Geyser abstract black & white

I'm fascinated by scale in nature photography. We perceive the dimensions in landscape based on many visual cues, and in the absence of such cues can often struggle to discern what exactly we're looking at.

This is a less often recorded aspect of a well-photographed site in Yellowstone National Park - Grand Prismatic Spring, which is usually photographed in completely ott vivid colour.

I've chosen to ignore the violent colouration of the springs at frame top and instead concentrated on the rather drab layers of mineral deposit that have gradually formed surrounding the spring, which incidentally is the largest hot spring in the USA and third largest in the world.

The area recorded is perhaps 50-80 metres from front to back, but with few objects to provide scale it could be tiny, or much larger.


1DsMk2, 300 f2.8, 1/200 @ f9, ISO 125
Contrast upped in ACR, changed to greyscale, and contrast again increased in PS, with a slight tweak of levels and all that stuff.

Yea, John,

Abstraction and scale are really powerful tools. I see cracked earth, the veins on a butterfly or a tree's bark all within that image, each at varying scales.

Was the scale-thing your motivation for photographing the springs?

Chris

Absolutely amazing. Well done.

Edwin Kats

Chris - we'd climbed a hill to overlook the spring, and it was very impressive but I was more taken with the layering effect, and there were a couple of dead trees that have been inundated by the spring's mineral deposits but try as I might I could not get them to 'work' as I wanted. My intention was to juxtapose and contrast a tree or tree section which would be very straight and angular - against the myriad convoluted lines of mineral accretion but I just could not get anything that looked right. Its very easy to get 'sucked in' by the colours of the spring - see here:

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/fieldtrips/2007/explorations/grand_prismatic/index.html

for an image of the neon effect! The area I've photographed is to the lower right of the frame shown above.

The colours are usually really overpowering and its great to see it done so well and in black and white,very brave! You have a great eye for different shots John!

Craig
www.craigchurchill.co.uk

I have a similar shot in colour although looks nice in B&W too. I think it works with just the browny colour on its own too without the ott colour.

Ian

Great shot. You can imagine everything if you're looking at it.
It gives you absolutely no idea of size. Great.

I like this work and wonder what it wold have looked like taken with an extreme WA. The B&W does bring out the super detail and geometry. I can only repeat others by saying I would never have guessed where it was taken or how except for the description and that's thinking outside the box... Well observed and executed.

Brett

I do like this, would look great on any wall.

Very well seen and taken, the idea has worked brilliantly.

Very beautiful abstract John - you've done a fantastic job of reducing the elements down to what is fundament to make image work . I've returned to this several times trying to sum up what I feel about it; this time I'm just enjoying it for what it is - guess that is the point! More please.

Cheers,
Chris

Absolutely love this and the explanation of your approach.

Regards

JohnS