Spring Forth

Gallery: LandscapePosted May 18, 2011340 views21 comments

A fairly classic shot of dogwood trees in Yosemite NP, taken this past weekend. As overshot and overcrowded as this NP is, it really is amazing to witness the different seasons in this park and there is still plenty of inspiration in that magical place. I made a conscious decision on this trip to put away my w/a lens (for the most part ;), and tried to focus on more intimate forest scenes. The dappled light created by an approaching storm front created some nice fleeting light, and it all seemed to come together for the split seconds between the soft breezes in the trees. I'm always open to any comments or critiques on my images, thanks for looking!

Tech Notes:
Canon 5dmkii
Canon 70-200mm f/4 Non-IS @ 200mm f/8
ISO 200

Single file handled in ACR and worked in PS using TK's lum masks for contrast, midtones, and sat. Some orton glow added to enhance the warm haze in this shot.

Comments

21 comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on May 18, 2011 at 1:13 PM

Nice, Jared--i always like these dogwood shots, the blossoms stand out so well. Urhc feels a bitempty to me, so i might crop down from the top.

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

Comment posted by Robert Dayton on May 18, 2011 at 2:12 PM

I really like this, Jared! I was there last Saturday, photographing Dogwood but didn't
come up with anything like this. I like your background tree and the exposure on the
Dogwood bloom seems to be just right on my monitor. Minor though it
is, you might consider cloning out that white speck/dot/whatever in
the upper right corner.

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

Comment posted by Dan Roberts on May 18, 2011 at 2:27 PM

Really a good eye to recognize this opportunity. Great composition and the tree trunk really sets the scene in the forest understory. Nicely done.

Registered on March 9, 2011, 69 Posts, 501 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Richter on May 18, 2011 at 2:43 PM

A delightful composition and fine processing, Jared! I especially like the color and texture of the bark contrasting the delicate bloom.

Peter

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

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on May 18, 2011 at 3:55 PM

Wasn't impressed with the thumbnail, but certainly glad I opened it. This is delightful! Great color and detail. On the picky side, I might clone the two blossoms that are cut off on top. Other than that, this is really sweet.

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

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on May 18, 2011 at 4:30 PM

simple, classic, and lovely.

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Duval on May 18, 2011 at 6:33 PM

Jared,

Classic, intimate, like white fairy butterflies fluttering in front of that awesome Incense Cedar. Tremendous detail in the larger image. I would even consider a BW conversion of this. Those dogwoods just seem to shine in BW.

Paul

Registered on June 30, 2009, 508 Posts, 1907 Comments

Comment posted by Anthony Vincent on May 18, 2011 at 6:56 PM

Very intimate Jared. Just the right touches of light and shadow.
Thanks for sharing

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

Comment posted by Ed Lowe on May 18, 2011 at 7:45 PM

Absolutely beautiful, Jared. The lighting is superb and the dogwoods contrast nicely with the bark of the tree. My only suggestion; and this is just a personal preference; would be a crop from the top to eliminate the dogwood bloom and the small limb.

Ed

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

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on May 18, 2011 at 8:05 PM

The flowers seem to b floating Jared. Gorgeous capture!

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

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on May 18, 2011 at 9:28 PM

Beautiful intimate scene here. I thought it was from Floris at first.

Mark

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

Comment posted by Tom Nevesely on May 18, 2011 at 9:31 PM

This looks really nice Jared! The elements and the composition work very well here.

Registered on June 14, 2005, 147 Posts, 1550 Comments

Comment posted by Jared Atencio on May 18, 2011 at 9:36 PM

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I will look at a crop again before I print this, there's a little tiny piece of moss at the bottom of the frame that caught my eye right after I posted, but I'll also look at taking a little off the top as well.

Bill-I'm currently a little jaded on the photo community and how important a thumbnail is. Frankly, I'm the same way, as I skip past many images here and other viewing forums that I'm sure are beautiful images, but don't grab me as a thumbnail. It leaves only the big, bold, highly saturated, colorful images that get the most attention. I think a blog is the best way to present the subtle images that would otherwise get lost in this thumbnail-centric world we live in...

Registered on June 23, 2009, 21 Posts, 422 Comments

Comment posted by Floris van Breugel on May 18, 2011 at 9:55 PM

I love how the flowers stand out against the dark background, and the red bark makes for some beautiful color contrasts.

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

Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on May 18, 2011 at 10:05 PM

Jared:
The white flower really stands out from the dark bg. The bark is gorgeous. Very nice image.

Registered on September 1, 2009, 588 Posts, 8184 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on May 18, 2011 at 10:07 PM

Very nice Jared. I really like the dark background and the way the blossoms stand out. Like Eva said...they seem to be floating. The tree bark also looks fantastic. Nice work!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

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

Comment posted by Sarah Marino on May 18, 2011 at 10:16 PM

Hi Jared - this is a beautiful image. I really like the composition and think your processing is spot-on. The dappled light adds a lot to the image. Nice work!

Registered on November 10, 2008, 23 Posts, 393 Comments

Comment posted by Koveh Tavakkol on May 18, 2011 at 10:38 PM

Glad you finally got the shot you had in mind man. This looks really beautiful. The DoF is perfect, and your processing looks great. You might play around with a tad more Orton and see how it looks, but that is just my personal preference.

Registered on September 1, 2009, 41 Posts, 608 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Wegemann on May 19, 2011 at 8:44 AM

Nice work, Jared. I think this is a beauty. The white flower on the trunk in the UR is a bit of a distraction, but not a deal breaker.

Registered on December 14, 2006, 58 Posts, 1888 Comments

Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on May 19, 2011 at 3:32 PM

this is nice intimate scene......the bark contrasts well to the rest of the scene. Well done

Registered on January 29, 2010, 285 Posts, 4281 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on May 19, 2011 at 7:55 PM

Nice scene, Jared. Only thing I can think is to maybe clone the white blossom-like are along the upper right edge. Seems to draw my eye a bit. The light is really nice. I like the pop of the flowers against the darker elements.

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