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Surfactant refraction

Gallery: Weekly ChallengePosted December 18, 201725,022 views11 comments

The combination of clay soil and lots of decaying leaves here in Maryland creates a natural surfactant. In this case an ephemeral wetland area in a local wildlife sanctuary showed some amazing colors in the winter sunshine. Finding an area showing good colors and little or no blocking or interfering growth proved quite a challenge. For this view, I only had to clone out one small branch that stuck about 1/4th of the way into the frame. This is the first posting of this view, but it is a favorite because of the somewhat unusual circumstances that it takes to create this much surfactant. (5D3, 70-200 f2.8 @ 153 mm, f/11, 1/80 s, iso 200, tripod)

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Paul Breitkreuz on December 18, 2017 at 11:21 AM

Mark, a really neat find here. I like the variety of colors in the “surfactant”? I can’t say I’ve ever heard this term before, but have seen a few similar posts with this naturally occurring phenomenon. The reflective overhead light makes it seem even a bit creepier like the black lagoon so to speak...... frown

Did you take any with a polarizer to see how those looked?.....just curious on the effect there..... enlightened

Registered on February 25, 2006, 525 Posts, 8448 Comments

Comment posted by Norma Tareila Matl on December 18, 2017 at 12:07 PM

Mark, what a magnificent natural creation of color and textures and light at just the right moment in time. The way the light moves down vertically adds to the interesting composition. We are so lucky to have cameras as tools to capture such reality. This is one of my favorites too.... great one! I would have thought an oil slick. Amazing how nature can trick us, nice visual.

Registered on October 27, 2016, 229 Posts, 393 Comments

Comment posted by Kathy Barnhart on December 18, 2017 at 1:39 PM

I love the tree shadows adding another layer of complexity to this one. The colors and swirls are wonderful, and the framing on the top works well. I can foresee some other wonderful abstracts from this pond, especially in the lower right corner.

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

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on December 19, 2017 at 9:53 AM

Paul, while I don't remember if this used a polarizer, my expectation is that the suppression of reflections that a polarizer does so well would probably reduce the colors significantly. We'll see if this reappears in the next couple of months, then I can be sure about the polarizer's performance. Right now, we're very dry so there's no water at this location.

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

Comment posted by Paul Breitkreuz on December 19, 2017 at 11:34 AM

Right now, we're very dry so there's no water at this location.......

Mark, understood about the polarizer usage. I'm thinking the same on the color reduction as well as any glare. As stated, I thought the glare actually adds to this scene wth a bit more creepy factor. Meaning a good thing...... sad

btw: if you want to see REALLY dry, come to So Cal sometime. We've not had one drop of rain this year so far....... cheeky

Registered on February 25, 2006, 525 Posts, 8448 Comments

Comment posted by David Schoen on December 19, 2017 at 6:08 PM

Wonderfully abstract and diffractive. Pretty amazing that you could find and see this. Reminds me of images people find an oil slick's. Well seen and put together. Oh yes I noted that Norma had the same idea after I made my comment.

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

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on December 22, 2017 at 11:09 AM

I like the way the reflected trees add a layer to the cool patterns and colours. I would be tempted to clone out some of that debris in the right bottom corner.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on December 22, 2017 at 4:45 PM

A very cool image, Mark. The colors are awesome.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on December 30, 2017 at 10:51 PM

Never saw anything like this, Mark. A very interesting, colorful and unique image. I especially like the swirling, zig-zag pattern in the foreground.

Have a great 2018!