The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I spent about a week in Yellowstone National Park during fall colors a few weeks ago and while I was really there to photograph the elk rut and wildlife, I did spend a little bit of time doing some landscapes. I have to say that I found Yellowstone extremely challenging to photograph traditional grand scenics because there is virtually no fall colors and the mountains are just not that inspiring compared to the Sierra or Grant Tetons mountains.
So, I chose to shoot mostly intimates and holy cow, is this place full of intimate photo opportunities. Every place you look there are opportunities to shoot weird, colorful intimate abstract images. You could spend years here and never get bored.
This particular image is from the Mammoth Hot Springs area where Hot spring water flows down the hill creating deposits of travertine. Below the surface, hot water encounters limestone, which dissolves readily allowing it to become saturated with calcium carbonate. (OK, I really didnât know any of that but a quick Google search gave me all of that information).
This hot water, which is more than 4000 years old, is the life force behind the formations, the bacterial mats and deposits, and the different colors that you see around Yellowstone. This is why I titled the image, Life Force.
Technical Details
Z8, 100-400mm lens at 120mm, f/16, ISO 200, 1/80, hand held, manual exposure
I like both of them, and I think I see lots of possibilities for other zoom shots on the 2nd one. I really like the subtle color shifts in the subjects. Nice find here!
Two different photos, the first is creative and a bit mysterious the second is descriptive. Normally I prefere the creative image but the second is so well performed, so rich of interesting details with an incredible number of different colors that is my favorite. Beautiful.
Those are both very nice and they each have things going for them. I think i like the first and i think its because of how the horizontal lines across the top of each of the formations echo each other. In the second the diagonal on the left edge takes away some from that , but there is so much going on there. @Matt_Payne is right, i can see a lot of other interesting comps in there depending on how you crop it.
Yellowstone is definitely a âsmall landscapeâ photographerâs paradise. So many cool little scenes everywhere. We didnât get up to Mammoth Hot Springs on our recent workshop, and I can see from your photos that I shall have to return to see it!
Iâm enjoying both of your photos, but the first is really cool. It would be totally abstract, if the background at the top werenât there. The inclusion of the background gives it really nice depth, though.
The first one is much more interesting to me. In that one I sense these âobjectsâ marching from a mysterious unknown towards me. Whatâs interesting is that I view this image from back to front instead of the other way around. Anyway, I like how things get clearer and clearer and more and more beautiful in this progress. You never (or rarely) use saturated colors and this subject is very suitable for that level of color saturation. I remember that when I shot with D810 the colors were also muted.
PS. They kind of look like waves donât they? From that point of view I sense movement in this image.
I really only posted the second image to show you where I grabbed this intimate scene from although from a different angle. Matt, you are correct. There are so many possibilities with the larger image for crops and I actuall did take several images both tight and lose that I have to play with. Thanks for your thoughts.
Giuseppe, I love your descriptions. Thank you for that. I agree.
Cameron,I see where youâre coming from. I thought of pottery pots and planters when I first saw these. Thanks for your comment.
Bonnie, I can only imagine what youâd come away with from Mammoth. I canât wait to see next year. I love your suggestion and will try a crop when I get home from a business trip.
Igor, in the second image I definitely see waves. These are both pretty close to what you would see if you were actually there. I played around with more saturation but it starts to become too catoonish looking for me and you are right, I typically error on the side of softer saturation. I have some images from the grand prismatic spring that, even when desaturated, they look overcooked. Lots of bacterial color in Yellowstone.
John, glad I could sort of paint a picture for you. Thanks for your comment as well. I appreciate it.
