Along the Catherine Creek trail on the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge.
The color original was not bad, but I was seeing the composition in monochrome all along. This section of the trail is visually busy. Lots of oaks, rock, grasses etc. The monochrome conversion let the shapes of the trees and the collapsing corral stand out.
I had taken a series from the same vantage point with the intent of working in HDR with Photomatix, but I liked this result from a single frame better. A lot to learn there, for certain!
1/4 second @ f/22, polarizer. ISO 100, tripod mounted. Developed from RAW and then adjusted for monochrome in Photoshop. (I should have taken the polarizer off… it functioned solely as an ND filter in this case, and was unneeded.)
Andrea, stalking wild fern fronds. Just an educated guess, but I think I see the purchase of a “real” macro lens in her future.
2 comments:
Wow, wow, wow! I love the monochrome treatment you've applied to that shot. I tossed most of what I took in that area, because it was either too predictable, or too busy, but this gave it a great feel, which is surprisingly accurate. And I really like how you can really see the twisty branches and how everything just pops! Really nice, Scott.
Your guess about a real macro lens in my future is hardly premonitory. You know it's coming!
Thanks for the comment!
I spent a little more time with it after posting this and optimized the file for printing. I'll reserve final judgement until I can see it in better light, but my first impression made me very happy with it.
The color original really hid the details in the branches. Not that they didn't show, but the colors distracted the eye from the shapes. Even as muted as the colors were, they still cluttered things up.
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