Dislodged

This little scene caught my eye, with that thin slab of granite that had spalled off the large boulder. I’m not sure how this occurred, as we don’t get that many freezing nights that would cause ice expansion. It’s a mystery.

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Any comments welcome.

Technical Details

Is this a composite: No

a7, 82mm, f/16, 1/4s, ISO 200.

Bonnie…I had to come back to this one after seeing it yesterday and was struggling as to why there was disharmony to my experience.

The dislodged rock laying down, especially with the leaf resting on it is very compelling as a composition and story and asks the viewer to try and “put the pieces together”

It took me a bit to try and understand why this image was confusing me…and I think it relates to the brightness of the green moss. The luminance AND saturation of the moss combine to pull my attention away from the primary and secondary elements of the scene…the larger rock and the puzzle piece laying on the ground…and the gentle leaf placed on top.

If you prefer to emphasize the story of the rock and the slab, then I would have you consider desaturating and darkening the moss so it falls toward the back of the visual experience. If on the other hand, the moss and its disruption by the rock removal is the primary subject, then you may be closer to your intent as presented.

Thanks, @Jim_McGovern. I take your point. The story was about the rock and fallen slab, accentuated by the moss. Here’s a more subdued version. It does match the story better, mood-wise.

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An interesting find, Bonnie. Not only why did it spall, but what displaced the pieces? It doesn’t look steep enough for them to fall off. I do prefer the more subdued presentation of the repost.

Bonnie,
I too was trying to figure out what bothered me in this scene and after reading @Jim_McGovern’s thoughts and your repost I think you nailed it. My only other suggestion would be to burn down the leaf lying on the slab as it looks a little bright. I do like the story this tells as it makes one wonder how this transpired.

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Bonnie, surface granite is known to spall in thin, curved layers, it’s about the release of pressure since granite formed deep underground. Your seeing this clear demonstration is very cool. I hadn’t made the connection between the spall and the moss free area until I read you description. I do agree with not understanding why this spall occurred and why there’s not a similar spall off to the right (explaining the entire moss free area). I’ll speculate that something or someone stepped on the big rock to cause the spall to move, since it would normally release, but not move based on the fairly level surface of the big boulder. To me, the bright greens in the original post look like what I’d expect with some sunshine or under a bright overcast.

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