A Dusting
by Igor Doncov
At first it rained, but as I gained in elevation the rain turned to snow. I pulled over somewhere near Mt Shasta onto a dirt road and soon came to the realization that a fire had wiped out all the vegetation in this area, leaving charred remains of trees. It was incredibly cold outside as I fumbled with my iphone. Initially the earth was bare as I looked for compositions with just the trees in the storm. But as the snow started to accumulate the compositions became clearer in my mind. Finally, I got out the DSLR and set it up for the comp I had worked out in my mind. It was too cold (for me) to set up the tripod so I cranked up the ISO and took 2 images hand held. Three weeks later I still can't decide which I like more.
Canon 6D, 24-105mm@32mm, ISO 1000, 1/80 sec, F8.0, hand held
This image reflects how I felt about the place. Despite going through some difficult times the place still showed a lot of dignity and character.
Comments
21 commentsNick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI
I must say, I think this is one of your BEST! This is simply fantastic. I agree with Roel that this does have a painterly look, but I don't get any impression of any "effects." It's the subtle quality of light here that is so wonderful. And after that, it's also the color - as subtle as that is; the yellow of the grasses really adds to this. I'm so glad you didn't go b&w with this.
As much as I love this and am impressed with, I can't withhold my only suggestion. On the right, there are a few long lines that make me think they're tire tracks; obscured a bit by the snow, so that's good. I was just thinking that a few strategic pops of the clone/healing brush to break up the length of a couple of the lines to obscure the tracks even more. But that's just me. I certainly would NOT crop in from the right. I like the tree on the far right framing this wonderful scene.
Lon
Thank you for the kind words.
Roel, I looked up Kittelsen and was glad to find out he wasn't the painter that did 'The Scream'.
Lon, thank you for bringing the tracks to my attention. I didn't see them. The snow probably accentuated them after a while because they weren't evident at the start. These tracks are almost certainly made by fire trucks that tried to put out the forest fire. It should be simple to clone them out to a degree that they are no longer recognizable.
It certainly is frustrating when you take a photo and later on no longer remember how you obtained a certain effect/feeling. But that is also a good thing I think, it means you take pictures guided by feelings and instincts (in other words, the creative way), and not by doing dry calculations and following guidelines. That's when photography probably is at its best!
Kittelsen is a lesser know painter, but I really like him. Loads of atmosphere in his paintings, something you achieved here as well, which is why I made the comparison.
Congratulations on the EP!
--P