Vestiges of Fall

Image Critiques Weekly Challenge
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Vestiges of Fall
Vestiges of Fall2080×1664 2.53 MB

It’s looking like late fall around here (foothills around the northern end of the Sacramento Valley in CA), especially in the burned areas. We went for a hike in Whiskeytown Park yesterday, just to see what was happening there. In some areas, new growth made for nice fall color, but it’s now mostly past, although there are some hangers-on with a bit of color amongst the mostly dead trees.

Specific Feedback Requested

When I saw this scene, looking across a small drainage towards a shaded, north-facing slope, I was taken by the tortuous limbs of the dead trees and the way they framed that one standing trunk and the subtle spots of orange color (from a redbud and a black oak, I believe). I kept this rather low-contrast and with subtle colors to convey a bit of melancholy, which I always feel when hiking in Whiskeytown now. This slope was positively lush (by California standards, anyway) before the fire. So, any words as to whether that’s what this conveys are welcome.

Technical Details

Is this a composite: No
a7r3, 75mm, f/5.6, 1/80s, ISO 400. Cropped to 5:7, dodging/burning, slight color adjustment.

4 Likes
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Beautiful image!! It most definitely has the melancholy mood. The comp could easily have gone chaotic, but it comes together extremely well. I really like this one a lot.

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Another Wow! Dead trees never looked so good. The subtle colors against the silver is beautiful, and I love the way that lower limb is reaching across the frame to cradle the color. A very nice composition to organize the chaos.

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Wow is right. This is awesome, Bonnie. Excellent composition and fantastic processing.

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Bonnie, this is a scene where the starkness is actually the main subject. The touch of fall colors hanging on provides a nice point of central focus. The past prime vegetation adds to the look & feel of the changing season… :sunglasses:

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Bonnie, the modest circle of color stands out strongly in the midst of all the starkness. The twisted trunks of the dead trees (especially in the bottom 1/4) do a great job of framing the bit of color. Low contrast and subtlety are definitely the right approach here.

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Thank you, @Harley_Goldman, @Diane_Miller, @David_Bostock, @Paul_Breitkreuz, and @Mark_Seaver for you appreciation.