Ever present

Image Critiques Weekly Challenge
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Ever present
Ever present1500×1125 1.27 MB

Stone walls are a New England feature I really miss. Especially when I’m deep in the woods and suddenly one materializes out of the undergrowth. The history they speak to and the sheer amount of work it took to clear enough land for crops and grazing is a wonder to see. They thread through nearly every landscape and roadside. They separated fields, served as property markers and enclosures for livestock (mainly sheep). There are thousands and thousands of miles of these beauties. Mostly made of granite and moved by hand by the early Europeans, they are wicked hard to photograph (see what I did there?). In my decades in New Hampshire I’ve only succeeded a few times and this was one of them.

Specific Feedback Requested

I’m used to scenes like this (at least I used to be) and so it looks normal to me, but it might be a little strange to others. Does it translate?

Technical Details

Is this a composite: No
Olympus E-30
Zuiko 12-60mm lens @ 14mm
f/6.3 | 1 sec | ISO 100
Tripod and probably a polarizer

Worked in Lr to enhance the wall against the forest - adjustment brush for texture & clarity and to reduce highlights in the lighter rocks. Grad filters to lower clarity and exposure in forest. Cooled down the overall white balance and manipulated orange, yellow & green color channels for saturation, hue & luminance. Cropped and lens corrected. Sharpening.

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Kris, this is a lovely look at this very old, stone fence. The mossy coverings and the long line of stones look great.

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Like you Kris, I’ve tried several times to capture the stone fences in New England. You’ve had better luck than I. They are difficult to shoot due to the shadows and blending colors. This is well done with the wall disappearing from the upper right of the shot. I’ve had better luck shooting the old stone bridges normally found alongside the new highways.

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Hi Kris, you’ve done a really nice job of capturing the essence of a New England stone wall. The lighting was great; soft and bright, so no shadows to deal with. Composition is right on also; enjoying the diagonal line from the foreground up and out to beyond the frame. Looks like a typical mixed hardwood forest. The wall itself is a perfect subject too; moss-covered (so that’s the north side), and not very neat and orderly, with a few stones having fallen off. Could be anywhere from CT to ME.

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