Smith Rock

On my way to attempt to shoot other things yesterday, I happened to be near Smith Rock State Park at sunset and figured what the heck. I drove over for my first photo-only trip to the famous climber hang-out and tried to render a photo of it that captured the beauty of the surrounding landscape. It's not my strongest image, but it's been lean times for NW photography lately and I'm glad I made the stop. What do you all think?

Hudon and I were out and about yesterday and we talked about headin there for some photography, but decided against the trek. Now I wish we did hit this.

I think the comp works, although it appears to have a ccw tilt to it (might be just me). I know how diffcult a comp from this ledge/area can be. You want to include the river and some interesting fg, but it almost seems as if every angle cuts off some or most of the river.
Also, I wish it was a little lighter too. It is a nice photo with lots of detail.

One of the better Smith Rock comps I've seen. It's a difficult place to get something that feels complete. It does seem to have a tilt to me, but it might be an optical illusion because the rock looks to be pretty straight.

Looks good from here . I like the soft light on the rock and also the lone cloud above.

Definitely would like to see a bit more of the river, but I'm sure such viewpoints would have entailed some form of hazard. This clearly depicts that you also get flat light from time to time; your consistent displays of wild and colorful skies can be a bit misleading. It's a pleasing shot for what it is; though I'm not jiving with the foreground rock all that much.

Looks a little too dark to my eyes - needs a little more pop in the rock itself. Needs about a 1 - 1.5 degree CW rotation too. I too would have liked to see more of the river, but this angle does work well enough. Like you said, not your strongest, but I wouldn't classify this as recycle bin content by a long shot.

Definitely a nice classic near/far composition. I love the soft light and color, but I think I agree with Trever that the river seems to be hiding a bit. I also like the nice smooth clouds.

Great photograph!,

Khristian

Looks like very workable light, and great elements to play with, but the composition feels a little disjointed to me. Strengths are the warm light on Smith Rock, the reflected sky in the river on the right, and the golden grasses on the bank. The foreground rock has interest - and I like the effect it has of putting me right there in the scene - but I wish that it wasn't cutting off the river and making contact with the far bank.

It's a pleasing image and looks like a great way to spend the evening.

I have to laugh at myself sometimes. When I first looked at this image, the only thing I noticed was that maybe it was tipped a little. Other than that, I thought it was another great image from Marc...and I still do think it's a great image. What I don't see very often is the little details that others pick up...river hiding, minor other things. I'm gradually learning to see these details and it helps to hear other comments. Overall, I think this is a very nice image and I'd like to have it on my wall. One other comment Marc..I was unable to get the Timecatcher link to work..not sure if it is just me or not.

Jack

It's a nice shot but it does seem to be missing something. Maybe it's the river that others have referred to. Colors and sharpness are spot on as usual.

You have to laugh a little at yourself for this one, Marc. It's like, this is what Adamus shoots when he's had a bit too much to drink or something. The tilt, the river going in, out and in and out and in and out again.
It has the usual Adamus qualities but it's a bit puzzling at the same time.

It's interesting for me to see that many of you percieve a tilt here. I can see why - the higher hills on the right and lower vanishing point for the river on the left, but it is actually strait.

Erik - what it's missing is a huge clump of wildflowers in the foreground, brighter light on the peak, a rainbow, the moon, some grazing Elk and maybe Mark Hudon up on one of those rocks. Didn't happen though. Darn.

John - All links from this website have been working very sporadicly for days now. I have no idea why.

Marc, usually I am really quite taken by your work. This one truly is not doing it for me. The composition has all the elements of a good composition, but there is too much chopped off for my tastes. Unusual to see in your work. As for being crooked...look at the trees at the left either they are growing about 2.8 degrees crooked or your tripod level is off.

My wife even grew up just south of there and has walked it most of her young life with her grandmother before climbing was a sport there....and she turned me on to it quite some time ago. I find it quite a magical place. Like a bit of Arizona cropped up in the middle of Oregon.

I look forward to seeing more work from you from this awesome area!

Roman

Marc--with your permission i will post a quick PS correction that i just did using a screenshot--i promise you will find it markedly improved

Well, to be honest, there isn't enough light in the scene to really make this more than just a nice shot - which is total par for me, but usually we hold you to higher expectations (which probably isn't all that fair.) I very much miss seeing the river in the center of the photo and I see a tilt in the frame.... Not much rain this coming week.... I hope you can safely get out there and find some unique scenes.

One of the better images of Smith I have seen. It's difficult to get a compelling foreground in that country, and so I would rather have just had the unobstructed view of the the river. But the light is still nice.

Hi Marc, I would have to agree with most comments above. A couple things, overall scene brightness seems a little dull and flat. Emphasis on the foreground and wide angle makes Smith Rock seem small in scale. What's stricks me about that area when standing on the ridge is the 'bowl effect created by the winding river and canyon, as well as the jagged rock textured rock which is so cool I feel all that is not experienced in this comp. Personally would've chosen a different point of view and shot landscape with more emphasis on Smith Rock. That being said, a great "what the heck" shot.

Interesting tension between the straight rock and the tilted trees, or is it vice versa? Something to work with anyway. You have definitely found a good location though. I'm not clear on why you sliced up the crooked river the way you did. I am sure much would be revealed by a horizontal version of this scene.

I see an Adamus sky, but the image overall doesn't have the Adamus magic that I usually feel from your work. I think it has a lot to do with the lens distortion in the lower left, and the foreground just isn't adding anything to the image IMHO.

Repost by Stan Rose.

Thats one of my all time favs of yours--how much do you want for a print? Unfortunately, due to web compression, you cant make out Mark Hudon on the cliff--but i assure you he's there!

The repost is better IMHO. I like how you've brought out the moon and the rainbow, and adding a little more pop was definitely in order for the picture overall. The change in perspective to include the flowers adds color to the foreground, and the moose is a wonderf... well it.. uhm, I... the uh, ...What the heck is fauna doing in an Adamus photo?


ROFL ! Well done.

I'm still laughing...

ROFL! I guess that takes care of the "magic" issue!

Stan's amazing repost notwithstanding, I think what's going on here is pretty simple. For the past few years you've been feeding us juicy ribeye steaks, and you just snuck a big ol' pasty slab of tofu onto our plate. That much is obvious. What I find a little troubling is how many people are uncomfortable with the nature of the river in the shot. Sometimes the hint of an element is enough to represent that element as a whole, and I think that happens in this shot. As for the perceived tilt and trees leaning one way or another, chalk the latter up to the use of a wide-angle lens, in this case probably a 17mm. But since the perception of tilt is so strong, and since perception is often mistaken for reality, I think it needs to be altered so that the viewer perceives it to be closer to level.

Todd, you are probably right, but this monolith may actually have a natural tilt. I'm curious now. The magical version still looks tilted, so it must be so.

I see you found candy mountain! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdKPLDYKdWU

I don't know... maybe spllt the differences.

I am still laughing too!

I have never seen those wonderful flowers or moose at Smith Rock, maybe next time.