Autumn blaze

Stumblebum

There are few grander spectacles than Fall in Eastern Sierras! When there, your spirit soars with high peaks, the wide open spaces create sense of freedom, the dilapidated light soothes the soul and fall colors light your heart on fire!

I tried my best to capture some of the grandeur! The scenes kept prompting me to shoot panos. Also for the first time, tried my hand at ICM (Intentional Camera Movement) to try and create an abstract.

All criticism and kind comments heartily appreciated!

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

7)

8)

9)

10)

11)

12)

13)

14)

15)

JonaBeth Russell

THIS JUST IN...It has been killed, and Taz did it.

kdog

Thelensspot

Taz, you have laid out a beautiful symphony. The first few shots peak our interest and then the masterpiece quickly unfolds before us. I not only appreciate your extraordinary (not a word that does you justice) photography talents on display here, I admire how much you worked to put this in front of your camera! clapbowlust

R.Jay

Every one is a winner, especially #2, #6 & #11. Outstanding series

Cheers, Richard.

denisegoldberg

These are simply spectacular! My favorites are 4, 5, and 7.

--- Denise

anwmn1

14)

I personally like this image the most in this series. While this type of shot is often done I really like the tones and colors in this one. A panoramic crop of the top 1/2 to 2/3 would make for a nice artistic piece to hang.

Stumblebum wrote: »

2)

This is my 2nd favorite and I think I would be a stronger image with less sky. It currently has three different subject areas clearly divided. Cropping out a little more of the clouds changes the entire feel of the scene and puts more attention to the submerged rocks and reflections.

As far as the rest....... well I guess I am a cynic to the current trend of sharpness and detail through the entire scene. While it is all over 500px and other sites I find it unrealistic and uninspiring. It is a wow factor at first glance but doesn't hold ones attention as a well composed image with subtle details. Just my thoughts. I always enjoy seeing your posts and your progress over the last couple years.

Stumblebum

JonaBeth Russell wrote: »

THIS JUST IN...It has been killed, and Taz did it.

Thanks JBR! bow

kdog wrote: »

bow
Your teachings at work! Maybe next year our schedules align!

Thelensspot wrote: »

Taz, you have laid out a beautiful symphony. The first few shots peak our interest and then the masterpiece quickly unfolds before us. I not only appreciate your extraordinary (not a word that does you justice) photography talents on display here, I admire how much you worked to put this in front of your camera! clapbowlust

Too kind Wayne! Thanks truly!:ivar

R.Jay wrote: »

Every one is a winner, especially #2, #6 & #11. Outstanding series

Cheers, Richard.

Many thanks Richard!!

denisegoldberg wrote: »

These are simply spectacular! My favorites are 4, 5, and 7.

--- Denise

Yay! Thanks kindly Denise! Its a good spot!

Stumblebum

anwmn1 wrote: »

I personally like this image the most in this series. While this type of shot is often done I really like the tones and colors in this one. A panoramic crop of the top 1/2 to 2/3 would make for a nice artistic piece to hang.

This is my 2nd favorite and I think I would be a stronger image with less sky. It currently has three different subject areas clearly divided. Cropping out a little more of the clouds changes the entire feel of the scene and puts more attention to the submerged rocks and reflections.

As far as the rest....... well I guess I am a cynic to the current trend of sharpness and detail through the entire scene. While it is all over 500px and other sites I find it unrealistic and uninspiring. It is a wow factor at first glance but doesn't hold ones attention as a well composed image with subtle details. Just my thoughts. I always enjoy seeing your posts and your progress over the last couple years.

Hi Aaaron thanks much for posting and giving valuable input. The first one you mentioned is 5 shot pano with max 16mm. At the moment I took I was regretting I didn't have wider lens. Later I did cut some off. I would have had more width but there were people standing on my left so couldn't keep on going. I would experiment and see if bit more pano-ish crop works. I am worried thought that I would lose the intent, sort of ring of fire if I chop too much.

For panos maybe they can be softened up in post here and there and idea worth experimenting. However, as is, they are somewhere between 40-80 MB shots and details galore. Thanks again as now I have something else to consider.......areas of softness! Cheers!

Here is reworked crops:

kdog

anwmn1 wrote: »

I guess I am a cynic to the current trend of sharpness and detail through the entire scene. While it is all over 500px and other sites I find it unrealistic and uninspiring. It is a wow factor at first glance but doesn't hold ones attention as a well composed image with subtle details.

This is confusing to me. What does sharpness and detail through the image have to do with being well composed and subtle details? To me those are separate qualities. I don't spend much time on 500px, so perhaps I'm not aware of this trend about sharpness and detail throughout the entire image, but I'm having a hard time understanding why that's necessarily bad. In fact, in most images, sharpness throughout the photo is a good thing. The exception to that is when you want to emphasize a particular geological feature. In that case you might want a shallow depth of field to draw your eye.

My particular pet-peeve on what I see on 500px is the heavy-handed vignettes that seem so popular but in many cases way overdone and tiresome (at least to me.)

I'd be interested in hearing more about your thoughts here. Maybe you could start a thread on the topic and post some examples.

Thelensspot

kdog wrote: »

This is confusing to me. What does sharpness and detail through the image have to do with being well composed and subtle details? To me those are separate qualities. I don't spend much time on 500px, so perhaps I'm not aware of this trend about sharpness and detail throughout the entire image, but I'm having a hard time understanding why that's necessarily bad. In fact, in most images, sharpness throughout the photo is a good thing. The exception to that is when you want to emphasize a particular geological feature. In that case you might want a shallow depth of field to draw your eye....

I had trouble trying to understand the previous argument against sharpness and detail "through the entire scene" being a negative in landscapes as well. Is this to say that shots with variable DOF's are always the better shot? To my thinking this would be best determined by what's in front of the camera. I'm not a professional but... I'm always ready to learn something.

anwmn1

kdog wrote: »

This is confusing to me. What does sharpness and detail through the image have to do with being well composed and subtle details? To me those are separate qualities. I don't spend much time on 500px, so perhaps I'm not aware of this trend about sharpness and detail throughout the entire image, but I'm having a hard time understanding why that's necessarily bad. In fact, in most images, sharpness throughout the photo is a good thing. The exception to that is when you want to emphasize a particular geological feature. In that case you might want a shallow depth of field to draw your eye.

My particular pet-peeve on what I see on 500px is the heavy-handed vignettes that seem so popular but in many cases way overdone and tiresome (at least to me.)

I'd be interested in hearing more about your thoughts here. Maybe you could start a thread on the topic and post some examples.

Up to you as moderator to keep here or move but here are my thoughts.

The sharpness through an entire scene is for one - unrealistic. That level of detail is not how a scene is actually seen and therefore to me becomes fabricated. I see this similar to HDR a few years ago, its a trend, its what is viewed as good photography right now, but it is clique and will hopefully pass. The 500px reference is for the following reason. Go to 500px and view the first few pages of popular landscape photos - for the most part they could all fall under the same persons portfolio of work. Most of them border on fantasy compared to realistic scenes.

This is just my personal opinion and taste, so everyone is inclined to disagree and have their own feelings on this. Photography continues to evolve and the line between photography and digital art is very gray with some "popular" photographers taking liberties beyond my gripe of infinite sharpness. I simply prefer images that feel natural not fabricated, those that spend a good amount of time outdoors know what is realistic and what is not. I think the best images lead an viewer through them by having depth, subject matter(s), subtle areas of focus, and if possible have a message or invoke a feeling. The ideal image will retain your focus and attention for some time and I don't think the current trend achieves that.

Stumblebum

anwmn1 wrote: »

Up to you as moderator to keep here or move but here are my thoughts.

The sharpness through an entire scene is for one - unrealistic. That level of detail is not how a scene is actually seen and therefore to me becomes fabricated. I see this similar to HDR a few years ago, its a trend, its what is viewed as good photography right now, but it is clique and will hopefully pass. The 500px reference is for the following reason. Go to 500px and view the first few pages of popular landscape photos - for the most part they could all fall under the same persons portfolio of work. Most of them border on fantasy compared to realistic scenes.

This is just my personal opinion and taste, so everyone is inclined to disagree and have their own feelings on this. Photography continues to evolve and the line between photography and digital art is very gray with some "popular" photographers taking liberties beyond my gripe of infinite sharpness. I simply prefer images that feel natural not fabricated, those that spend a good amount of time outdoors know what is realistic and what is not. I think the best images lead an viewer through them by having depth, subject matter(s), subtle areas of focus, and if possible have a message or invoke a feeling. The ideal image will retain your focus and attention for some time and I don't think the current trend achieves that.

Hi Aaron, good input! What is funny is that I reduced sharpness and clarity for this set 20% less than my norm because the leaves and rocks already have too much texture. Perhaps I can use less contrast.....but I used what I thought looked and felt best. Yeah, it seems fantasy pics are most popular. I don't hold ability to create art against those guys....if I knew how to do it, I would be doing it!:D

David_S85

Breathtaking scenery! Must have been even better in person.

Stumblebum

David_S85 wrote: »

Breathtaking scenery! Must have been even better in person.

Thanks kindly David!

It really was amazing! More beautiful than I could capture!
Even on a cloudy morning......I packed tripod 3 times thinking I am done and light is getting harsh....and then set it up and started shooting again!

Cornflake

Well, I'm late, but these are terrific. I'm also a fan of 14, particularly the cropped version. Number 7 also grabs me, a lot. And I'm largely with Aaron on the aesthetic issues.

Eldon Shea

Gorgeous photos, Stumblebum. The panos really take the cake. Is that by chance the Owens River in #12?
Bryan

Stumblebum

Cornflake wrote: »

Well, I'm late, but these are terrific. I'm also a fan of 14, particularly the cropped version. Number 7 also grabs me, a lot. And I'm largely with Aaron on the aesthetic issues.

Thanks Don! Can't say that enough!

Eldon Shea wrote: »

Gorgeous photos, Stumblebum. The panos really take the cake. Is that by chance the Owens River in #12?
Bryan

Thanks kindly Bryan!! The #12 is 'North Shore Lake' near Bishop CA. That is high altitude so the fall peak occurs there nearly a month before rest of Mono county so if you ever plan that trip, keep that in mind! Kind regards!

Wiren

DUDE!!! all nice, yada, yada, yada....

WHAT IS UP WITH #14 ABSTRACT!?!?! THIS IS TOPS!!!

I love that shot.... I am so glad you took it and shared it!

Print that sucker, Large!... Frame it and take it to a gallery, I think that one there is one of the best i've seen out of you in a very long time, and you know I love your work!

Kudo's Mate!!

Stumblebum

Wiren wrote: »

DUDE!!! all nice, yada, yada, yada....

WHAT IS UP WITH #14 ABSTRACT!?!?! THIS IS TOPS!!!

I love that shot.... I am so glad you took it and shared it!

Print that sucker, Large!... Frame it and take it to a gallery, I think that one there is one of the best i've seen out of you in a very long time, and you know I love your work!

Kudo's Mate!!

Thanks Lee!!bow
I thought you might like that one because it looks like one of yours! Except I don't have your vision and knack for adding twists and unparalleled processing skills. However, I am glad just moving camera yielded something useful!

Cheers m8!

roaddog52

A great set! There's nothing I can say that hasn't been said. thumb

I think #11 and 12 may be my favorites.

Phil

Stumblebum

roaddog52 wrote: »

A great set! There's nothing I can say that hasn't been said. thumb

I think #11 and 12 may be my favorites.

Phil

Phil any opinion of yours means much! I am ! Cheers!

Celtic Snapper

11 & 12 for me! Super shots!
But again, they're all good!

Stumblebum

Celtic Snapper wrote: »

11 & 12 for me! Super shots!
But again, they're all good!

Thanks again! I thought I got them in bit harsh light so wont' work but you, Phil, others said same thing so I am delighted! Cheers!