sphoto

I love the duotone effect. I don't know what the reflected candle is supposed to mean though! What I love about this image besides its delicious colors and lighting is the scene- it could authentically be something we would see in the 1700's or 1800's. Ken have you been travelling in time?? Can you get me my hair back??

I like the shadows on the wood, the highlight the cold linearity of the wood, while showcasing the irregularity of the skull. That's one happy Longhorn! Maybe a bit more poignant with his other horn in and a horny nose? :)

Nice information about layering and dodging... Its like they say, altering the photons with a ND gradient filter is superior to altering the pixels after the fact- that being said this is a 7/7 masterpiece!!

Texas Sized Birthday wishes to you Ken! I know Im late... I like this shot, its got the above and below- pink and purple, clear sky. Must have been patient that night? thats the one thing I hate about California- no thunderstorms! Id give this a higher rating for looks if that darn chimney was out of the way...or perhaps if it was lined with perfectly lit eggs with sticks for arms? :)

Yes of course! Thats my next step. I finally bought a compact 5 megapixel point and shoot, which in my opinion is a great camera that will last years for snapshots, travelling and general purpose pictures. To compliment that Id like to get a Canon EOS-1Ds Digital SLR with a great lens and some filters including a ND gradient... but of course buying a camera the cost of a small automobile will take many months more of saving! :)

 

On a sidenote, this was one of my first pictures I ever took, photographically speaking. I was in the right place at the right time for the lighting, but Im certain this same shot has been taken hundreds of times before- it was taken from the heavily touristed Spider Rock overlook! :)

Yes I didn't make it that far into the narrows that day, but the further I went the more magical it became. As far as this shot is concerned, I thought at the time it was totally original and illustrious. Then I saw this identical spot in the narrows, but with better colors and clarity(taken on a medium format with heavy tripod instead of a digital with flimsy tripod) on either Photo.net or another site! How sad. I guess thats the drawbacks of landscapes, a majority of the time no matter how good a picture looks someone else has most likely already shot the same scene.

Thanks for your comments!

Wonderfully warm, brilliant colors. You can almost feel the chill in the blue water! I dont know how you can get away with this though. Its fantastic, the balance of light: the sun, sand, waves and rocks. It just makes you want to be there! Except, if I was there trying to take this picture, Id have a really tough time balancing the lighting- taking 2 shots to piece together, fooling with the settings, framing the shot while your feet and/or equipment get soaked, patiently waiting for things to recede and come in again...

 

Nice Work!

Yeah its not a flexible digital by any stretch. My Nikon 5700 goes much higher on the F/stops. I love it because it does have full manual settings so I can get away with pictures like this, a 2 inch rotating screen for flexibility, and most of all its small- fits in any pocket! I cant wait 10 years from now, when there will be a 15 megapixel camera the size of a small remote control- with full manual settings, quality optics, almost unlimited memory and incredible battery life. For now, I have to settle with the Canon A95... :)

Thanks so much Leigh! Means a hell of a lot coming from one of my Top 5 photo.net photographers.

 

I thought about cropping, but felt it would give the image more of an abstract feel instead of a landscape feel. Ideally I wanted a rock climber perched on the rock ledge on the right! With or without the climber, I felt the rocks provided some perspective on how large these falls actually are. Believe it or not, but this image actually captures a 400-500 foot section of the falls...

 

Thanks Leigh!

Thanks! I know I know Ken... you always say "Make it smaller so it will fit on my screen!" :) I feel like the top third gives the viewer more of a sense of the redwood trunks in the forest, even though I know the focus is on the fallen log and the creek.

 

If you press F-11 on your keyboard it lets you browse full screen!

This new point and shoot Canon I have only allows the f-stop up to f8 in manual. So at f8 I shot it at 1 Sec, .8 sec, .6 sec, .5 sec and 1/4 sec. Everything above .5 made the falls overexposed, and any less didnt create enough of a time lapse. I wish I had a darker ND filter to affix to the lens, then I could have made the shutter time longer I think.

 

I shot this at f/8, .5 second exposure.

 

I forgot a tripod, so this was taken with the camera lodged between some roots in a tree. That limited my composition some. I had to press the button, let it go and hope the camera settles itself before the auto focus finishes and the shutter opens! A tried and true technique for the camera gear weary amateur... :)

Not for rating? You're crazy. Im rating this picture, it has it all. Color, Composition, Clarity.. Just seeing the sight makes you wonder how it's humanly possible to be that high!

Your portfolio is diverse and captivating. This shot is incredible, from the composition to the lighting to the colors. Very well done!!

I have no idea Ken! Chile is an interesting country. In California, any National Park's bookstore will have a multitude of books about the flora and fauna... not so in Chile, Im not sure if thats because they arent as commercialized and developed or if its because the Chilean Flora and Fauna hasnt been completely catalogued and put into a printed book with names, descriptions habitats and glossy pictures...

I was on Moro Rock, elevation 8000 feet. In winter the tule fog in the San Joaquin valley is thick, and usually stays below 3000 feet. On this day the winds picked up, throwing the the fog into the cliffs. Here we see Milk Ranch Peak(6250 ft), in front of Case Mountain. Here's another shot from the same day, showing the fog coated smog and the two peaks in question!

Does this image loose its impact by converting some of it to B+W?

Ratings or comments appreciated!

I like this picture, but Id love it if it werent overexposed! It's very well composed, and from what I can see the sky is very dramatic. I would have taken another picture metered on the sky, then merged the two together, or else you would have to use an ND gradient. I love the whole 'QingHai, China' folder!

Isnt it weird how 90% of the comments dont mention your original question?? :) I think you should replace the antennae and right eye ball with the other composites. The clarity of the hairs on this animal are so crisp, and I would love to see this whole bug in focus- it would give this shot a clarity one sees in glossy magazine pages from National Geographic. This image really stands apart from your other shots, although most of your insect pictures that have some sort of focused background of leaves or twigs are all excellent! Great idea about the composite too. Its like a digital focus filter.

this is a favorite of mine! I Really like the lighting, framing and colors. I took the liberty of PS'ing this shot to bring out the colors a little more, don't you think it looks brighter? I cant believe nobody has commented! Nice shot!

Wow! What an interesting thread. With my PS expertise Im frightened to expose my name and my portfolio to even have half of these photographers! I like the picture, it is a great photograph. No, it isnt good enough to be posted on the wall, but yes, it is good enough to get kudos from lots of us and deserves to be POW! I do have to agree with certain people though, this image looks like a composite purely from the white border in the center on the treeline. The other 2 images in the folder posted from this night of shooting lightning dont show this white border. I think lots of people feel cheated when they see this, although I am also one who is inclined to trust the photographer when he says it is not and congratulate him on his achievement! Im very curious though as to why Brian hasn't uploaded the original. Even if it is a 2 image composite, at least everyone will know and be happy to know how you pulled it off! Lets all learn from each other and be constructive... why do some photographers take such an offensive stance?

I suppose its like the $3.99 card table in your studio Ken!! It was my first tripod, and knew it would get trashed on my roadtrip to Texas and back so I didnt get a good one. The pins fell out during the trip and I replaced them with paper clips. The best position for framing this shot was slightly in the water, and the tripod was resting on 3, 12" dry stones. But I knew they werent totally stable since they were in moving water. Ohh well, next time I visit! Lots o fmy pictures are like this, and while disconcerting that they have flaws that wont allow a juicy print to be made, classifying them into "practice shots" in my mind makes me feel better. :)

Great photo! The conditions are perfect and surreal. Well composed, good timing, spectacular ocean!

right Ken! Thanks for your comments. I scrambled out to the beach and knew the sunset would be good. It was hard to find a suitably lit position or foreground object, and feel this shot is just a hint of what could have been done with the scene. Too bad! Good thing is, Ill be returning. :)

Good point Ken. I will resize all my pictures to this size... Im thinking PN will resize it with the option of seeing it larger, but sometimes it doesnt happen... :)

The colors are real. I adjusted the levels slightly, but the original looks nearly identical to this one. Mainly, the blue was lowered in the color of the water. I took this shot while my flimsy tripod rested on stones in the river, so it wasnt perfectly still which is why its blurry. Thanks for your comments!