Cradled

Darker reflection -

Monochrome Preset number 8

Roots on the riverbank always fascinate me, doesn’t matter which river. This happens to be the Spirit. The roots are not only supporting the tree, but the rocks as well. It probably won’t be long before the tree loses its grip and becomes water-borne detritus that will change the course of the river and provide nutrients and habitat for a whole new part of the ecosystem.

I was in some deep canopy and it was pretty dim so I wanted to preserve that in the final image. That started with underexposing in the field and not overdoing exposure in post.

Specific Feedback Requested

Have at it.

Technical Details

Is this a composite: No
Handheld in the kayak that I ‘beached’ on the opposite bank.

image

Lr processed starting with Modern 10 preset. A lot of brush work to deepen shadows and manage highlights. Clarity and contrast added as well as the crop. Sharpening & nr. Photoshop to clean up a lot of intersecting and very bright sticks.

@the.wire.smith

A very interesting subject! I never know how best to process images in which I want to convey gloomy darkness, and I think you did well here. I wonder if the reflections shouldn’t be a little darker, though.

1 Like

I like the overall shape/pattern of the roots and reflection. The moss is an interesting element as well. I wonder if reducing the overall exposure a bit might better reflect the dim conditions?

1 Like

This is a very cool find Kris. It looks more like something from a mangrove swamp in Florida than from a river in Wisconsin. There is just something primeval, and vaguely sinister about it (which is a good thing). You have a lot of great repetition of shapes going on here, even beyond the repetition from the reflection itself. And I love the strong left to right flow of the image. I very much like this image as presented.

But with shapes and textures like this, a B&W version could be fun to explore as a second version. I think it takes the primeval / sinister factor up another notch.

1 Like

Thanks @Diane_Miller @DeanRoyer & @Ed_McGuirk - I had a feeling this would resonate with some of you. :grin: I’ve added a b&w version, which I toyed with at the time I first processed this, but decided on a moody color version instead. I’ve also darkened the reflection which I think has a similar effect to lowering the exposure even further. Thoughts?

I prefer the rework with the darker reflection, it adds a touch more drama to the scene IMO.

I also think the darker version is better primarily because there is more information in its highlights. I see this less as a reflection of roots and more as an abstract with bilateral symmetry.

I had this crazy idea of rotating this ‘abstract’ 90 degrees clockwise to produce a figure akin to the Eiffel Tower in roots. The greens would need to be cropped and some burning to make both sides equal. You can almost see it in the b&w version. Anyway, it’s late and I’m fantasizing.

1 Like

Kristen, This is really an interesting find and you did a wonderful job of capturing and processing it. I like the darkened reflection best in the color versions and really quite enjoy the b&w version. I have spent a lot of time along the WI River banks and see similar roots like this but haven’t photographed them…this will make me think twice about that now. Nice work seeing and capturing this very interesting image.

1 Like