whydangle

Dedicated to my friend, Mike Mancil! Thanks for having a look and offering

your thoughts. Please consider the Larger preview!!

Dedicated to Mike Mancil:

Not far from my home in Bakersfield, there are many opportunities to shoot a vivid sunset on short notice. I would rather be shooting this whopper of a sunset along the Big Sur Coast or from Olmstead Point in Yosemite, but I'll make use of these farmland scenes in a pinch when time is short. For over a month, I had passed this field of Allium, basically onion seed head stalks. The bulbous nature of the seed heads intrigued me and I thought this would make not only an interesting shot, but perhaps even magical. When the opportunity came as high thin clouds ushered into the valley region, I shot out to this spot without hesitation. The reward was an almost unearthly appearance of "coke fizzle bubbles" or "floating jellyfish"! Thanks for your observations!!

Thanks everyone for the responses and feedback! While I don't consider this to be a fine art photo (more a documentary landscape), I do feel there is an art to finding these scenes at the right time, composing them (people LR, Diamond Head UL), capturing them with accurate exposure, dof and sharpness, and rendering them for viewing. I've seen guitarists playing what looks like a simple jig (because they make it look simple) and thinking I can do that. But I soon realize even a simple jig is going to require a substantial amount of practice, especially if I want it to look just as effortless. Even photography that is not considered "art", yet manages to communicate successfully, requires a lot of practice.
I'm stoked to be selected for PofW, especially since I have been posting here for years without ever having been honored. I've been absent from PNet for awhile, but after allowing my paid membership to lapse, I decided I miss this place, so I renewed just in time to be honored in this way. Glad I'm still here! Thanks Mike Mancil for getting my attention! I appreciate it.
Back to the pic: responding to one observation, we had to leave before last light because this is a park that closes at 7pm, and the sunset was just after 7, otherwise I would have stayed till the bitter end.
Here is another from that same day, I think better. The photo was not staged, so the fact that two different people showed up with red shirts was just dumb luck. Here's the link:
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=16635258&size=lg
Thanks again to everyone who has taken the time to express their thoughts and offer their candid observations!!

Thanks Mitchel! I appreciate the observations!! Well, I tend to avoid centering anything, but I also try to fill the frame with the subject. In this case, I will generally provide more room in front of a subject, the left side being the "front" of the derrick. It's just more a habit than anything else!

I think this is fantastic!!

John, looks like you lucked out with some glorious clouds. I'm sure they are a rare commodity in these mountains in the summer months, so your timing was fortuitous! Great shot from top to bottom!

Well, the image in general is excellent. The composition and subject are superb, the use of b&w is appropriate and the contrast seems about right. My thoughts for opportunity are that it appears slightly oversharpened and also mildly noisy or grainy, but perhaps that was and objective, giving the image additional grain to complement the medium. The biggest problem I see is really just good housekeeping, or lack of. There are obvious dust spots in the smooth, silky water; easily fixed with the clone stamp. Perhaps a mask to hide the sharpening in the flowing water could have achieved a smoother appearance. Overall, a very successful landscape!!

Very well done! Great colors. I think the foreground is interesting enough, but may be the weakest part of the image. Still, given that, it's quite strong overall!!

Hi Vaclav! Do you want a critique or just praises? I can give you both!

Thanks Chris, Neil, Mike and Dave for the comments! I agree, Dave, that toning it down would contribute to the more primitive nature of the rural road. They had just painted the lines recently, so it stands out quite a bit!

The Caliente-Bodfish road is one of my favorite escapes. I have often passed by this very spot, never thinking of stopping for a picture. On my most recent outing, the sunset was fairly epic, so the colors of the scene were intense overall. I shot many arrangements, but nothing was really impressing me. As I walked down the road to find a better composition, this scene unfolded from below! In general, I prefer a more pristine scene, but sometimes a manmade element can introduce a more vivid sensation about the scene. In this case, the road implies a sunday evening drive in the mountains, capped with a ethereal sunset. It's like an invitation to visit this spot, because you don't have to hike here by foot. Of all the compositions from that evening, this one accomplished the most for me. In another month or so, the greens will turn to yellow and brown, so this was the best time, catching the trees and grasses at their peak showing!

Nice work Wanghan Li! Thor's Hammer I believe! Love seeing this place under snow!

No comments means nobody knows how good this is! I think it's approaching visionary Martin! Great image!!

Finally something new to post after a long, dry spell! I titled this "Tatters of Winter" because of the melting snow clinging to the slopes, relinquishing it's grip to the warmth of spring. Winter's looking shabby, but spring is looking fashionable!

It's great! Every time I see this bridge reflected in the calm river, it grabs my attention! My only observation is the distracting person on the right should be removed!

This photograph of Yosemite Falls was meant from the beginning to be a b&w, even though it was shot in color! Something about rugged mountains with lots of texture really makes them suitable for monochrome! To bring out the texture, I processed with the goal of increased contrast. Let me know what you think please!!

Dave, this is very fine! The composition is the visual statement and the light is the cream! Well done my friend!!

This is striking John! I have never been, so this has to be on my bucket list. I really like the chiaroscuro light across the left side mountains. You would think, after knowing about this phenomenon for so many years, that someone would have recorded the actual event of the rocks moving/sliding. How can we know so much about black holes and far away galaxies and still not know conclusively why these rocks leave trails on the playa?

Excellent intimate landscape Dave! I really like this composition!

Thanks Mike and Clayton! Yes, Clayton, extra resolution is my main reason, but since I don't have a super wide lens, I could never include this field of view with a single horizontal capture. That is indeed another positive aspect of stitching verticals!

Large is the only way! The reds look mildly hot, especially the clouds, but perhaps compression is being unkind, or maybe your processing encourages a white point, which is totally fine. The composition is rock solid! Paolo, where have you been? I have missed your posts and I hope you are getting back to regular contributing. Good to see something new from you my friend!!