Hope Springs Eternal

Gallery: LandscapePosted May 2, 2016276 views16 comments

I still thank my lucky stars today for giving me the opportunity to shoot something this incredible. It's hard to express in words how surreal it was to be standing in a lush green rainforest at the height of spring knee deep in a icy cold stream. A few minutes in the water, my feet became numb. Slowly but surely, the sun rose through the trees and created these beams in the water. This is a blend of 4 shots for dynamic range and motion reduction.

Appreciate any thoughts you may have on this one.

Comments

16 comments

Comment posted by gary phillips on May 2, 2016 at 2:55 PM

I love this, Sairam. Really well done and the large version is incredible. I would suggest cloning or cropping the sunlit space top right. It's an awkward little space that grabs my eye. Other than that......I believe stunning is the best word to describe this. I think I would invest in some waders for these cold wet images.

Registered on October 24, 2013, 185 Posts, 4136 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on May 2, 2016 at 4:45 PM

This is beautiful. I like Gary's suggestion on the bright spot.

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Smith on May 2, 2016 at 5:40 PM

I particularly like the light and contribution of the fallen logs.They seem to lift this from a more logged over scene into one of old growth filled with gnarly understory that wrecks any effort to find an easy trail. This is a hidden gem!

Registered on September 5, 2008, 449 Posts, 2444 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on May 2, 2016 at 6:56 PM

A very dramatic look at the early morning sun, Sairam. There a fine glow in the larger version with good detail in the shadows. I've got some nearly knee high overshoes from Neo that are great when I want to go "wading", but they're not insulated and probably not tall enough for this adventure. cool

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Kathy Barnhart on May 2, 2016 at 7:39 PM

Beautiful shot with all those radiating lines from the sunstar, logs, and sunbeams. The warm yellow light at the beginning of the day illumines the forest nicely. At first it seemed a little yellow overall, but that seems more natural to me as I look at it longer. Very nice blending job, too. Sometimes it's worth getting numb feet!

Registered on November 11, 2011, 404 Posts, 1639 Comments

Comment posted by John Williams on May 3, 2016 at 1:03 AM

Wow, the large version is jaw dropping Sairam; a lot is lost in the smaller version against the white background. Well done! devil

Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments

Comment posted by Aaron Feinberg on May 3, 2016 at 4:10 AM

Pretty badass sir! Maybe a bit too much on the orange saturation but minor. great work.

aF

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

Comment posted by Pete Bengeyfield on May 3, 2016 at 9:50 AM

Getting cold feet was worth it. Nicely conceived and executed.. The light vs. dark theme is excebtional. Well done.

Registered on December 2, 2003, 1247 Posts, 3439 Comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on May 3, 2016 at 9:57 AM

WOW ! A heavenly scene, very nicely executed, love the sun star beaming between the trees!
Jagdeep Rajput devil

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Dave Dillemuth on May 3, 2016 at 11:21 AM

This is awesome! Very well conceived and crafted image. The only suggestion might be to back off slightly on the color temp as the yellows are a bit strong. In any event a real outstanding image.

Registered on December 10, 2015, 104 Posts, 1112 Comments

Comment posted by David Schoen on May 3, 2016 at 12:23 PM

Well seen and well thought out.

Registered on November 6, 2006, 1213 Posts, 4587 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel Rappaport on May 3, 2016 at 1:19 PM

Definitely creates that deep dark magical forest feeling. Well done.

Registered on September 9, 2009, 294 Posts, 2006 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on May 3, 2016 at 1:47 PM

Superb overall Sairam. Wonderful composition and a great array of elements. Sunstar is perfect. The only technical nit I have is that I would suggest burning or toning down the bright areas in the water as they distract somewhat from an otherwise beautiful image.

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

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on May 3, 2016 at 7:07 PM

This is a special image Sairam. Kudos to you for the planning and waiting to realize your vision.

The warmth really makes this scene, and I suppose one could argue it's too yellow/red, but I think it's perfectly appropriate here. Just a gorgeous image and scene.

Only suggestion I can think of has been mentioned - and that's either cropping or cloning to remove the gap between the trees in the URC. Not a huge deal, but worth mentioning.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Sairam Sundaresan on May 4, 2016 at 5:04 AM

Thanks all! Here your thoughts about the URC. As for the highlights on the beams, I'll try to color clone some of the blown out parts :)

Registered on March 14, 2013, 100 Posts, 643 Comments

Comment posted by Roel Wijtmans on May 4, 2016 at 9:49 AM

Stunning photo! Must have been quite the experience in real life.

Registered on September 30, 2012, 116 Posts, 2257 Comments