I never seem to get tired of taking picture of bark (and rocks). Bark provides great opportunities for abstracts. Sometimes these can be very expressive.
This was taken of a tree that had been hollowed out at the Hoh Rain Forest ( Hoh, as in Ho in Ho Chi Minh). I intended to shoot the entire base but concentrating on one area provided me with a better image, I thought.
Let me know what you think.
GFX50R, 40-100mm
Original:
Rework:
Last Version:
Igor , these barks are a world apart. And in an image as you made also a bit mysterious . Always nice to play with colors and contrast.
Igor, that is wonderful. I came across an image on another on-line gallery I follow daily that was of a subject that normally is made at mid-tones or higher. It was a portrait done in low, mysterious, luscious tones and was beautiful.
Thanks for posting this.
Namaste
Paul, Could you please post a link to it.
This has such delicate details and a wonderful deep, rich tone that speaks of the dark forest, with subtle hints of the surface layer of life.
I love bark and rocks, too. I once overheard my husband saying to someone, “We came halfway across the country to this place and she’s photographing a rock.” But, in the words of Guy Tal, it was more than a rock.
In the words of Edward Weston.
Regarding the Weston More than a Rock quote. There has been several comments on NPN about whether an image has a meaning beyond what is displayed. E Weston and G Tal seem to think so.
Looking at the small image, my initial thought was “that’s too dark”. But upon opening the large image and waiting a bit for my eyes to adjust, the details started to reveal themselves. It was almost like the lichen on the bark glowed stronger the longer you looked at it. The colors are just wonderful too. The longer time you take to look at this, the better it gets. Well done Igor.
And then, @Igor_Doncov there is Minor White: “One should not only photograph things for what they are but for what else they are.”
Absolutely! Do you like Minor White’s work?
I LOVE it! I only wish I had delved more deeply into it and was more familiar with the amazing extent of it. But I’m quite sure that what of it I have had a chance to appreciate rears its head from time to time.
Really enjoy this image Igor. The textures and darker processing feels so deep forest.
Wow, this is quite expressive! You are a deep thinker, and I believe you see and feel more sensitively and more deeply than most people, and that shows in your work. Like Ed, I also thought it was too dark at first, but after viewing it for a bit, I began to see things. What really strikes me is not the main focal point, but the surrounding points, especially in the upper and mid left. Although the scene is completely different, this reminds me of a painting my parents had in their living room in that while the main focal point is very nice in both, the darker details at the edges tell their own story and invite the viewer into the real image. For that reason, I find this image quite profound and beautiful. Your childhood and upbringing is probably different from anyone else on NPN, certainly vastly different than mine, and I can’t help but wonder if that’s the reason you see and shoot things the way you do. I wish we could get together and shoot together for a week or two. I believe that would be fascinating, at least for me.
As for technical aspects, the only suggestion I have would be to burn the brighter area in the bark in the lower to mid right as it draws the viewers eyes away from the center.
You are absolutely right on about this. I was wondering if anyone would say this. Nobody did, so I started to question my judgment.
I’m not sure about that but I do take photography seriously. Come to think of it I take everything seriously, too seriously for many of my friends. But they’ve learned to accept me for what I am.
Recently I have gotten it into my head that I want to express emotions with my images and not be overly concerned with what they are of. Most of my work is emotional but usually it’s comes from the subject. Here I wanted to do it with light-and-dark, textures, and colors. This is not that different from Bonnie’s work although I’m more into emotion and she’s into artistic expression.
The strange thing is that you never know when something like this will come up. I can’t seem to pursue and achieve this at will. It’s just a sort of realization that comes over you and it can occur at any time.
When your image makes you feel like you do when you hear this then you know you’ve got something worthwhile:
This is a beautiful, and wonderful image.
Not much to say.
I love it
@paul_g_wiegman, @Ben_van_der_Sande, @Mario_Cornacchione, @Diane_Miller, @joaoquintela, @Ed_McGuirk, @Bill_Chambers
Thank you for the comments. I reworked this and burned in the brighter area on the right. I also reduced some of the red out of that section of the image as I felt it distraction from the main brighter area. I’m not sure about this adjustment but I thought it helps. I also played with textures, which made the brighter areas more bright, It started to look melodramatic however so I left it as somber. The rework will be posted above.
I prefer it with the bright spot – I didn’t find it distracting but rather a grace note. It seems too flat in the rework.
Thanks for a reminder about “Three Tenors” – it’s been too long! I switched the audio to the Sonos speakers in my studio and sat back with my eyes closed. There is so much wonderful music to pair with images!
The crescendo at the end is tremendous. Just the emotion on his face. That rapture is also what I talk in my FLOW article. I also really liked the female chorus that comes in about half way. Such a beautiful counterpoint. Yes, music has much in common with photography.
Now you got me thinking again.
The chorus is magnificent! Listen to it again and let it tell you which way to go with the image!
Going to head over to your web site and revisit your Flow article.
