Posted by TIMERNST on September 20, 2007 at 5:31 PM
I normally get up at 5am - often at 3 or 4 - and find the early morning to be the very best hours of the day no matter what the season. If you have done much serious nature photography you know what I am talking about. Even before I hauled a camera around I found the early hours to be the best - the quality of the light, sounds, aromas, and the sweetness of the air - I have never considered it a chore to be up before dawn. You simply see and experience things the sleeping world misses.
I drove to the far end of the mountain this morning to wait for the sun to rise above a sea of clouds, but when the appointed time came and went with me shrouded in fog I decided the sun was not going to arrive. While sitting there on the top edge of that wonderful bluff I found this little weed waving at me and decided he was worthy of a picture.
Posted by David Bush on September 20, 2007 at 9:00 PM
Tim,
Love the background and the simplicity of the composition!
David
Posted by Tom Kennon on September 20, 2007 at 10:11 PM
Tim, the background sunrise is great and you eye for the the simple but dramtic grass continues to amaze me.
Posted by TIMERNST on September 20, 2007 at 11:08 PM
While on a workshop in the middle of the Wyoming mountains back in the summer of 1980 with the executive editor of Audubon magazine (it was a writing workshop), I learned all about what a "fog factor" was, and that most good writers have a very low fog factor - meaning that if you write on a very low grade or reading level so that the majority of people can understand, then you write well. I think the sweet spot was to write at a grade level of 5th or 7th grade or something like that. I also discovered that my fog factor was and remains very low - mostly due to the fact that to write at any higher level would be well above my own educational level and understanding!
Anyway, I think photography is a lot like that too - keep it simple and you will be far ahead of the game. Sometimes that is by design, often it is out of necessity. I try to stay in the fog as much as I can...
Posted by Glenn Wheeler on September 21, 2007 at 9:01 AM
Hey Tim, great image, best in a while!
I totally agree with the simpler the better in most cases when it comes to photography. It's like the old adage "a painter starts with an empty canvas, what he adds to that canvas creates his art. A photographer starts with a full, busy canvas, what he eliminates from that canvas is what creates his art..."
Wheeler
www.glennwheeler.com
www.photoroadtrips.com
Posted by Wayne Rhodus on September 21, 2007 at 10:07 AM
Now don't go getting a big head or anything but .... THIS IS ART!
That rare occurance when tones, color and line are masterfully coordinated in a single frame.
This is what will keep me coming back, the type of vision I hope to achieve someday. Fantastic shot Tim!
Posted by Jason C. Doss on September 21, 2007 at 10:13 AM
That really is spectacular, even on my crappy monitor at work!
I wish I had the perspicacity to be up and about that early.
Posted by Bill Dark on September 21, 2007 at 11:43 AM
Beautiful, Tim! A great example of how the elements of dramatic light, clean background, and emotion set images like this apart from the rest. Truly exceptional work!
Posted by Rob Graham on September 21, 2007 at 1:19 PM
Simple but effective, well done Tim
Posted by TIMERNST on September 22, 2007 at 3:51 PM
I have been waiting for the master to tell me what this is and he finally did - Don Kurz says this is a Wild Rye and NOT a weed, so I have changed the post title. I just made a 34" x 44" canvas print of this, and as my daughter says, it is "sweet."
Posted by Glenn Wheeler on September 22, 2007 at 10:05 PM
I'm glad you changed the title, I first thought it had something to do with getting up early to harvest dope or something.....
Was out in your neck of the woods today with my class. Started at Hedges Pouroff and ran all over the country. Even ran into Randy Wilson out there shooting.
Posted by Marc Langille on September 23, 2007 at 12:19 PM
Tim,
Beautiful gradient of color and simplicity. Excellent image!!
Cheers,
Marc
Posted by Randy Wilson on September 26, 2007 at 12:41 PM
Yeah, I was glad to meet you and your class that Saturday morning, Glenn. I've never seen anything like that droopy lens that one fellow had.
I looked around for this particular wild rye stalk at the edge of the bluff, Tim, but I didn't have any luck. Guess I wasn't early enough.
Posted by TIMERNST on September 26, 2007 at 5:44 PM
Randy:
The stalk was still there a couple of days ago, plus there were a couple more nearby - I had to get down pretty low to clear out the background (and shot some with a background that I did not like as well). They seem to like growing right near the edge of bluffs like this - the view is better from there!
Discussion
13 repliesI drove to the far end of the mountain this morning to wait for the sun to rise above a sea of clouds, but when the appointed time came and went with me shrouded in fog I decided the sun was not going to arrive. While sitting there on the top edge of that wonderful bluff I found this little weed waving at me and decided he was worthy of a picture.
Love the background and the simplicity of the composition!
David
Anyway, I think photography is a lot like that too - keep it simple and you will be far ahead of the game. Sometimes that is by design, often it is out of necessity. I try to stay in the fog as much as I can...
I totally agree with the simpler the better in most cases when it comes to photography. It's like the old adage "a painter starts with an empty canvas, what he adds to that canvas creates his art. A photographer starts with a full, busy canvas, what he eliminates from that canvas is what creates his art..."
Wheeler
www.glennwheeler.com
www.photoroadtrips.com
That rare occurance when tones, color and line are masterfully coordinated in a single frame.
This is what will keep me coming back, the type of vision I hope to achieve someday. Fantastic shot Tim!
I wish I had the perspicacity to be up and about that early.
Was out in your neck of the woods today with my class. Started at Hedges Pouroff and ran all over the country. Even ran into Randy Wilson out there shooting.
Beautiful gradient of color and simplicity. Excellent image!!
Cheers,
Marc
I looked around for this particular wild rye stalk at the edge of the bluff, Tim, but I didn't have any luck. Guess I wasn't early enough.
The stalk was still there a couple of days ago, plus there were a couple more nearby - I had to get down pretty low to clear out the background (and shot some with a background that I did not like as well). They seem to like growing right near the edge of bluffs like this - the view is better from there!