gdanmitchell

Interesting. I have a very similar photograph of this scene, though mine is not a stitch and I think you've picked up more detail in the water than I.

Dan

One of my favorite peaks to photograph - I stop almost every time I cross Tioga Pass and work this and the surrounding terrain. (Check my portfolio under "Yosemite" and I think you'll find some familiar scenes... ;-)

I like your framing/composition of the scene quite a bit. The centered position of Mammoth Peak is not only perhaps the most logical from this position, but it also contributes to the feeling of serenity evoked by the photo. The late light highlights the peak nicely.

A personal critical observation: For me, the very dark and saturated blue tones seem a just a bit overdone - though I recognize that this is very definitely a matter of personal taste. I also believe that I can actually see some of the artifacts of your dodging and/or masking a bit more than I might like - especially around the tree reflections on the left side and around the sky/tree border and perhaps around the rock. (Perhaps the trees could be just a touch lighter, maybe revealing a bit of detail there. Hard to say from an on-screen jpg though...)

That said, this is a very nice image the certainly evokes the feeling of an early summer evening at Tioga Pass.

Dan

(Who can report that this scene looks nothing at all like this at the present time. It is VERY dry in the Sierra this year!)

Hi, Sally.

Yosemite is one of my favorite places to photograph - and I'm lucky enough to live within driving distance.

Since you asked specifically about the inclusion of the log and branches, I'll give you my response to that first.

I understand - and share - your fascination with the trees of the Sierra, whether living or dead. However, for me the position of this old tree trunk doesn't quite work. While it sounds like it was an important part of the scene in your mind, the position doesn't communicate that to me: it is only half seen (cut off by the bottom of the frame) and it doesn't quite stand up to the rest of the scene.

I've shot this same spot a few times, so here are a few ideas - for whatever they are worth:

- If you are interested in illuminating the shape, texture, and color of the tree (and this seems like a fine idea to me) you could try getting a lot closer and letting it have a more prominent place in the frame - though you might only include a shorter section of it.

- Along the same lines, if the tree is to be an important part of the scene, it seems like it should occupy more of the frame. I might even include some of the ground/water in front of the log.

That said, there is something potentially interesting going on with this composition that you might play with a bit. Many Yosemite Valley photos focus, for obvious reasons, on the vertical. Interestingly, your photo includes several horizontal layers - whether intentionally or not, I don't know. You have the log, the river, the meadow on the far side, the line of forest trees. (I once read a critique of a famous Ansel Adams photograph of Yosemite's Tenaya lake that pointed out an interesting - and unusual - symmetry between such horizontal bands at the very top and bottom of the frame.)

Finally, a word about exposure. It looks like you shot this during the middle of the day - the very toughest time to photograph such a scene in the Valley. If you get back there soon, visit this spot in the early evening - I think you'll find some very wonderful light. (and think about using those tufts of grass as foreground elements as well.)

Take care,

Dan

Nice work. I very much like the way the child's arms connect the curves of the bars on the right and left, and the way the "curve" (constructed of straight lines) of the wooden deck leads the eye to her. The fact that her form contains some of the lightest images in the frame also contributes to the success of the image.

Excellent.

Dan

This is a very impressive scene. I like your framing/composition quite bit, and the high placement of the castle accentuates its position above the surrounding landscape.

One critical observation: At least on my monitor, the photograph seems overly dark - no tones approach white, and most are in the dark gray to black range. If I were working with this photo I might well make some levels/curves adjustments and/or do some dodging.

Take care,

Dan

(I hope you don't mind that I've attached a quick example of the sort of changes I imagine...)

http://photo.net/general-comments/attachment/5424119/ExampleImage20070901.jpg

Nice work with a very simple subject. The contrasting diagonal lines work well, as does the position of the "thing" at the lower right. Nice handling of tones and dynamic range - all the way from black in shadows to white on far sandbags and waves.

Dan

To make it clear to those who may not know, the photographer did not come up with the term "peacemaker" to describe this gun. It is a historical term, used a long time ago when this weapon was new. Here is a reference that may help explain the use of the term and the historical significance of the item: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Single_Action_Army

Again, I'm not part of the "gun culture" - don't own any guns and likely never will - but I'm interested in history of the western USA and this artifact is a part of that.

Take care,

Dan

Rajiv:

I'm glad that my example was helpful - I often post such things with a bit of hesitation, not knowing if the photographer may appreciate it or feel that I'm being presumptious by possibly reinterpreting their photograph. Since I know now that you are the former and not the latter, let me give you a few more details.

When I photograph I scene like this I work from the tripod and most often make two exposures. I use the same aperture (so as not to affect depth of field or focus) and change the aperture so that one exposure is optimized for the darker foreground and the other for the brighter background. I always shoot in RAW mode to maximize the dynamic range of the image, maintain maximum bit depth, and get an accurate capture of the original scene

I use Photoshop and, therefore, Adobe Camera RAW (ACR) to convert the RAW files. I use a free "Russell Brown" plugin (look here for "Dr. Brown's Services") that automatically converts the RAW file twice and brings the two versions into PS in separate smart layers, both of which can be a reedited any time in ACR. Again, I adjust the conversion separately for each to optimize the portions of the image the they were exposed for.

Then I use some method of masking (the exact method varies) to blend the best portions of the two original images. But I'm not done... I'll do additional work with levels and curves, often working on separate sections of the images by means of masks. I may make some saturation adjustments as well, and these are also sometimes specific to particular areas of the image. (For example, in your shot I might work separately with the flower blossoms.)

Finally, I often do a bit of dodging and burning, again in a separate layer.

Here is an example of one photo that was done recently using more or less these techniques:

http://gallery.photo.net/photo/6257731-lg.jpg

(In response to a reader question, I wrote a bit more about this photo here. I also wrote up a more specific description of how I used some of these techniques last year and posted it at my web site: http://www.gdanmitchell.com/2007/01/02/a-photograph-exposed-pacific-sunset-windy-hill/.)

Take care,

Dan

I'm not a gun fan, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that "guns don't belong on PN." That said, I'll take this as a photograph rather than some sort of political statement and comment on the my reactions to the photograph as a photograph.

The composition seems quite "square" to me, with the gun, cylinder, and bullet dividing the frame exactly in the middle. Nothing necessarily wrong with this concept, but the reason for this division doesn't seem clear to me, especially since the upper and lower sections of the image are pretty much empty; almost neutral mid tones at the top, and somewhat burned out white cloth at the bottom. In other words, it is esthtically ineffective for me.

From my perspective, the photo doesn't have a central point of interest, nor does in naturally lead my eye dynamically though the image. My eye starts with the large black cylinder at the far left but its darkness loses some of the detail and reflections that might have caught my eye, and its position so close to the edge of the frame (and slightly cut of by it) seems somewhat unbalanced.

From here, my eye wanders - the curve of the handle of the gun could be interesting, but again the bright tones are blown out. Perhaps the bullets are supposed to be the central feature? But because they are half hidden by the blown out cloth and overwhelmed by the large black mass of the cylinder, they do not seem to have enough visual weight.

Bottom line: While I may be missing something, this photo doesn't seem like much more than a snapshot of an object whose meaning is not apparent to others besides the photographer.

From my point of view - and I recognize that my viewpoint is not universal - if we are to accept the possibility that an image of a gun can have visual integrity and interest, there are a few things that I think might help out here, even if the primary purpose is to make a record of a historical artifact.

1. Think about some different compositional ideas. What is the key focal point of the image and how can the objects be arranged to emphasize this? How to do the other elements support this?

2. Try a less "blocky" arrangement. Again, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with such a stratified composition... if it works to strengthen the image. Here, I think something with some curves or diagonals might be more effective.

3. Be careful with exposure. While I acknowledge that the overly dark blacks and blown highlights could be a choice on your part, I'm not getting it.

I've responded to this with the assumption that it was submitted as a serious image, and submitted with a desire for actual feedback. I hope I'm right but willing to admit that it may have been submitted with some other intent.

Finally, one more comment regarding discomfort with guns as photographic subjects. I share the discomfort, and I recognize that it is possible to present such images in an attempt to glorify guns and their use. On the other hand, I also recognize that the presentation of such iconic images can be used for quite the opposite purpose as well, to make a statement about the dangers of such weapons. I also keep in mind the fact that the comfort of the viewer is not necessarily a requirement for good photography.

Very interesting and effective from a compositional point of view. The bit of yellow leaves and the branches are a nice bit of visual dissonance.

I was slightly disappointed to see that the large version is not really in focus, at least not in the bottom left portion.

Take care,

Dan

Nice photograph. Great use of long exposure to capture motion of water, and yet some detail still comes through. Nice sky, of course, as well.

Two minor nits... Perhaps a bit of dodging might add just a bit of detail to the rocks. On my monitor they seem a bit too dark perhaps.

Also, the "symmetry" title doesn't really work for me. I suppose there is a certain rough symmetry in the shape of the rocks, but the overall image is anything but symmetrical.

Take care,

Dan

I agree - nice composition. The lighter color of the sea lions draws attention to them, as to the converging lines of the rocks and the background ridges.

Dan

Nice image of a beautiful scene.

If I were working with this image, I might try to bring up the foreground. While I'm sure that this is an accurate exposure of the scene, the way our eyes see it the foreground would probably not seem quite so dark.

This could have been done with a ND grad filter at the time the shot was taken, or it could be done in post processing in a couple of different ways - two conversions from RAW (one for the foreground and one for the peak) or some work with layers, masks, and levels/curves.

If this works right, I've attached an example of what you _might_ do - though it is only a crude example. (My apologies for the color shifts.)

Nice shot, and I hope this might help you think about ways to optimize it.

Take care,

Dan

The colors and textures of this image are very interesting, especially the green and the rocks in the foreground.

I feel like the image could be lightened up a bit, perhaps with a levels/curves adjustment to bring up the highlights of the clouds a bit. A bit of dodging and burning in the foreground might also be useful.

Nice work.

Dan

Great capture of the sailing ship! Effective angle.

I like the square crop that a previous poster shared. One other thought - if you cropped horizontally, I could see keeping a bit more of the area behind the ship in the frame as well.

Have you tried to reduce that large flare spot over the water at lower left?

Take care,

Dan

There is a lot to like in this photograph: The contrast between the warm tones of the beach and the cooler tones of the surf; the way the upper right sky picks up the similar warm tones from the beach; the diagonals separating these two areas, the luminous quality of the surf; the small bit of dark diagonal at the left end of the beach.

I'll bet this makes a wonderful print.

Dan

Nice composition, combining several different aspects of interest - a photo that bears more than a quick glance. Everywhere in the frame I find something interesting: the rounded form of the boat pointed toward the lower left where there is a very interesting water surface texture of leaves (?) and reflections; the straight vertical texture of the grass behind the boat; the contrasting horizontals in the further distance; the interesting light at the far left end of the distant shoreline; and the leaves on the left side that balance and frame the boat.

For me, the dark portion of the boat's shadow may be just a bit too black - though there may be detail in a print that is lost in the jpg version shown online. I think the vignetting effect works, though it may be a bit on the heavy side - though that may just be personal preference on my part.

Very nice work.

Dan

Too cool! :-)

Dan

Nice work. I'm also attracted to the aftermath of natural wild fires, though I've found them hard to photograph in a satisfying way. This works very well - partly by focusing primarily on the lovely colors and forms of the foreground flowers, and the middle-ground creek and greenery, with just enough of the burned trees in the distance to make the setting clear.

Dan

Beautiful photograph. (And fun title, too... ;-)

I love the off-center mirror images of the two trees, balanced by the slightly lighter right side of the frame with the smaller tree poking through the fog and the illuminated cloud.

Nice work.

I'd love to see a print.

Dan

Great work, and the best of the bunch in that portfolio in my opinion.

I might have been tempted to say something about the large relatviley empty space on the right side unbalancing the photograph, but I see that it strengthens the impression that the two figures are in a hurry to leave the scene to the right.

(A personal note - one reason (but not the only one) that this is my favorite from the portfolio is that It avoids the grainy effect and super high contrast of some of the others.)

In any case, a wonderful photograph - among a very nice group of photographs in the portfolio.

Take care,

Dan

wonderful use of light - natural and artificial. Great composition. (If I were to try anything different, it might be to play with a bit of cropping on the right side.)

Congratulations.

Excellent!

This isn't an easy place to shoot nor is the lighting here easy to handle - but you've done fine job of handling the wide dynamic range, extreme DOF, and so forth.

Dan