The Bend

It's been a while since I posted an image. This one is from a recent trip to SE Oregon where my focus was mostly on monotone. Any feedback is appreciated.

1Ds Mark III, 16-35 at 16mm, 3-stop GND, 1/10 second at f/13.

Another great image Marc! Still love the one you took last year there that I think you posted as one of your favs of 2007. That one is hard to beat or forget.

I have been thinking for a while of going here in April. Can you see any reason mid April would not be a good time to go to SE OR to visit this area. I realize the playa may have some water from snow melt but even though is there not some good comps that can be had? I have about 5-6 days I am going to do for road-trip then and have not seen this area yet.

Adrian, the playas change so much from time to time, day to day, it's really hard to say about the comps or the water levels. If it warms up a lot, you can bet it will get wet quickly with all the snowmelt. Sometimes the shoreline can move half a mile in a day! There is far more to see in SE Oregon too though. Hart Mountain and the Owyhee are excellent locations.

Thanks Marc, great info. Unless something changes looks like I will head south for about a week in April!

This is the kind of landscape photography that I really like, Marc. On this particular one I keep feeling that I want to see a bit more left and bottom.
I have to get out there soon. I spent too much time in Utah last year, I need to explore Oregon more.

Thanks Mark. I did originally have more at left and bottom but made a crop because that dark, wet patch at the bottom just kept on going to the point of minor distraction, and the bend ended abruptly at left in a deep, narrow channel which I also found slightly distracting.

Oregon has way more diversity than Utah. It's an amazing place to explore.

I figured you had good reason to frame the photo the way you did.

Keep me in mind in May and June, I'd like to take a week off and photo.

Super image Marc.
What's great: The tonal range, the hugely interesting FG, the sky, and the way your eye inhales the whole FG then gets led nicely right to the horizon. Not trying to sound artsy, but great comp. But the tones... man, that 1Ds and your PS conversion skills are spot on. This is like Ansel.
What's not: still looking, not finding anything.
OK, maybe one light swipe with the dodge tool across the mountain range... I just kind of ache to see a hair more detail. Anyway, this one's a keeper, big time.

This sure is a killer place.. every time I look at the Oregon maps I think I should get down there... I will have to eventually... Love the B&W treatment on this, Marc - it really makes the image for me....

Superb image, Marc. The foreground is amazing - textures, sweeping curves, eye-catching patterns and great tones. I've been planning a trip here for a while and will be heading off soon. I can't wait - looks like a fascinating landscape.

If I were to experiment with anything, it would be trying to get greater contrast in select areas of the foreground. The highest values in the playa cracks feel very mid-tonish; some successive swipes of dodging and burning could create some separation and enhance the detail there.

The upper portion feels a bit dark - I know it's a common quality in your images, but the upper 1/3, and particularly the upper left, might benefit from a moderate amount of dodging. Or, alternatively, burn in the right side a little to push the eye back into the frame.

Great shot Marc. The sky and mountains are your typical excellent, but what I really like is the broad sweeping curve of the water, heading toward a nautilus-shape. My thoughts would be to compose or crop to remove just a bit off the right to balance the photo a bit more, shaving just a bit of the sky if you wanted to keep the same format (probably the same feeling Mark noted about showing more of the left and bottom), and to agree with Rick about opening up the left side of the mountain just a tad.

I was just talking to Jeremy about this area last week. I think you should leave the mountain the way it is. I think you have some great subject matter here, but the mud that runneth over kills the comp.