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Blowing in the Wind
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Blowing in the Wind

by Peter Cross

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted February 24, 201357 views4 comments
Something a little different from me. A few weeks ago, I was on a road trip that went thru Death Valley. I managed to get one afternoon to use the camera and record a few things. This shot was taken on the east side and above the valley. It was a little wet spot and these stalks were wildly blowing in the wind. I tried my best to snap a few images when things were still. The BG is dark soil/rocks in the shade. I thought it came out fairly well. I cropped about 15% off to give a better composition and warmed the scene slightly. I'd be interested in hearing ideas about other ways to improve this. Appreciate any input in that regard.

Tech Info
Canon 60D with EF 28-135mm f/3.5 - 5.6 IS at 135mm
1/250th @ f/6.3 amd ISO 200
handheld

Comments

4 comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on February 25, 2013 at 8:47 AM
I like this Peter. I've tried similar but at higher s-speeds. Your main subject here would benefit.
Have a great week:wavey:
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments
Comment posted by scott lanz on February 25, 2013 at 9:15 PM
I also like the way this came out, Peter. I think you captured the feeling of the place, including the wind blowing through the stalks. I have a couple of very minor suggestions. For one, you mentioned that you cropped 15% of the image. If you could add anything back on the left side so that the stalk was coming from the bottom plane and not directly out of the corner, you might do that. Also, you might consider cloning out the tall thin stalk in the back running vertically from behind the main seed head to the top of the frame. These are both very minor suggestions. :wavey:
Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments
Comment posted by Peter Cross on February 25, 2013 at 9:49 PM
Howard, please feel free to play around with this. It would be nice to see what someone who knows what they are doing can come up with.

Scott, I noticed that, too. I cropped out a partial seed head as it was a distraction. Maybe I should add the canvas back in and just clone it out. Then the stalk would not come exactly from the corner.
Registered on April 3, 2010, 271 Posts, 1342 Comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on February 27, 2013 at 9:20 AM
Hi Peter,
I tightened up the comp slightly and removed a few of the faint vertical stems BG center left.
Removed the stuff URC BG as well.
Brought down the hot top edge of the main subject a bit, that's it :wavey:
As I said, I might've shot this a bit faster in consideration of the breeze/movement..
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments