I’m sure you know the song. I became fascinated with these plants virtually the first time I saw them. They all seemed to have a personality, a flair about them. Initially I made the mistake of trying to use them as a foreground. But I soon realized that they were better getting all the attention, so I composed a portrait of one that wasn’t moving. They’re so willowy that any hint of wind stirs them. I’m not sure what they are. They seem to be a sagebrush but are really much more refined.
Hi Igor. Your use of the soft light to capture the delicacy of the plant, and its friends, was a key to the success of this image. Soft tones and soft curves create a quiet mood. The diagonal arrangement of the bush(es) gave the composition more life than something more orthogonal. All good choices.
Not sure, but the texture of the bush might be from buds or fruit forming on the sagebrush.
A couple of areas seemed a tad bright to me. Upper left corner, and the red-yellow to the right of he subject. Below I took a pass at adjusting those.
Thank you for commenting Dick. I can’t remember if I ever got less comments on an image on the Landscape Forum than this image. I guess it’s just not that compelling. I think that may be due to the flat light conditions. It just doesn’t jump out at you.
Igor, this is lovely, and as with almost all of your posts, I knew it was yours from the thumbnail. The color palette in this is subtly stunning, and it is perfectly framed…and of course, the subject is very interesting. Nothing to critique from me.
To the contrary, I think it is actually a relatively compelling subject. The sage (or whatever it is), sort of reminds me of a lions mane, with the dark area in the center being the lions face. I do think the flat light in the original is holding back it’s impact somewhat, I like the direction that @Dick_Knudson took with his rework , a little more contrast and the brighter tonality of the sage help make this image stronger IMO. I think a nice small touch in this image is the yellow rabbit brush ringing the sage at the top, it helps to complement the sage. I also like the diagonal flow of the sage down into the LRC, it’s more dynamic than just a centered portrait of the sage.
To some degree the lack of color contrast may be holding back the impact of this photo as well, it’s all earth tones and mid-tones. This led me to consider the following alternate interpretation of this image. It’s a very different take on this scene, but I thought the texture in this image was too good to not at least consider a B&W conversion. By darkening the red slider, and boosting the yellow slider in a PS B&W adjustment layer, it was easy to separate the sage from the ground.
I can see where you’re going with this. Darken all the brush around it and make it stand out. The thing is that this thing had a wishy washy feel to it. That’s what attracted me to it from the start. I actually have a version with richer colors which I rejected in the end because it was overpowering.
I like the lion’s mane comparison. There is an animated sense to this subject which I tried to convey. This was shot in the shade. An overcast day would have been preferable but that’s wishful thinking in southwest Utah. The bright sun was a constant problem and these guys just don’t look good contrasty.
@Craig_Moreau, thanks for the vote of confidence. It does make me feel as though it wasn’t “a swing and a miss” (in world series parlance).
@Dick_Knudson, thanks for the rework. I see what you mean about the bright top left corner.
I like this image in the way I liked the image you posted of the grass. It doesn’t jump out at you and, frankly, that’s why I like it. Personally, I don’t want to be making images for the 15 second viewer on Instagram. But this is the kind of image that I can come back to . It’s nuanced and, for me, evocative. That being said, even though it is a completely different picture, I love Ed’s black and white rework. Two for the price of one?
I like the attention you gave this one, Igor. I also thought the image it was maybe a little to light. But you have certainly caught its flowing wildness and placed it in nicely in its soft color ground chaparral bio- system. The plant is Artemisia or Coastal Sagebrush, not a true sage though, but a dominant plant in the So Cal foothills with great scent and aroma. I rub it and use when needed as an insect repellent on my local walks in So Cal.
You know what’s interesting? There was a town by that name, Artimisia, close to where this picture was taken. I thought to myself ‘why would anyone name a town after brine shrimp way out here’.
@Igor_Doncov, as requested, here is my attempt at a non-phlegmatic version of little Artimisia. Dodged and burned the main plant; in ACR, increased clarity and texture (just a little) of the main plant, reduced clarity/texture/exposure/saturation around main plant. Not sure if I captured wishy-washy, but animated.
Wow. The difference is amazing. I actually didn’t mean to ask you to process this one but the willows one. But I’m not complaining. The change is remarkable.
LOL - my reading comprehension is slipping in my old age. I actually did look at the willows, but couldn’t figure out what to do to keep your vision of it. Glad you like my version of Artemisia, though.
I think I just don’t work as hard at processing as you do. I probably should. I procrastinate doing it because I get little enjoyment in it. The thing is that you can process just any image in almost endless ways. At some point you just say ‘enough’.
I do enjoy processing, if I’m interested in the scene (or it’s a challenge). It’s rather contemplative. It’s also difficult to decide what to do (if anything), sometimes. If I can’t decide, I just let it go for the moment and come back later (sometimes a year or two later).
