It's been a long time since I've been able to get out of town and do a bit of camping with photography. Fortunately, I was able to head out Sunday afternoon for a couple of nights.
I spent some time prowling the Columbia Hills and High Prairie on the Washington side of the Columbia River. The flowers are still hanging on, a bit past peak in the Hills, but just reaching prime on the Prairie. Unfortunately, both the light and the wind were rotten and I took no photos from there.
The flowers are doing well in the gorge. The annual displays lining the eastern gorge walls and ponds are peaking, and very good this year. The gorge rivers and streams are running very strong and greening nicely. I'll have some photos to post as I work my way through them.
Meanwhile, here's a different sort of shot. Since a wave at Cape Kiwanda took out my mid-range zoom last year, I've only had my wide-zoom and 50mm prime to work with. I've been pining for a longer reach for awhile now, but am still budget limited pending the girls finishing college. My good friend Larry Hiday also happens to have a D80, and he was willing to let me borrow his 70-300 over the weekend. I had a lot of fun playing with shots normally unavailable to me.
This is an example. I took this photo from the trail to Ponytail Falls, looking down on the trees below. When I first saw this view, and while setting up, the overcast lighting and calm conditions led to a low-contrast, almost silvery scene. The pristine reflections created almost an optical illusion. Everything set up, I turned to grab my shutter release from the bag and felt a rain drop. I whirled and fired off this shot. Alas, too late. As you can see the rain drops are visible and the finer branch reflections have lost their clarity.
Wow thats different, I like it! Love the light and how it play thru the trees a really nice effect. Glad you had a chance to get out and do what you enjoy and do so well. Great image!
Still a fine, fine shot, John. The loss of detail in the tiniest branches in the reflection add an artistic appeal for me. And I like how the raindrop splashes show up.
This is fantastic, John. I'm trying to imagine what it would look like without the raindrops and mottled reflection, and in my mind what you have here is a stronger image. The softer reflection works better with the abstract imagery than a very literal and perfectly crisp reflection, imo. It also provides a rest for the eyes as you move through the scene. I'm wondering if perfect reflections would be too much detail, too busy...
Great comp - I like that the image is anchored at the top, as opposed to the bottom; uncommon and very interesting. The silvery palette is also unusual, and also very interesting.
I know these trees well and have tried many times in all seasons to do something with them, and haven't come close to anything this original and compelling. Great work.
Still a very nice shot. Somewhere between abstract and the crisp landscapes we're used to seeing from you and the tones have a metallic quality that I like.
It would have been nice to have the shot you envisioned as a comparison but mother nature can be a cruel mistress and in pursuing our passions we are foced to court her.
Posted by Scott Smorra on June 29, 2011 at 2:51 PM
This is a very interesting image John. IMO the rain drops work perfectly in this scene, since they help to slightly blur the reflections. I really like the color palette as well. Well done!
Discussion
9 repliesI spent some time prowling the Columbia Hills and High Prairie on the Washington side of the Columbia River. The flowers are still hanging on, a bit past peak in the Hills, but just reaching prime on the Prairie. Unfortunately, both the light and the wind were rotten and I took no photos from there.
The flowers are doing well in the gorge. The annual displays lining the eastern gorge walls and ponds are peaking, and very good this year. The gorge rivers and streams are running very strong and greening nicely. I'll have some photos to post as I work my way through them.
Meanwhile, here's a different sort of shot. Since a wave at Cape Kiwanda took out my mid-range zoom last year, I've only had my wide-zoom and 50mm prime to work with. I've been pining for a longer reach for awhile now, but am still budget limited pending the girls finishing college. My good friend Larry Hiday also happens to have a D80, and he was willing to let me borrow his 70-300 over the weekend. I had a lot of fun playing with shots normally unavailable to me.
This is an example. I took this photo from the trail to Ponytail Falls, looking down on the trees below. When I first saw this view, and while setting up, the overcast lighting and calm conditions led to a low-contrast, almost silvery scene. The pristine reflections created almost an optical illusion. Everything set up, I turned to grab my shutter release from the bag and felt a rain drop.
JG
Great comp - I like that the image is anchored at the top, as opposed to the bottom; uncommon and very interesting. The silvery palette is also unusual, and also very interesting.
I know these trees well and have tried many times in all seasons to do something with them, and haven't come close to anything this original and compelling. Great work.
It would have been nice to have the shot you envisioned as a comparison but mother nature can be a cruel mistress and in pursuing our passions we are foced to court her.