Cedar on Canvas

A short break from the dogwood - but the ever present Merced still involved.

Curious if this connects with anyone. For me, it’s not about trees - it’s about the river. When photographing and working with water (ocean, streams, falls, etc.) there’s a little luck, a little experience and then there’s the Forest Gump factor - “You never know what you’re going to get.” :roll_eyes: :innocent:

In this particular image, the speed of the river, the light, etc., it turned out a .5s shutter speed produced the best results. I’m pretty pleased with how the texture and colors turned out. I’m very curious your reaction as well. The twin cedar trees? eh…, but the river backdrop, that’s what I love. I literally see oils on canvas - like a painting.

Any, all comments, suggestions and feedback appreciated. Thank you!

You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.

What technical feedback would you like if any?

Processing, saturation, etc. Pretty modest processing with some basic Levels, H/S and Selective color to tame the blue/cyan and squeeze out a little of the gold up top. I lightened the tree trunks slightly as well as warming them ever so slightly for a little warm/cool contrast in colors

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)

Nikon D800E, 28-300mm @125mm, f/16 .5s iso 400

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Beautiful! The rushing water behind the craggy trees is lovely. Perhaps dodging just the lights on the tree trunks, to accentuate the natural light that is there, along with more warming up, would make them pop just a bit more.

One of your best recent images. You took a chance, broke new ground, and came up with a new idea that works really well. I prefer this idea over the similar stark white branches on a black background. It has the same graphic quality but a far more interesting bg and the color adds so much. It’s also interesting to compare this to the hanging dogwood images. This doesn’t have that grace but it has more tension. Perhaps it’s that tension juxtaposed over the smoothness that makes it interesting. The only nit I’ve found is the yellowish at top center. It’s a tiny amount but I would crop it out.

Definitely an intriguing image Lon. I agree with Igor that it has an element of tension. To me it builds suspense and if you were to build a series of your Merced images it may go well next to an image with more of a diagonal flow. Similarly to how a chord progression resolves in music

Lon, I think @Igor_Doncov Igor has made several very good observations and suggestions. What grabs me is the contrast of the beautiful cool smooth texture of the water and the harsh rough twisted trees. It may not be appropriate to compare this to your recent dogwood scene (apple/orange), but for me if I could only hang one it would be this one. Why hang only one though?:grin:
Just wonderful work Lon!

Thank you so much for your comments and suggestions, @Bonnie_Lampley, @Igor_Doncov , @Nathan_Klein and @Alan_Kreyger

Bonnie - good suggestion on adjusting the tree trunks. I’ve tweaked a bit in the master file. Thanks for your comments.

Thank you Igor for your kind words. I’m glad to know that the image does strike a chord with folks. Good call on the yellow at the top. Now that you point it out, it’s pretty strong - almost like a rising sun. I went the crop route, which accomplished another issue I had and that was the small branches in the ULC, which I think were a bit untidy. Cropping down took care of that too.

Nathan, that’s a pretty interesting thought, if not powerful - I’ll have to pack that away when/if I ever do a slide show…

Thanks Alan! I’ll send you my PayPal info - you can have it hanging on your wall next week! LOL!

Thanks folks!

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The beautiful, graceful water makes this sing. I, too, like the juxtaposition between the craggy trees and the soft water. I think the composition works well with the placement of the trees and branches. My only piece of critique is what Igor mentioned - the yellow in the water in the upper right corner. Otherwise, this is a wonderful intimate landscape.

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I really love the effect here—contrast between green/smooth and rough tangled branches. Way to nail the shutter speed!

When I first saw it, I thought it was a triptych, so this is a random thought more than a suggestion: If the left side were cropped a tish off the left side, each section (left, between and right) would be equal width and promote the triptych impression.

That said, I like it as presented as the narrower spaces to the right give the river a sense of acceleration.

Nice work!
ML

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