Cloud diving

Impressive and stunning, I like the way the the motion of trampolin jumping was not only captured, but also transformed into something that stands on its own and transports a feeling of soaring hign into the sky. It wouldn't hurt if the horizon was level. Technical question: Was this straight desaturation or did you use the channel mixer (or something similar) to achieve the look of B&W film with a red filter?

This is a pretty phenomenal photo. When I saw the thumbnail, it reminded me of a shot from the bottom of a deep swimming pool looking up at a swimmer, and I assumed someone had overlaid the human silhouette on the sky in Photoshop to put a neat twist on that idea. When I realized that this was a straight photo, and how you did it, I was even more impressed.

Nope....no digital trickery. The only manipulation done was using channel mixer with just the default red channel in play. Even that's really a bit too much since the blue sky on the left is getting a bit too artificially dark. Otherwise, the image is as it would look if it were printed straight on a high contrast grade B/W paper like Panalure.

 

Looks really nice on a Epson Heavy Weight Matte. I'll probably get a commercial scan done and make a nice textured Epson print at 16x20. A conventional print would be pointless since nobody does straight B/W that good any more.

Cool shot, Scott! Great idea.

Brilliant. Brilliant photograph. Perfect. In fact its lopsided horizon pushes it a little way off perfect in a way that makes it a better photograph. It ends up feeling more genuine, and more like a real day than one constructed for a photograph.

 

 

Assuming that the proper conditions again present themselves, you might consider creating an alternate version, this time utilizing an electronic flash to illuminate the subject when caught at the midflight of her jump. I, for one, would have liked to see the expression on her face while she is jumping.

Puh-leeeeeeeeeze give me a break on the flash comment. Maybe drag the shutter a bit with the flash as well??????

NOT seeing her face is what makes this one very interesting. Believe it or not, it's OK to not see every little detail. A little mystery every now & then is good.

Scott, I revisit this photo from time to time. It's by far my favorite photo on photo.net. I even remember the amazing sky in West Mich the day you shot this....

The silhouette gives an ethereal feel....like it's not a real person, but more like a floating spirit or soul being drawn towards the heavens. This gives it a peaceful feel.

Very nice. This works on my mind and senses in so many ways. After making a guess that she is facing us I have to wonder if she is going up or down or just floating on the late afternoon breeze. Could it really be true that photography is not dead yet? This is nearly perfect in it's simple telling of the joy of youth and family. Do you remember the almost perfect country-western song where the only things missing were Mama, a train, and a hound dog? I think the only thing missing here is an elephant, tilt-a-wirl and a bearded lady.

Very nice shot Scott. I love the silohuette hanging in space against the puffy cloud textures. Very surreal to say the least.

If it was me I'd crop out the powerlines on bottom.

I think they detract a tad from a fine capture. Well done!

I like this, I like it quite a bit; the silhouette works as an abstraction and the sharpness works. Seems like BW is really the right choice here.

Another good one Scott. I read the comments - I assumed it was Photoshopped:-) Cool that it was done straight (as Avril Lavigne says "Why does everything have to be so complicated?") And I think the silhouette would probably be stronger than the fill flash subjected above (Laura observed it looks like a spirit) - seeing the person might bring it down to our mundane level.

excellent piece of work, Scott! it's like the person is just floating up there - the background (i.e. the clouds) contributes a lot of course to make this shot as good as it is.

 

another thing which is indeed very good is that this shot stands out from the crowd, -very different from most of the photographs we see every day! cool!

 

Oistein (www.captureoflight.com)

7/7

Agree with all comments.. Excellent !

What I like about this shot Scott (which is probably the best one of yours on this site), are these points:

 

1) The cloud pattern acts as a great background and is in focus

2) The person jumping appears to be facing directly towards the camera. The movement of their arms and legs adds a pleasing element to the composition

3) The detail in the hair. The shutter was fast enough to freeze it.

4) The placement of the figure - they are just below the centre of the frame.

 

It's one of those moments when everything comes together. And yes, I wouldn't have used flash to bring out details in the subject. Sometimes it's nice to leave the viewer guessing. It also adds an element of mystery to the shot.

 

Lovely.

Very nice shot. Beautiful sky and silouhette.