Except for a whisper of a breeze and a small series of rapids about a quarter to half mile upstream, the bottom of the canyon, where the north fork of the American River flowed, was irresistibly quiet.
The sun had already moved beyond the west side of the canyon, blanketing the river with a blue hour color cast. But it was still high enough to illuminate the east side of the canyon, whose reflection frosted the surface of the water with a golden hour hue.
I distinctly recall forgetting about time as I watched the water curlicue over/around the rocky outcrop in the middle of the river.
Feedback Requests
The final image has a bit of an abstract feel to it. Do you think that’s plus or a minus?
Pertinent Technical Details
16 exposures, each 1/125 sec at f/20, ISO 2500, FL 400 mm, spaced 1/2 sec apart. Camera mounted on a sturdy tripod.
Noise was removed from each image using Lightroom’s Enhanced-NR denoising filter set to 60%.
In order to smooth out the surface ripples without sacrificing texture, all 16 images were loaded into individual Photoshop layers, grouped into a Smart Object, and then combined using the [Layer][Smart Objects][Stack Mode][Mean] feature.
The resultant image was then brought back into Lightroom were minimal tweaks using the Basic Panel were applied.
I like the idea but it might be just a little too defined for abstract but too indistinct for a standard landscape. I wonder if you actually removed some texture how it might look? I reduced texture and clarity, reduced highlights, lightened shadows,. At first I wondered a crop would help, but now I don’t think so. I’ve been finding myself drawn to abstracts lately, and I like how you saw this very much!
Thanks for the feedback on my not-so-abstract abstact! [I wonder if there is an “in-between-two-genres” photo-genre - tucked away in some corner of the NPN website??]
Franz, placement of photos in galleries is largely up to the photographer. A shot like this can either be put in landscape or abstract. Personally, I’d call it abstract because of the lack of detail and the spots of warmth in a “world” of blue. I find it an interesting mix of restful and inviting.
Franz: I really like this and am especially fascinated by your capture and processing technique, certainly a novel way of treating moving water. I also like the color palette. At first I thought I might like a tighter crop around the stone and sun reflection but o second thought I think this works very well as is. Nicely done. >=))>
I was an applied mathematician for many decades before I retired. There’s a lot of interesting math hidden underneath the novel method I used to not loose too much of the texture having to do with the shutter speed of each individual exposure, the delay between each individual exposure, and the number of exposures that are averaged together. [Helps keep my mind sharp.]
For what it’s worth, the [Mean] operation in Photoshop’s Smart Object [Stack Mode] feature is not the only mode that is available. The [Median], [Maximum], and [Minimum] modes can also produce interesting results…]
Cheers,
Franz
P.S. It’s a bit like ICM in that it takes a bit of experimentation before one develops an intuitive sense of which combination of the above three settings work best for a particular subject. Once one passses over the crest of the learning curve, it becomes easier (and more fun) with each additional bespoke image that is created.
What a wonderful abstract of nature. I never would have guessed so many exposures as this almost appears like it could be a single exposure with a medium-slow shutter speed like 1/8s or something. But I’ve also been experimenting with in-camera multiple exposure (I can only go up to 9…) but have been experimenting with similar results.
I love the textures you’ve achieved here while maintaining the rock in sharp focus. I also like what Paul did with his edits. The great news is that you have options!
As far as a category goes, IMHO, it works perfectly as an abstract. There are unlimited nature abstracts which can be readily identified, but they can and are still abstract in nature.
