This image was taken in Olympic National Park on my recent trip with family. This was a huge log on the beach. I walked right past this tree but my wife came and got me and brought me back to this tree with bark that looked like it had been graffitied, but naturally. Anyway, I stacked several images for depth of field on this. There are may different things to see in this but I particularly found something that interested me. Just curious what you find and if it’s the same thing that caught my eye. Also, not sure if I should post it here or in the new abstract category.
Specific Feedback Requested
Do the LRC and LLC bother you at all? The LRC with the white right up against the frame and the LLC with the gaping mouth right up against the frame?
Technical Details
Z7ii, ISO 160, 105mm macro lens, f/16, 1/60 se, stacked images for depth of field.
David, I’m really liking this one. Kind of reminds me of one of those canvass’ where someone slung paint at it for the modern fine art effect… Definitely not a Timothy Leary psychedelic look at all. This is very nice. I can’t say I’ve ever seen anything this across the board color ranges in a small natural setting such as your wonderful find here… Hopefully you have thanked your wife on her keen observation here and pointing it to you. …
btw: I can’t say I’m seeing any unique item you might be seeing. But than I’m lousy at hidden items in puzzles too…
Lots of interesting things in this for me. One that needs to be viewed more than once while taking considerable time each time. I see what appears to be a whale in one area. I think this is an alder log. Some camera movement might have made this look more Learylike. Nice shot!
SOOOO different and amazing! And way beyond any piece of wood I’ve ever seen. But I immediately saw lips, just to the right and below the center. Probably a dozen other things to be discovered, too.
David, this is terrific. What a find. I think the comp and the stacking are perfect. I wouldn’t change a thing here. And it could go in either category so no worries. Love it.
The colors are beautiful and I love all the detail this image provides. When I enlarged this photo, I saw what I would say was a bird (maybe Eagle like) perched in the LLC. What a fun photo!!!
Excellent image, David. Yes, it’s very modern. What impresses me though is that such art is actually present in nature and can be captured by a camera. Whether it’s a tree or not is not important. It shows that we nature photographers can capture visions which only a painter is supposed to be able to create. You could argue that finding something like this is harder than creating it on a blank canvas. It also shows how strongly connected is the natural world to what man freely creates.
As for the image itself. It would have been a great image on its own but the dark jagged lines running across it takes it to another level. Yellow is always a very strong color that really stands out. It adds energy to an image but can dominate. It’s doing both in this picture. I always spend more time on yellow than all the other colors. Here it is dominating once again. But I suspect that if you desaturate it then the image will start to look more phlegmatic. Maybe not, though. You could start to add saturation to other colors to compensate. But then you’re opening a Pandora’s box and who knows where it will lead. But at this point I would desaturate the more intense yellows in this picture.
As far as how it affects me. I would say turmoil or agitation. It’s not a calm scene. I would be very proud of this image because it takes the imagination about as far as anything I’ve seen so far in the NPN landscape gallery (and I’ve been here a very long time).
Really beautiful, David. I love the texture and colors the lower corners do t bother me at all. Would t have noticed had you not said anything.
I’m impressed with the focus stacking. Great job.
I see two big yellow eyes!
This is great, David! The goal with scenes like this is to make the audience second guess what it is. I thought initially it could be an ICM but upon further looking I could tell what it actually was. That’s a huge win!
I want you to know that I thanked my wife for showing me this old log on the beach. She deserves the credit for this one. Thanks for mentioning that Paul.
I’m certainly glad that you are all enjoying this one. I see this exactly as @Igor_Doncov sees it. It’s super grungy and edgy and a little bit cryptic which is why I gave it the title of Natures Graffiti. I think of graffiti as being kind of underground, in the shadows and the dark, against societal wills, and it certainly stirs emotions in almost everyone, mostly negative, so I can see why Igor says that this image creates turmoil or agitation. This is not a calm scene. I think he nailed it with that description far better than I could put into words. But graffiti is also an expression of art and some graffiti artists are remarkably talented in a way that stirs the soul.
We don’t want to get too dark here so on a lighter note, and just for fun, there is a lot to see in this image if you peruse it long enough. I’ve added a copy that shows what I saw and a couple of things that my wife and kids saw. There are many more I’m not sharing because it would just become too marked up. The main thing I saw is some sort of round cartoon character with the yellow eyes, kiss me lips, and the two feet. There is also an owl face just above and to the right of the cartoon character, and a Raven or crow just above and to the left of the central character. An image of a cow to the right and a ghostly apparition down in the left corner. Diane saw the lips, and Mark, David Peterson and Mike all see the eyes of something. Some of these are a stretch for sure and a healthy dose of the imagination needs to be brought into play here. @Igor_Doncov …Thank you very much for your kind words in regards to this image. I am truly humbled by your detailed write up.
I agree about the yellows/golds in this image sort of taking over. I am working on trying to bring the yellows down without making them muddy.
Here is the image with the outlines of what I saw. I certainly understand if you don’t see what I see. That’s what makes these kind of fun.
This is just wildly fantastic! “Graffiti” is apropos here I think.
Dark? I suppose, I can see that. Just staring at this - and before seeing things, faces and figures… it does conjur up some darkness - like a wall being painted in a war-torn urban area - maybe some blurred sayings or just paint splatter as Paul mentions. Many, many things could be interpreted here… which just adds to greatness of this image.
I typically don’t articulate “feelings” well with images, but there is no doubt that the imagination is in overdrive with this one.
Its a great abstract photo, but for the life of me I cannot “see” anything in it like the others have, and I usually see things in abstracts. This just might be the abstract that abstracts abstractions.
Definitely not a Timothy Leary psychedelic look at all. This is very nice. I can’t say I’ve ever seen anything this across the board color ranges in a small natural setting such as your wonderful find here… 
Hopefully you have thanked your wife on her keen observation here and pointing it to you. … 
