Just a roadside rock

Being able to drive so we can see more has a downside: we miss so much that zooms by. I’ve been fortunate to walk many of Central Vermont’s back country roads dozens of times in all season. On one such walk I finally saw this piece of bedrock, literally cut away to make room for the road. I have photographed it often and enjoyed it even more often w/o camera in hand. The long horizontal is the remains of a root that found its way through the shale, and the small rectangles are garnets, most of them dissolved away leaving only a footprint (for scale they are about 1/2" on a side). The colors, of course, change with the light but are always a marvel. Where does this sort of scene disappear to when we zoom by at 70mph?!

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any and all

Technical Details

Sony6000,1/160, f4.5,55mm, ISO320 with adjustments to tone curves and sharpening in LR

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Wonderful abstract John! The colors and patterns are great. The upper left area seems a bit mismatched compared the rest of the image. I’d like to suggest a crop of the top to focus the eye on that line that meanders from left to the right in the lower section of the image. Regardless this is a lovely image.

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Lovely! The colors are great and that snaky root trace is very cool. I’m with Alfredo on the crop - I could see a 4x5 of the bottom part.

I really like this John. The colors are fantastic. I agree with @Alfredo_Mora on the crop also.

I very much appreciate all the comments. You’ve caused me to better understand that many of my images are really stories rather than photographs to hang on walls. The upper left corner here connects me to the bedrock, literally, and so I’ve always felt it was integral to the story of the image. I think what I’m learning is that I can choose and that sometimes the final image can be both—the story and good art. Thanks all.

Your comments about driving for some reason conjured up John Lennon’s lyrics in “Beautiful Boy”:

“Life is what happens to you,
While you’re busy making other plans”.

Your work consistently ignores the “other plans” - and this is a shining example.

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Many thanks for this kind comment, Mike!

Fascinating rock surface to explore for both the color and the detail. I would go with something just a bit larger than a square crop of the bottom.

John,

Love the colors and almost chaotic details - namely anchored by the red-root line across the middle of the image. Stepping back and imagining an aerial with the root line bing a major river. Easily imagined here.

Which is most important for you - the story teller. For me as the viewer I don’t have that connection which hopefully explains my thoughts of a crop as well; even perhaps a rotation. The beauty of the colors, details, random patterns and a red-root anchor… is all I need to appreciate this as photographic art.

I have a rock wall I frequent near Yosemite which has been a gold mine of images over the years. Love this stuff.

Lon

“For me as the viewer I don’t have that connection which hopefully explains my thoughts of a crop as well”
Many thanks, I appreciate the difference very much.