The Merced River: Power & Elegance

[Lon_Overacker]

Project Images

Gallery Overview

Individual Images

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

Image 5

Image 6

Image 7

Image 8

Image 9

Image 10

Image 11

Image 12

Project Description

I’m quite literal when it comes to my definition of a photo “Project.” And that is, a Project is a theme, concept or pre-conceived grouping of images that haven’t been created yet. The purpose of the Project is to produce work that fits the theme or stated goal. A “Project” (at least to me) is not a set of images you have in your archives that match some theme or concept you want to portray after the fact. That to me, is a “Collection.”

I have thousands of images from Yosemite and the Merced River. Wouldn’t take much to think of a theme and then go find images to fit that theme. I could create a collection of images to fit a theme say “Order from Chaos”. But that’s not what creating a Project means; at least to me.

This is my first ever photo Project. After David and team created this category, I had been thinking about what I could do and create. I’m a creature of habit when it comes to photo destinations, so I attempted to come up with a theme before my visit to Yosemite at the end of April.

I’ve photographed the Merced river and it’s surrounding environment for a long time. Most always I’m just an opportunist. I’m also that creature of habit and will photograph the same scene or types of scenes, over, and over.

For the first time, I visited Yosemite with a new and different mindset. I actually had a theme, a “Project” to guide my approach and choice of photographs. I was pleasantly excited to see what I could produce.

So the title and quest for this Project isn’t terribly difficult to imagine. Power and Elegance. Heck, I didn’t want to give myself anything too difficult! So the idea was to have the images progress, loosely I guess, from raw power interpretations of the mighty river during the peak of an epic runoff from a historic winter in the Sierra; to the quiet elegance the river also displays. The river was raging. But it’s not all about the raw power of the river… there’s plenty of gentle, peaceful, quiet and elegant ways to see and experience this river.

I hope I’ve captured that in such a few number of images.

Self Critique

I like the images and Project that I was able to produce. But more than just the images, I really liked the idea of challenging myself, to focus on something with a purpose, rather walking around hoping for great light of stumbling upon somethin interesting.

What could I improve on? Well, for sure try a more challenging Project! Sure, I had the theme before I made the trip or clicked any shutter button… but c’mon, how many times have I been to Yosemite? Is it really a challenge to find raging white water in a river? So on the one hand I’m setting out to create work for a Project. But then it really wasn’t a tough challenge. But the exercise was a positive one. I will try more challenging ones in the future!

Creative Direction

My creative direction here is learning how to see, create and then learn how to evaluate the results if they actually convey that theme that was intended.

I personally am not trying to evoke any emotional response per se with any of these images, send a message or tell a story - Actually, quite literally showcasing the various concepts and moods of the river from raw power, to the elegant flow… nothing more, nothing less.

The real direction and exercise was simply pursuing the idea of a “Project”; conceptualizing ahead of time and then trying to produce images that represent the objective theme.

Specific Feedback

Of course I would love to know if the Project works. Did I succeed in capturing the theme?

How do the images flow together? What images, if any, don’t fit or illustrate power or elegance - or in between?

I had several images that work well in b&w, but not enough to make the entire Project b&w. And I didn’t want to mix. I also cropped all to a 5x7 ratio for consistent format. Do you think those choice helped the Project presentation?

As always your reaction, comments and suggestions are more than welcome!

Intent of the project

Gallery on your website

Additional Details: For this trip I had rented the Nikon Z7ii and the 24-200mm. So I have images from both the mirrorless Z7ii and the D800E. Of the 12, 7 are from the Z7ii and 5 from the D800E.

Alternate Images

Please provide feedback on whether any of these images would fit more cohesively in the project.

Alternate Image 1

Alternate Image 2

Alternate Image 3

Alternate Image 4

Alternate Image 5

[Paul_Breitkreuz]

Lon, I feel you reached the goal of the Project here. The title alone shares a bit of understanding of what to expect. I suspect recent years the Power side of the Merced might exceed most of the Elegance side overall. Not knowing the area like you do the difference between the images of Power & Elegance might be more a given sight over the actual flow rate season to season.
But maybe not as much as one would think. In the end the entire group does provide insight to both the Power & Elegance the mighty Merced has to offer…a super assembalge of scenes here, Lon.

[Igor_Doncov]

This is a really fine series that holds together really well. In my opinion images 11 and 12 don’t hold together as well as the other 10 and I’m not sure why. They just seem different to me, as though there is a break in continuity right there. I really like alternate 4 and would replace one of those two with it. I might start the whole thing with alternate 1 as a sort of introduction. Alternate 4 I would place between image 3 and 4. Just some thoughts…

[Kerry_Gordon]

Well, okay!! Honestly, my first impression when I looked at these images was (even before reading your text), "Finally, someone who understands what "a project " is. So, I love it. My critique would have mostly to do with the order and relationship between images. The first 8 images are very strong and fierce. As I move through them, the connection between them is obvious but together they inform one another with being repetitive (not so easy to do). Image 9, 10, 11, and 12 are quite different but other than image 11, which, though very beautiful, doesn’t feel like it belongs in this collection the other three, for me, at least, do. As to images 8, 9, and 12, I would want to find a way to blend them into the flow of the whole project because it feels to me like there is an abrupt shift between the raging waters - either foam or foam and rock and then the more “elegant” waters and trees. Even though “alternate image 3” and “image 9” are similar, I think I would include it instead of “image 11”. But again, I would be tempted to play with the flow of images and their relationship - something akin to mimicking the change in flow of the river itself. In any case, this is wonderful work, Lon, capturing the real power of of creating projects - both in process and result.

[Dan_Hicks]

I also know this route to Ahwahne well, and I think these do a wonderful job of capturing the way the Merced moves through its canyon, both powerful and elegant. (I always say hello to the river when 140 meets it at Briceburg.) In particular, 3 and 7 bring me right back to early June, when there was SO MUCH water.

For me image 10 seems like the odd fit, perhaps because the tree draws more attention than the river?

[Bonnie_Lampley]

This is wonderful, Lon. I agree with Kerry that the most of the images fit well, but the order could be different. For example, start with 2 and 3, the fast shutter speed ones, gradually working towards the calm elegant ones. #11 doesn’t work for me because the color tones are so different and it feels much more abstract then even the close-up all-water shots. #12 also feels odd, I think because it has a different balance of forest vs. water.

I admire your formulating the idea, then making the photos. Why do you feel that gathering images from the archive to make a project shouldn’t be a “project”? I think many of us have themes that run through our work, whether conscious or not, and we gather images over time that reflect those themes. Arranging them in a series that tells a story or illustrates an idea would be a project in my mind.

[rjWilner]

@Igor_Doncov

This is a really fine series that holds together really well. In my opinion images 11 and 12 don’t hold together as well as the other 10 and I’m not sure why.

Could it be that the river is not the dominant ‘leading actor in a starring role’ in 11/12 that it is in the others? For me, the river is more a co-star or possibly a supporting actor in those 2.

[rjWilner]

@Lon_Overacker

A “Project” (at least to me) is not a set of images you have in your archives that match some theme or concept you want to portray after the fact. That to me, is a “Collection.”

I have thousands of images from Yosemite and the Merced River. Wouldn’t take much to think of a theme and then go find images to fit that theme. I could create a collection of images to fit a theme say “Order from Chaos”. But that’s not what creating a Project means; at least to me.

I think maybe you’re overthinking it a bit. IMO, however a project originates is of little consequence. I think what you describe as a ‘collection’ could easily be turned into a ‘project’ simply because the seed for it to become a project may not have germinated until you’d already accumulated a gaggle of images and only saw the common thread (artist’s statement) that pulled them together as a project at some later date.

As an example…a couple years ago, I shot ICM almost exclusively for a bit over a year. It was a purely experimental ‘project’ at the outset to see if I could capture ‘Nature In Motion’ in some way that offered a decidedly different artistic aesthetic from the static nature/landscape images that had been my habit for way too long. After roughly a half dozen outings, I began to notice sub-groups beginning to appear. I.e., some retained some marginal sense of realism, another group took realism and tossed it out the window and followed that outside and kicked tit down the street to boot. Another group had some very Impressionistic leanings, yada yada. Each of those sub-group (‘collections’) I could have turned into separate projects had I chose.

So enough semantics. As far as the images go, you’ve got a terrific group, IMO. Like Igor, I have some reservations about 11 & 12, but the other 10 make the group greater as a whole than the individual images do separately. I think it might lean a bit more to the power side of your project title, but that may just be because of how I see ‘power’ vs ‘elegance’.

[Eric_Bennett]

Image 8 is especially great! Really nice project, Lon!

[David_Haynes]

This is going to be short and sweet Lon. You really have me thinking now about projects now. I love this.