It took me several drivebys to recognize the beauty of this scene. I suspect that hundreds of motorists pass it every day. This one takes some investment in time to appreciate it. I’m actually amazed that natural forces without the hand of man can create such beauty. There’s that wonderful energy entering from the left and moving to the right. And then there is all that rain.
Hope you like it. Let me know how to improve it. This, btw, comes out equally good as a b&w. I was surprised.
Wonderful image, Igor. It has a “through a glass darkly” feel that is very seductive and also gives it the feel of an “artifact” - something that has been hidden away for a long time . I think the low contrast approach you’ve taken with this plus the almost sepia colour balance adds to the mystery. Nicely seen and executed, indeed.
I like this and I think that it really needs to be viewed large so one can really immerse themselves in it. What I like best about it is the lighter ‘highlight’ on the top part of the feature in the middle of the image. It really lifts the image imo.
So glad you stopped, Igor. This is a wonderful image. I like the soft feel of the color version. I did download it and converted it to black and white, which gives a totally different feel. But I’m sticking with this one. Very nicely seen and captured.
I had a similar experience over the summer while driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway. I have driven that section of the parkway numerous times, but on my summer trip I began seeing potential images in the rocky sections along the road that I had previously passed up.
I like your composition, but I always struggle to offer critiques to these kind of images. I always feel like I end up saying the same thing. The only minor nit that I have that the area where the darker brown section wanders out of the top of the frame on the right hand side tends to pull my eye a bit, but it’s very minor and I don’t know what was out of the frame. I do wonder about the geology behind the diagonal line in the middle of the darker section. I assume this is a different type of rock or sediment.
This is an incredibly complex image expertly composed. You definitely have to view this large. Viewing the thumbnail doesn’t do this justice and does not give the true impact of the scene. I got lost for about 10 minutes in this. My imagination shows me a storm that is dumping rain, expressed by the streaks falling from the top of the image through a lightning strike, the middle portion going horizontally through the image. OK, my imagination took me away for a minute but that’s what a great image does. As I was perusing this scene while zoomed in, I found this section with lots of diagonal lines running in apposing directions just below the the central, horizontal “lightning bolt” and am wondering what geological happenings created that. Here is the section I’m talking about…
The only thing that that catches my eye has already been mentioned by @Brian_Schrayer about the dark section in the URC that exits the frame. Nothing you could do about that and given your options, you framed this as well as could be expected.
I have reworked the image to give it a different sense. Do you feel it is better now or worse. It seemed to me that there was too much contrast for that subject matter.
I don’t know my geology that well. The “lightning bolts” are probably due to water running from the lighter sediment across the darker sediment. There appear to be two types of sediments that have been compressed together and a cross-section has broken off. Rains then made the lighter sediments wash over the darker one. The darker one must be more resistant to water. The diagonals must be layers of the darker sediment that has been tilted by geological forces.
I suspect your correct. This is what my brain calls a “Photographer’s Photo,” and by that I mean it is more artistic than eye-catching; it requires one to stop and lose yourself in it. I think that takes a bit of photographic maturity to do, and while I like to think I’m improving in that regard I know I have a long ways to go. (Fortunately, I’m enjoying the journey!)
I prefer the rework. This is a subtle image and I think the muted contrast adds to the effect. For me, there is a landscape within a landscape. I see clouds with rain falling past a mountain in the background, and a small-scene is transformed into a big scene. (Nice pun by the way, to post an image where literal streaks from water become rain again in the image.)
Love the softer feel of the rework, Igor. However, could just be me, but I see something just right of center on the lower edge that isn’t in the original?? Just wondering what might have happened during the rework??
I much prefer the more muted and balanced tones of the rework. It just fits the scene better. Not that the more contrasted image isn’t great but I just think the rewok nails it.
