Another image from Death Valley, kind of a nature’s still life. No setup though, things were as I found them.
I used Helicon Focus focus stacking software for the first time on images from this trip (this one included). Based on my brief experience, I am quite happy with the results.
D810, 70-200mm
Harley, nature has provided you with an excellent canvas backdrop to this scene. Although not on the impact scale as high as your previous DNVP takes, it still works nicely as a low key quiet take…
REPOST…
The three components are interesting enough but the composition is just too static. That’s largely due to it’s centered appearance with equal spacing all around. Perhaps a different angle and/or a lower angle could add tension. The even light adds to that feeling as well. The shape of the rock paired with the curves of the branch are interesting enough as subjects.
Great find Harley. The rock looks like a discarded arrow head - and with the stick, a stretch to imagine a hatchet… The cracked mud a great binder for all the little elements.
Processing/color, etc., all spot on. Thanks for sharing.
Lon
The framing works for me, and I really like the blue rock and the twig. It makes me wonder how they got there.
I am wondering if you could increase the contrast in the cracked mud, and also perhaps warm up the mud just a bit. I think that by doing this, there would be a better warm/cool color contrast between the stone/twig and the mud, and a little more texture to the mud.
This is a nice little intimate, Harley.
-P
Nice still life, Harley. In reading through the comments I like Preston’s suggestion to warm up the mud a bit to contrast with the blueness of the rock. Adding more contrast to bring out those micro cracks is worthy of experimentation as well. Lastly I would add some vignetting to focus the eye more toward the central portion of the image.
Some very good ideas and suggestions. I reposted after doing some further tweaking based on the above. Thanks for the input. It is very much appreciated!
Harley, the repost nails it! You definitely took this to new level.
Nicely done!
-P
Wow, what a difference!! I’d say quite a transformation - and much improved. Excellent!
I agree. The repost is like a whole new take on the subject.
Lovely! I enjoy these types of quiet scenes. Why did you feel the need to focus stack this? Doesn’t seem like there was a lot of height in the objects (but maybe that’s the flat light). Just curious.
I agree with some of Igor’s comments about the shot being somewhat static. The two shapes, though, give one tremendous potential to create some flow in the shot. I am also really drawn to these intimate landscapes, but am challenged frequently with how to give them life, so they don’t just look stuck in the mud. I have a huge collection of such “still life” images, but other than being “interesting”, they often lack any “feeling”. Sometimes showing a little context (e,g, letting them be a foreground element) can work, but then that’s a very different type of image.
It’s so funny how different people see the same scene. While it’s not exactly animated, I don’t see it as static either. IMHO, this is absolutely lovely scene that you captured beautifully. Which image is the most accurate depiction? Both are very nice, and I’m having a hard time deciding which I like best, but for the moment at least, I’m leaning slightly to the repost. I love exploring every square inch of this kind of image; I find it all so interesting. DoF does appear excellent. I’ve been considering trying out Helicon myself because I’m less than thrilled with the results through CS6. I would be proud to hang this on my wall.
I’m checking this out again now that I’m home and on a “real” monitor. Now, my choice is made much easier - the repost has so much more depth due the excellent burning in of the shadow and the vignette. I’m still a bit undecided though as to the color of the dirt/sand/whatever. I would love to see the vignette and burning on the original color.
This is a neat find, the shape of the stone gives it a stone tool feeling as the curvaceous stick adds a nice bit of movement. Both views look very good, there more pop in the warm version, but these an “old time” feeling to the cool version that matches with my “stone tool” feeling. The latest version of Helicon Focus works very well and has dramatically reduced the need for detailed clean up work on the stack.
