Image Description
he Dream Machine
During the night, the heavy clouds of the evening began to dissipate. As the Sun approached the eastern horizon, vapor began to rise from the surface of the river. A gentle breeze scooped it up and carried it lovingly as it sauntered through the cottonwoods lining the water’s edge. The fog didn’t get too thick. Not quite a blanket, it was more like a silky shawl embracing the landscape. The lower branches of the trees and shrubs became frosted in feathers of ice. Soon, the energy of our favorite star began to illuminate the landscape. The river had been up to some mischief! With the air temp near zero, slushy ice formed where ever the water was disturbed. Riffles caused by submerged stones helped introduce frigid air to the super-cooled water. In one particular area, faster water enters a region of more still water. Shelves of solid ice along the shores created an area with a back-current. Flowing ice was lured in and molded into a perfectly spinning circle. It was like a gear in a dream machine. The dream it created is obscurely reflected in the downstream pool. Meanwhile, clouds danced overhead competing with the motion of the river for my attention. These ephemeral ice phenomena are fantastic things to observe. The soft scrape of slush against ice made for a soundtrack that was as magical to my ears as the ice circle was to my eyes. Then, in just moments, the clouds passed, the circle ceased movement as it jammed against the shelf ice, and the moment vanished the way a dream in the night gives way to the reality of day. It was a good dream. Reality wasn’t that bad either.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
At the time, my shortest focal length was 18mm. I’ve since picked up a 14-24. I wish I had not crowded the up stream area on the left side, but I felt like I couldnt loose any on the right. I’m standing on a bridge so backing up was not an option. I wonder how this is perceived as a vertical image. I’ve been trying to process images with less vibrant tones…is this too subdued? The light was fairly flat so I’ve done quite a bit of work with the masking tool in Lightroom
Technical Details
ISO 31, f/22, 25 seconds, 18mm. It was pretty bright out and despite the 6 stop ND filter, I still needed to lower that ISO and raise the f/stop higher than I like to get a long enough exposure. I used a lot of various masks in Lightrooms Masking Tool. The sky, the ice circle, the river and the sweeping curve in the foreground all have touch ups done to them
