I feel as though I have been frustrated in my life with what I can’t clearly see, what is hidden. I want conclusion and resolution but that is not, I am coming to realize, the nature of creative existence. It is always “through a glass darkly”. I see the horizon in the distance and try to get there so that all will be revealed only to find, each and every time, that reaching the horizon necessarily begets yet another. Similarly seeing into the shadows. There can be no end to the mystery and either I continue to be frustrated by my innate desire for resolution or accept mystery for what it is. I realize, too, that my journey as a photographer has given me a profound level of insight into this struggle with what can be seen and what must ultimately remain hidden. While I hope there are many little pleasures in this picture, for me the central theme is the shadows – what is seen, barely seen, and what remains hidden. Again, I would be most interested in whatever impressions or feelings this picture elicits in you. As always, any other critique, comments, or suggestions are most appreciated.
Whoa, Kerry. . .there is so much to absorbed in your thoughts and image. I feel as though you have gone into my own thoughts and expressed them in way I cannot. Thank you for that and now I will be pondering both your photo and comments for a while.
If photography ends up not working out for you ( which it won’t) you certainly have a second artistic area of expression in your writing. I think I like this image better than your last one. I love the sense of the branch on the left and the moss on the right. The central log with the longitudinal dark crack gives another sense of unknown highlighted by the two little green pieces of moss poking their heads out of the darkness. The hint of green throughout the many different hues of gray is an added wonderful complexity to this image. My only nit is the small branch coming out of the bottom of the log. I kept trying to brush off my screen thinking there was a hair on my tablet. An absolutely gorgeous image!!!
I agree with @John_Moses, I like this one even better than the previous already spectacular one. I think that’s partly due to there being a bit more sense of order, even with the mystery of the shadows. My eye finds a pleasant structure to settle on here. Wonderful processing too.
There is a lot to like in this image (and your write-up) and I couldn’t find anything not to like. At first the little ‘small branch’ pointed out by @John_Moses bothered me, but after a few seconds I came to appreciate it’s presence. I found I enjoy both looking at the image close up and zoomed out. Also, I really like the way you put the trunk a little to the right of the screen. In addition, I like the fact that you included a very dark impression of a branch on the left and possibly some moss on the right. Having said all this what I really like is the wavy crack near the center of the trunk. This really caught my initial attention and everything else spawns from that. I could say more, but I would be repeating the previous excellent reviews. Great image!
The unseen or, more likely, the overlooked, features a lot in my own work and sometimes I wonder if it’s the right approach and some of your thoughts echo my own in this regard. Then again, right and wrong, as it applies to creative output, is just misplaced. So your image, dark as it is, doesn’t feel dark emotionally. Nurse logs are a project I’ve just started working and envisioning and this is a stunning example. Lignans are tough, organized and a foundation for much of the life on this planet. They persist even when the organism is dead. The life they foster, outside of thier own is tremendous and important and that’s what you’ve got here. A tiny pocket of vitality.
This is very fascinating. I would like to see the sliver of tree on the right edge darker though, I feel it interrupts the nice defined shape of the trunk.
Beautifully written introduction, Kerry. You eloquently put into words how I feel quite often when observing nature for my photography. I think you hit the nail on the head. I get a immediate sense of Mystery in this image. What lied beyond what I can clearly see. Wonderful that you didn’t focus stack this. This has a beautiful fall off into the abyss. I will echo what @Eric_Bennett said about maybe burning that background tree on the right edge. It doesn’t have to be a lot, just enough to reduce the interaction with the main trunk. I think this is one of your best Kerry. For what it’s worth, I find that I love that pine needle drooping out of the tree trunk near the bottom of the frame. Too often we try to make our images perfect and in doing so we actually remove a sense of reality from them. This is so good!!!
@Ben_van_der_Sande - for me, as I’m sure it is for you, Ben, photography is a way of intimately connecting to the world. I would like to do more than take pictures “about” the things I see but rather find ways to share the depth of the relationship I experience. @linda_mellor - the wonderful thing about NPN is when we discover through the thoughts and images of others that we are not alone . Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings with me. @Ronald_Murphy - Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. @John_Moses - I’ll tell you the truth, John, I’m doing everything I can to let go of any notion of being a “success”. I think that might be one of the gifts of age. I can’t honestly say I’ve let all that go but more and more I understand in my gut that its about the process not the product. As to your very kind and supportive comments, thank you. And as to the that little wisp of a branch, well I can’t help but say, I find it charming - so delicate in and among the general darkness and sobriety of this image. @David_Bostock - I appreciate your sharing your impressions, always insightful. Thanks. @Willemd - Yes, that’s what captured my attention too, Alexander, that gorgeous, sensuous curving crack and all the little treasures that were peaking out. I felt very lucky to come upon it. This trunk was not shot from the side but from above. I was doing the lumberjack thing, winding my way along a path of long forgotten tree trunks that had found their way, like a logging boom, to the shore. Very tricky but well worth the effort. @Kris_Smith - I’m so glad you were able to find resonance with this image. Lichen are, indeed, a most remarkable expression of cosmic intelligence. It is staggering to think how algae and mycelium came together to support each other and ultimately create the earth we stand on. Life doesn’t arise because of competition but because of the most intimate connection. Mind blowing! @Eric_Bennett - I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your observation. I felt something wasn’t quite working with this image but couldn’t put my finger on it. You managed to do it in half a sentence. I went back to the drawing board and have posted a rework - scroll above. The change is slight but the difference is remarkable, at least to my eyes. The difference is two-fold: first, by shading on the right the tree trunk becomes more three-dimensional and, second, as you suggested, the transition from the trunk to the dark area on the right is far less abrupt and, therefore less disruptive to the flow of the picture. Many, many thanks. @David_Haynes -I am so pleased that you found resonance with my own thoughts and feelings. I feel like photography is a gateway not only into Mystery but my acceptance of it. I have some images with which I would like to give focus stacking a try, but for the most part, and certainly in this picture, I agree, let it be. Your comment about accepting the “imperfections” that the natural world reveals to us, is such an important thing for all of us with access to photoshop to remember. Life is messy! As to Eric’s comment, I have added a rework if you scroll to the top. Take a look. I think you’ll agree that it is remarkable how such a seemingly small change can make such a big difference.
Yes for sure lichens are a remarkable organism, but I really did mean lignans. That’s not a typo. Lignans are polyphenolic compounds found in plants - basically the thing that makes wood pulp so near indestructible. And it was for millions of years. Trees died and became fossilized because nothing could break the chemical bonds of lignans. Then the fungi evolved and they are the only things that can decompose wood. We had a carboniferous period because they hadn’t appeared yet and now they are here, there will never be another one. And so looking for an alternative to fossil fuels (all those dead trees) is key since there won’t be any more. Now if something else would evolve that can break the chemical bonds of plastics, we’d be in much better shape. It’s possible that fungi can evolve for this as well, but they haven’t yet.
Agreed. I was surprised how much difference this made and I really like the change.
I really appreciate your text, and think it pairs nicely with the image. My approach to photography is “Hey, that’s beautiful; I should take a picture.” But, I do hope to grow and learn, and more and more find the true joy is in the journey. As you say, each horizon begets yet another…
Kerry, I have not (yet?) that deep connection with my photography process and final images but I enjoy very much every part of it and have anyhow realized that the process is more important than the outcome. I just want to say that your image is amazing. I love every part of it - the brighter trunk with its cracks and gems as well as the darker more hidden parts. The rework just makes an amazing image even better!
Fascinating. And yes, I’ve heard that it might be possible to “train” fungi to “eat” plastic but that better happen quick because we’re drowning in our own plastic waste.
@John_Williams , @Ola_Jovall - Thank you both for your kind words and for taking the time to take a look. It certainly helps to connect with a place like NPN where we can find support and not feel we are entirely alone in our efforts.
Kerry , I love both the photograph and what you had to say. To me this picture is very much about the moment. We can’t see what is behind you, neither what is beyond the tree.
So what is on the plane of focus, the tree, is where we are, this image feels like a visual equivalent of a moment to me. I have no further ideas about editing as the force (or the gesture as Jay Maisel would say) is strong with this one. Outstanding.
