Redwood forest are usually pretty dark. But once your eyes get accustomed to it you often notice a somber green glow to the bark that I find fascinating. This an also-ran image that I didn’t post before. But due to the lockdown I’m reconsidering old images. This is pretty much as shot without any processing or cropping. Thank you for looking.
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Igor , a beautiful image with a lot of tranquility in it ! Just looking at it no nits.
Igor, I’ve only visited Redwoods NP once, but I do have strong memories of the green colors on the tree bark. I wouldn’t call this an also-ran image, it has such strong graphic elements to it. I love the large finger of shadow between the two trees, and then the repetition of that shape on the right.
At first I was going to suggest dodging the highlights on the bark to show more texture, but if you look at the larger image for a few seconds, your eyes adjust, and you can see more details and texture.
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Yes, the greenish bark in the redwoods is very cool. I had the same thought as Ed, about dodging a few (but only a few) highlights to give it a bit more depth. The textures are visible as is, though - well done for such dark, flat light.
I actually thought the same before posting and made such an image. I then compared them side to side and decided that it was going against the dark mood, brooding emotion I’m after. So technically, yes, the rules say lighten it to increase contrast but artistically no. I even tried raising the clarity and texture and decided against both.
I should have called this “The Horror. The Horror” from Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. In fact, I will change the title.
Igor,
Wow - put this one in its own class or category. This just doesn’t fit anywhere, any genre… and so what that means to me is that this is completely unique. It’s compelling, mysterious and while I don’t understand the “Horror, Horror” reference - I’ll go with it, absolutely.
I just can’t see any alterations to this, color, sat or luminosity that could make this any better - in fact any change would quite literally ruin this one.
Great skill and vision to see, recognize and capture this. Well done is about all I can say.
Lon
The main character’s (Kurtz) quote in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness when he sees the inhumanity in the Belgian Congo. Same quote is given by Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now about what he saw in Viet Nam.
Yep, the redwoods are pretty dark. My first time there I had to bump my ISO to 500 just to get 1/6 of a second shutter speed at F/8…in the middle of the day! Dark! And yes, the green iridescent glow is so familiar. Good balanced image and the dark, imposing center just beckons me to explore inside, maybe another world or another time or another dimension.
Igor, I can sure see something popping it’s head out of the dark triangle in the middle. The green color is quite striking and combines with the darkness to make a very moody image.
Sadly, I’ve never visited a redwood forest, so my comments may be tainted by that but, for me, it appears very dark, and very green. I love the composition - I think it’s strong and very effective and certainly not an “also ran” by any means, but I would suggest dodging, not just to the highlights, but extending to the midtones as well. I think this definitely has lots of potential if those issues can be overcome.
Bill, if I overcame those ‘issues’ I would destroy the image. That’s like saying take a horror movie and brighten it up. As stated above I raised the highlights and compared it to this and decided it was not what I wanted to say here. There are different interpretations of redwood bark. This is the one I’m after now.
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