Flowered Forest & Repost

Gallery: LandscapePosted June 29, 20175,258 views14 comments

Large Version Recommended

I caught the early portion of rhododendron blooms in the northern CA redwoods. Seems the flowers were unusually late this year, so difficult to find nice blooms. Matching them with fog and lighting also a challenge with limited time in the area. Moving fast when the light presented for this comp. The original was a horizontal comp, as the lighting and trees to the right were very nice, but I thought a 4 x5 crop would better highlight the flowers in this case.

D810, ISO 500, f8, 1/60 sec., 24-120mm, hand-held

As an aside, had to get a new laptop, much higher res. than my old one and had some challenges run CS6 on it, so wondering if colors, resolution look ok. I realize others may be viewing on lower res monitors, so wondering how it translates.

Comments

14 comments

Comment posted by Aaron Feinberg on June 29, 2017 at 7:02 PM

Some pretty great light and fog there! Personally pref but maybe a bit too bright. Bummer on the flowers as a full bloom here would have been off the charts. Still a lovely photo though!

aF

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

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on June 29, 2017 at 7:30 PM

Definitely see your point, would make it a bit more mysterious. Lot easier to darken than try to bring up the shadows.

Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments

Comment posted by Don Young on June 29, 2017 at 8:07 PM

Harry, this looks good to me! Maybe a bit bright in the upper right corner, but very good considering the lighting situation.

Registered on April 23, 2015, 56 Posts, 224 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Lowe on June 29, 2017 at 8:57 PM

The colors look spot on and the large version is a real treat, Harry. My only suggestion would be to reduce the overall brightness just a bit. I love the mood with the light fog and rays.

Ed

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

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on June 29, 2017 at 9:03 PM

Here is a slightly darker version.

Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on June 30, 2017 at 6:48 AM

I think the second version is the ticket, Harry. Beautiful image. The second eliminates the bits of harsh light in the first, and gives a softer overall look that is better for the subject and mood. However, I am viewing this on a contrasty Imac monitor which does influence my opinion.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by gary phillips on June 30, 2017 at 9:28 PM

Nice Harry. I think the repost is the ticket and I might even take it down another notch or two. Flowers or no flowers, still a sweet image.

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

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on June 30, 2017 at 10:16 PM

Looks like you were up to the challenge, Harry. That's some really nice light even if the flowers weren't performing all that well.

Just saw the tighter crop and like it better for sure.

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

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on July 1, 2017 at 8:20 AM

(Clicking on image will give a larger view) I figured I would post the full, uncropped version as well for comparison.

Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments

Comment posted by Kathy Barnhart on July 2, 2017 at 12:26 PM

Harry,
These are all lovely and I find myself preferring the second and third options, even though the horizontal comp doesn't show off the pink blossoms much, but it does show the redwood forest better. One nit is that the fog appears pretty blue, making it look a little like smoke to my eye. I would play with that a little if it were mine. Maybe as a Californian I have seen too many wildfires in the past and it doesn't seem to bother others. Just a thought, because everything else is wonderful.

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

Comment posted by Michael Lowe on July 3, 2017 at 12:24 PM

Even with the lack of blooms, this is an exceptional image. On my laptop the light has a really blue look to it that I kinda like, but on my new Dell calibrated monitor it's more natural looking. The processing and sharpening looks great.

Registered on February 11, 2004, 777 Posts, 5252 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on July 3, 2017 at 1:58 PM

Thanks Michael. Good to know about the processing and color cast. The fog looks ever so slightly blue on my monitor so it sounds like calibration Â working properly Â on my end.

Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments

Comment posted by Sairam Sundaresan on July 4, 2017 at 8:40 PM

The second version works best for me. The right amount of darkness, the light illuminating the blooms and overall very nice harmony!

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

Comment posted by Peter Richter on July 10, 2017 at 3:55 PM

Harry, your first version gives me an immediate sense of this incredible light. The brighter processing still accentuates it in my opinion.

Congrats on the EP!

Peter

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