The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This image represents over 200 million years of time. The petrified logs were conifers, swept downstream during the Triassic Epoch when there was the single supercontinent of Pangea. Present day Arizona was located near the equator and had a humid, sub-tropical climate. The trees were deposited in a river plain and were quickly covered in volcanic ash. As organic matter decayed in the trees it was replaced by minerals in the soil surrounding the trees. Over the next 200 million years layers formed over the top of the trees. The National Park has a nonconformity, it is missing almost 200 million years of geologic layering that over time has eroded away, exposing the petrified trees. Missing are layers deposited during the Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary periods. During that time the area has been subject to geologic uplift, rising from near sea level to over 5,000 feet in elevation as the Colorado Plateau was formed.
Specific Feedback
Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated, particularly about composition and processing.
Technical Details
Canon 1DS Mark II, 24-105 @93mm, 1/400 sec, f11, ISO 200
Scott I really like this approach to Petrified Forest. The location tempts the photographer to fill the frame with the colored stone. Lots of shots, which look great, have half the frame in wood detail at the bottom. But these segmented trees look like a train wreck shot from above. Excellent. The snow sets off the colors. Really gives the place a different feel than all the wide angle closeups I’ve seen. The darker slice across the top, for me, kind of interrupts the perfect marriage of stone and snow, however.
You did not mention if the surrounding “White” is stone or snow. Is it snow? I feel like its bare white rock. Aside from that the segmented petrified trees is what catches my attention and curiosity as why are they segmented? What I find unappealing about the photo is the lighting. Its harsh and the trees are front lit which hides any detailed texture in the trees.
Thank you your comments James! The white you are referring to isn’t snow, it is sandstone. I see your point about the darker grey hill in the background, I would have preferred it not bee there too, but I couldn’t get the second log in the frame without including it, and I made the decision the second lot adds more to the image than the gray detracts. Personal choice of course.
Hi Scott,
This is certainly an intriguing image as it makes me wonder as to how those petrified trees came to be segmented like that. At first I was not sure about those blue tones at the top of the frame, but when I cropped it off the image did not work for me. I actually think it compliments some of the blue tones in the petrified trees. I could see cropping a little from the right side just to make that patch of earth that is devoid of snow just a little smaller. Very nicely done.
The white is sandtone. The tree are segmented mostly due to erosion. As you can see in the photo, the substrate underneath the trees has eroded out from underneath the trees, forming small gullies, essentially removing the foundation that has supported them, causing them to fracture. I have seen other petrified trees that are almost fully intact where the ground beneath them has not eroded away.
Thank you for your comments and suggestions Ed! I liked your idea about cropping some off the right, when I did that I decided to try a more significant crop, taking some off the top, since others have also expressed their dislike for the grey hill. I cropped some off the bottom as well. I’d love to hear what everybody think about this version. It puts more emphasis on the petrified trees. Did I go too far?
Sandstone! And here I was thinking you are a winter photography trooper!
Actually a super idea to shoot Petrified Forest in snow … But maybe it never snows there?
This was taken on December 30. When I lived in Colorado my brother and I had a tradition of taking the week between Christmas and New Year’s off and going on hiking/backpacking/photography trips, usually to the Southwest. Aside from frigid nights, it was a great time to go to the desert, less people and the days were usually between 60-75 degrees. It does snow there, but usually melts off very quickly.
Cool image. Today they look like logs that are about to go over a waterfall. Yesterday the looked like some alien creatures. I like both versions but I would do a fill content aware of the bright slice on top in the cropped version.
Scott, I really like how the two fallen, petrified trees angle across the frame. I like how your original post emphasizes how big and tall those trees were. As with others, I’m bothered by the distant hillside and the different brightness of it’s textures. It took me a while to realize that it’s a single hill, the colors and brightness change so dramatically that it feel like they’re at two different distances. I wonder if burning-in the lighter areas back there would reduce that effect.
Very interesting and intriguing photograph… it’s the type that keeps you guessing? Are those smaller Lincoln Log size pieces or much larger. You could conclude either with the absence of something to give a dimensional size answer, which is terrific. Also for me it borders on an illustration which makes me prefer the crop best. Love it.
Thank you Mark for your suggestions. The grey hill is actually farther in the distance than the white ones. I agree with burning in the bright area in the grey hill, that de-emphasizes that hill and makes it more just part of the background.
