Please share your first response before reading the hidden notes below. The photographer is looking for an unbiased initial impression.
Feedback Focus: Artistic + Technical
Questions for Viewers
Later in the afternoon on our first full day in Yosemite, Lon and Kyle guided us to a pull out where we could walk by the river. This was one of those magical spots where there were no big views (especially given the low clouds at the time) and no grand crowds (no one else was there). We all ended up prowling the small scenes, and others had some beautiful takes from this stop. Yosemite offers such amazing grand landscapes that it’s easy to lose track of the beautiful nature that lives there. The blessing of the inclement weather was that it opened our eyes to beauty most just walk on.
About This Image
The somewhat melancholy weather had me in a somewhat melancholy mood when I took this. I think about different things than the younger version of me would have, and wandering through a patch of these seedlings made me think of the saying “A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.” I wanted to highlight this circle of life, so to speak, with the old wood turning into new. I was also attracted to the green of the seedlings paired with the warmth of the fallen bark and needles; the contrast of the cool with the warm again trying to highlight how the old passes support to the new.
Technical Details
Camera: NIKON Z 7_2
Lens: NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR
Focal length: 89mm
Shutter speed: 1/13s
Aperture: f/9
ISO: 64
This is a focus stack of 24 images.
Feedback Requested
My hope is the photograph is engaging and speaks to my thoughts as I took the image. Any suggestions for improvement are more than welcome.
John: There are so many interesting things at our feet. As a macro shooter I’ve learned to always be looking down. There is grandeur in the small things and I think you’ve captured that here. I really like the disparate textures, tones and elements. Nicely seen and presented.>=))>
Beautiful find and excellent composition. I like how the three little saplings are juxtaposed against the bark and dried pine needles, all signing what the future holds for these greats when they are grown.
No suggestions from me, other make a print and enjoy it.
Love this one John! Outstanding, intimate scene and captured image. I recall you framing this and was pretty impressed you seeing this seemingly perfect arrangement! And just to let everyone know, there were literally hundreds and hundreds of these tiny seedlings just coming up - it was hard not to step on them! Kudos for such a wonderful comp and capture.
My impression is one of re-birth, and specifically the cycle of life - forest life.
I don’t have a single nit or suggestion. Beautiful work!
John, this is an excellent look at “the ground”. Those three tiny trees are set off beautifully by the scattered needles and the fallen bark. Given their close proximity, only one of the three will survive, but that’s the natural world.
My first thoughts upon seeing this is, look at this nurse log with the tiniest of trees. They will surely grow well here. I hadn’t thought of the impact of competition, but unless two of them merge, only the strongest will survive. That said, they are lovely now and creating their own little ecosystems.
I’m curious about the placement: Can you say more about the vertical composition with so much to the right? I think it includes more of the “host” material, so perhaps that was the thinking?
Hi John,
You guys managed to touch all the bases; from grand landscapes to miniature ones such as this; while on your Yosemite photography outing. When I opened the large version I was greeted with all these wonderful details and textures to savor and enjoy. The slight diagonal of the evergreens works well as does the layering of those horizontal pine needles resting upon the vertical lines of the tree bark. I also enjoyed seeing the dew drops adorned on the pine needles. Beautifully done, no suggestions from me. I just went back and read the shaded section and found it be be oh so true and very poignant.
My initial reaction is, I’m happy no one stepped on these guys.
I thinks this is an excellent composition of a scene almost everyone simply walks past and doesn’t notice, including me. I don’t have anything to add that hasn’t been said, so I’ll just repeat “Very well done” indeed!
There is much to be seen on the forest floor in Yosemite and you have found a delightful subject that tells a story of the place: Old, decaying cedar and ponderosa pine littered with pine needles and then the emerging nascent saplings bright with new life. The cycle of life, death and rebirth. Nicely composed and sharp to my eye. I am sure you worked the composition a bit and I wonder what some others might look like, or perhaps rotating this horizontally. I ask because I feel a little imbalance with the placement of the saplings as Marylynne alludes to. Vary nicely seen.
I’m happy to know that! I have fond memories of growing up playing on Mt. Graham in Southeast Arizona, and the “vanilla” smell of the ponderosas is a big part of that.
Ah. I never thought of that, but I’m sure you are correct.
Yes, that’s correct. for me the image was the the cycle, not just the seedlings.
Sure. I’ll post both the sidecar jpg and what a raw looked like with default settings in Lightroom below.
I did not take any compositions besides this one. My memory is that other compositions incorporated new elements, such that it became “The song that never ends” with cluttered margins. In addition, I actually liked the imbalanced placement of the seedlings. But, I’ll be the first to admit that my instincts are often misplaced and that’s why NPN feedback is so valuable.
Here’s those images, first the sidecar jpg followed by the straight conversion from raw (both downsized):
Yes. I’m surprised by the difference between the two. I would have thought the raw would have been the flatter of the two but the jpg looks more natural. I’m not that familiar with that Nikon sensor.
I think you did a great job in merging your focus stack. What I have found more challenging is finding the absolute closest part of the subject in order to get a starting point for the focus stack.
I found the image quite arresting at first. I think the pine needles jump out from the background quite strongly. After looking at it a bit longer the small pines have an artificial look somehow. I think that comes from the bluish/yellow color. So I feel that as a work of art this works quite well but as a work of nature less so.
BTW ( and there is always a btw with me) my approach has been that if I’m going natural then all parts should be natural and if artsy than all parts should be artsy. I prefer not to have a mixture in the same image. I’ve mentioned this with respect to slow motion waterfalls before. But there is no rule about this because sometimes the combination works.
