Hittin' The Trails ~ Wide Angle Wednesday

"It Ran Downhill"

(1/50 sec.@ F/10, ISO 200, 18mm fl, diffused sunlight, late day, handheld)

Considering I'm trying to finish one photo session and begin editing two more, I'll keep today's post short and sweet. Do you hike? Our family loves to hit the trails with a good walking stick or two... and the Nikon. Sometimes we spot deer, fox, woodpeckers. Sometimes we spot poison ivy and keep moving. I just love how quiet it gets, how the forest whispers in a breeze, and how if you look carefully, the trails tell you a story.

It's the story I like to try to photograph.

Here's the deal with the image above. Think late spring, new leaves not yet mature enough to block out the sun, plenty of natural debris on the forest floor for little critters to live in and under. Heavy bright green moss since there's been so much rain... and what's this? Down between the rocky karst, the remnants of a creek bed gone dry. I love that it once ran downhill towards me as I wandered off the beaten path, but that if you look carefully you can see that the whole scene runs downhill off to the left of the composition. Uncanny.

I've photographed this trail, the Hermitage Trail, often and my goal is to shoot it year round in 2011. I've wandered it alone, with my family, and with my good friend Kelly (and lovely photographer in her own right) many a time. But this will be the first year I attempt to let it reveal it's stories while I shoot... to see what the end result may be when I put them all together.

Frequent a favorite location with your cameras folks. You'll never run out of photo opportunities. Trust me.

Thanks for the ramble, and have an awesome day! And if you'd do me the honor, please click on the voting badge from Circle of Moms for me? Only 7 more days for me to try to stay in the TOP 25 Photog Moms! For those who have diligently voting, a huge thank you!

Can't See The Forest for the Trees ~ Mono Monday!

"A Whisper Off the Beaten Path"

(1/160 sec.@ F/9, ISO 200, 19mm fl, 18-55 kit zoom, handheld, bright shade)

Still using images this week from my personal challenge. Last week I mentioned tightening my focus. Breaking down the bigger picture I'm usually prone to seeing. Not to say that there's anything wrong with the bigger picture if it speaks to you, and is so powerful it moves you. But sometimes you look back over your shoulder on your artistic journey and realize you're just following the exact same trail over and over with the same results. If growth is your destination, better switch your approach. And the photographer or artist who can recognize that for themselves will find ways to make that happen, and find inspiration along the way.

When I saw today's subject, I knew two things instantly. The first, that the final image would be B&W. There was a bit of sidelight, which enhances texture and outlines shape wonderfully for a mono shot. Second, and more importantly, that the tree alone, was the subject. This is rare for me, since my tendencies run towards using trees to fill out the scene of a landscape. Basically I use them as filler. This time, I got my camera as low as possible under the tree that hangs over onto the trail below. From a few inches off the forest floor I tilted my D80 upwards to stretch the perspective as much as the kit lens would allow. This allowed me to include the root system that runs over and through the bed of karst throughout the trail. In fact, when I return to this spot, I already know I'll try to scootch even closer to the gnarly base and shoot up. For a more extreme perspective. But hey, baby steps right?

(And for those who have asked me to dissect my processing, this image was taken into PSPx2 into the B&W filter, after I did some dodging and burning and the clarify filter applied only to the main tree and karst in a separate layer. Before I flattened the layers I used the eraser tool to reveal the work I did to the tree and rocks without the overall tones in the background changing to ensure the tree stands out nicely the way the side light lit it that afternoon.)

I am still pleased with the result. Dissecting the big picture to see more interesting subjects and details much closer, with better impact, is already paying off. No, it's not as close a shot as the birch bark posted last Thursday... but it's a different kind of subject isolation, for me anyways. Hence the title of the post today! Ignored the forest, and looked only at the trees...

Thanks for the Monday ramble gang! And for journeying along with me as I grow again. And for being so encouraging with your emails and comments and tweets... have a good one! And maybe spend this week finding a way to break out of your routine.