look really good to me. The moss covered logs are so cool looking and the green leaves in the upper part look fantastic against the dark bg. That is probably my favorite part. Beautiful work.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

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

Comment posted by Matt Anderson on May 18, 2011 at 9:05 AM

Yup, a truly masterful composition on this one! Maybe a slight crop off the left, but still amazing.

Registered on September 6, 2007, 346 Posts, 2696 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on May 18, 2011 at 9:07 AM

The comp is terrific! I don't find it over saturated at all. pretty much what I'd expect from there. Nice!

Chris

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments

Comment posted by Bruce King on May 18, 2011 at 9:12 AM

You've got it right Floris I've been to the Hoh several times and have yet to come away with a decent composition. This is very nice. You've left the areas that may contain distracting, busy little twigs in shadow and yes, I'll vouch for you; the colors really are that vibrant right now. This is reality in the Great NW.

Registered on January 14, 2010, 276 Posts, 2212 Comments

Comment posted by Guy Tal on May 18, 2011 at 9:13 AM

Superb composition, Floris. These are especially difficult subjects to photograph due to the density and inherent chaos of the forest. I'm sure this took a lot of work and creative vision to isolate.

Guy

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

Comment posted by Adrian Klein on May 18, 2011 at 9:28 AM

I knew it was only a matter of time until you got something superb up there. I have only spent a couple brief periods roaming this area for comps and you are 100% correct how hard it is to get something that really works. And this surely does! One of the best forest shots taken in the Hoh IMO. Well done.

Registered on June 10, 2007, 112 Posts, 1506 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on May 18, 2011 at 10:37 AM

The composition is a masterpiece. Stunning light and colours.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Smorra on May 18, 2011 at 10:44 AM

This is awesome Floris. You did a great job finding a good comp and taming the chaos of the Hoh. Colors look great on my monitor. It amazes me that sometimes we have to decrease saturation to get the colors of the Pacific NW right!

Registered on November 2, 2009, 161 Posts, 2143 Comments

Comment posted by Soubhik Patranabis on May 18, 2011 at 10:46 AM

Very nice composition - one of the best I have seen from this area.

Registered on January 25, 2010, 54 Posts, 610 Comments

Comment posted by Justin Reznick on May 18, 2011 at 10:56 AM

Something from the Hoh that works!!! Love it Floris! Not over saturated IMO.

Registered on November 24, 2009, 79 Posts, 515 Comments

Comment posted by Lori Kincaid on May 18, 2011 at 11:16 AM

Love the kinetic energy displayed here, Floris. The mossy trunks sem to be swirling through the foliage. Amazing the colors are that saturated without a polarizer. I'd love to simply hang out in that forest for awhile.

Lori

Registered on November 15, 2003, 90 Posts, 2033 Comments

Comment posted by Joseph Rossbach on May 18, 2011 at 11:18 AM

great use of line and shape Floris!! I love this shot man!

Registered on November 25, 2005, 484 Posts, 1377 Comments

Comment posted by Marc Adamus on May 18, 2011 at 11:27 AM

Floris, seriously, this is why you are the best nature photographer I have ever seen. No one else would come even close to a composition like this in there. This is freaking amazing and I personally consider it one of the best images I've ever seen, if for no other reason than the degree of difficulty involved. I was so glad when I heard you were moving up there because no one I've seen before has ever even scratched the surface of doing justice to this place. I knew you would. And if anyone here is surprised at al by the praise I give you for this, I consider myself pretty darn good at finding images and I've spent 50+ days in the Hoh before looking for something half this good and never found it. Never seen it anywhere else either.

Registered on September 17, 2005, 780 Posts, 8091 Comments

Comment posted by Adam Gibbs on May 18, 2011 at 11:55 AM

Well done, Floris. Can we call you the Hoh master now?

Registered on November 1, 2003, 168 Posts, 870 Comments

Comment posted by Grant Collier on May 18, 2011 at 1:00 PM

It's really hard to get such a chaotic scene to come together in a cohesive whole, but I think you succeeded!

Registered on July 29, 2005, 73 Posts, 430 Comments

Comment posted by Vance Gese on May 18, 2011 at 1:22 PM

Absolutely superb, Floris. The graceful lines of the moss covered maples really make this a phenomenal image; your composition is masterfully performed. This is not over saturated at all in my opinion, far from it in fact. I have seen moss glowing after a rain or under certain lighting that boggles the mind, and that many would not believe. Truly a stunning image.

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

Comment posted by Robert Dayton on May 18, 2011 at 2:06 PM

I really like the colors and the lead in lines, Floris. As complicated as the Hoh Rainforest
is, I believe that this is a very good composition.

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

Comment posted by Anand Narayanan on May 18, 2011 at 3:21 PM

Applause

Registered on October 25, 2009, 110 Posts, 835 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on May 18, 2011 at 4:15 PM

You cant oversaturate the Ho, thats for sure! This is great, nice quirky comp, one the better ones ive seen and your best effort so far IMO. Im hoping to make it out there this fall.

Oh, i just read Marc's comments and I agree with him (tho dont let it go to your head

) cause ive spent some time out there too, unfortunately without a DSLR, but i know how brutally tough it is to shoot there.

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Anthony Vincent on May 18, 2011 at 7:08 PM

Every time I see images from here it reminds me that these trees are alive. Excellent color and its amazing what colors do when it rains. Great job finding lead in lines in a chaotic place.
Thanks for sharing

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

Comment posted by Phil Pogledich on May 18, 2011 at 7:29 PM

It's superb and, with all the detail, almost overwhelming at the same time. The composition is very effective and it conveys the complexity of this place while also putting me right there in the middle of the forest. There's so much to look at and it all fits together so cohesively that I have to join the others in complimenting you on a magnificent shot of a location that is tremendously difficult to photograph.

Registered on August 24, 2009, 123 Posts, 3099 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on May 18, 2011 at 8:44 PM

Fantastic image Floris of one of my favorite places. Your comp is especially wonderful and enjoyable. Yes, a very difficult place to photograph, but you nailed this extremely well.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on May 18, 2011 at 9:29 PM

Saturation good. Nice composition Floris.

Mark

Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments

Comment posted by S Govindarajan on May 18, 2011 at 10:50 PM

Stunning image, Floris. You got a great eye for composition. A great combination of different shades of green, all in amazing light.

Registered on April 19, 2008, 115 Posts, 1921 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Miller on May 19, 2011 at 2:16 AM

I think this might be the first image from Hoh that I have seen that I actually really really like. I have seen others and said to myself, "That is great, for being from Hoh". This one had no such caveat.

Registered on May 9, 2011, 23 Posts, 322 Comments

Comment posted by David Edwards on May 19, 2011 at 5:47 AM

I like the flow of lines (vines!) through the image, Floris. Good job putting together the comp. I know how hard it is to isolate in a mass of green and tangle, and I'll be giving it a go myself this weekend when I head up into the rainforest. I won't comment on the color since my monitor is quite cactus while I wait for my new one. I like your presentation here with the brown matt.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 142 Posts, 2623 Comments

Comment posted by James Fougère on May 20, 2011 at 12:58 AM

Nicely done

Registered on October 25, 2010, 41 Posts, 831 Comments

Comment posted by Eric Good on May 20, 2011 at 11:34 PM

Pure magic, Floris! Sat and color look spot on to me. I could see this also working well as a 4x5 crop off the left side as well. Glad to see you capturing the PNW as well.

~Eric

Registered on March 17, 2007, 116 Posts, 4764 Comments