Here's another "different" image, taken this past fall. For those who don't know, "kettles" are depressions or holes eroded into stone by moving water. The state park in which this was photographed, contains a protected portion of the Kettle River, named for these eroded sandstone formations. This particular kettle is quite large, and is probably around 12 feet deep; it's easily large enough to stand in along with a camera and tripod. There was a small opening along the river bank that I crawled through during low water, in order to gain access to the interior of this kettle. I was drawn to the swirling lines created in the sandstone, and pointed my view camera upwards to give a sense of being surrounded by the stone.
Technically, this shot was actually quite difficult with film. Two separate negatives, exposed 5 stops apart, were required to capture the extremely wide dynamic range. The negatives were then scanned and combined in PS. Alining them perfectly was a pain, but I got it. A bit of tweaking is still required, but I'm getting pretty happy with the result. Thanks for looking.
Posted by Chuck Beatty on April 20, 2008 at 8:32 PM
This is a very cool perspective, Joel. The composition and flow are excellent. Your work on this image really paid off.
I've seen kettles like these at a park in southern Ontario (Warsaw) where large volumes of glacial meltwater cut through soft limestone and formed extensive caves. The kettles aren't quite as deep as yours, but they show similar swirling features.
Excellent composition, excellent technique Joel - and, I'll throw in a bit of jealousy, too! ;)
Tim!
Posted by Ken Bachofer on April 21, 2008 at 10:01 PM
Fantastic shot - and a great way to show what a kettle is. I always enjoyed exploring the kettles at Banning but never thought to try a shot like this. Awsome.
Posted by Mitch Erwin on April 22, 2008 at 2:51 PM
Whoa, Joel ! What a unique view. The ringed pattern looking up really draw you to the opening and the fern leaves coming out of the cracks really add to this. Very unique and nice image!
Posted by Bernie Kasper on April 22, 2008 at 4:13 PM
Wonderful perspective and view Joel, great job in keeping your detail in the wall of the opening I would have lost all that detail for sure
Discussion
8 repliesTechnically, this shot was actually quite difficult with film. Two separate negatives, exposed 5 stops apart, were required to capture the extremely wide dynamic range. The negatives were then scanned and combined in PS. Alining them perfectly was a pain, but I got it. A bit of tweaking is still required, but I'm getting pretty happy with the result. Thanks for looking.
Tech Stuff: Tachihara 4x5, Fuji 90mm @ f32, 2 exposures on Fuji 160s, Polarizer
I've seen kettles like these at a park in southern Ontario (Warsaw) where large volumes of glacial meltwater cut through soft limestone and formed extensive caves. The kettles aren't quite as deep as yours, but they show similar swirling features.
Tim!
Tim, no need for jealousy