Three Worlds
3rd Place
Intimate Landscapes
Darwin Wiggett’s Summer Photo Contest
3rd Place
Intimate Landscapes
Darwin Wiggett’s Summer Photo Contest
As I walked alone over the dry lake bed of Barrier Lake in Kananaskis Country Alberta, I was overcome by the desolate feeling of the place. I had been there many times before when there was water, but this was an entirely different feeling. It was only mid morning, but it felt a bit like walking in an oven as I walked across the sun baked mud.
I admit that when I’m alone in nature I’m a bit of a daydreamer. Every sound seems amplified, the smallest things suddenly seem much more apparent and everything seems beautiful in its own way. If anyone were to watch me, I’m certain that they would have a good laugh watching me stumble around, looking at the sky and staring down at what would seem like nothing to the average person. I’m sure I look goofy, but that is my creative process – to walk around and study every detail with an open mind and an emotional connection. Once I find something that interests me, my graphic design background kicks in and I begin to methodically construct a composition.
The morning I created this image was no different than any other – I wondered around admiring the lines the cracked mud created, the bright green grasses springing up in the cracks, the preserved animal prints, and the interaction between the cracked ground and the puddles. What initially intrigued me about this scene was actually cloud formations and trees reflected in the puddle. Once I looked a little more and refocused my eyes, I noticed how the cracked ground went under the water and the two seemed to merge. Three worlds came together in a single puddle, and were begging to be photographed… but how?
The Technical Side
This image presented several technical challenges that needed to be addressed. I needed to figure out a way to get the surface of the puddle and the underlying mud in focus at the same time, then I had to show the transition between the water and mud in a pleasing way, and last but not least I needed to create a perfect sun star. I started by waiting for the clouds to part and give me an unobstructed view of the sun and then created one exposure focused on the reflection at an aperture of f/18. I then quickly created a second exposure with my polarizing filter turned to cut the reflection and focused on the mud at the front of the puddle. I then blended the two exposures in Photoshop to create a subtle transition from the in-focus mud to the in-focus reflection.
Canon 5d, 24-70, f/2.8, USM @ 28mm, 1/6 sec, F/18, Iso 100
Tripod, cable release, mirror lockup
Editor’s Comments
I love how Wayne simplifies, seeing photography as if in a reverie. I often want this Muse’s mood when I shoot – seeking icons.
I might not have thought of using a polarizer to establish clarity between reflective water and underlying cracks. That’s the creative element of Wayne’s evocative shoot. Advanced use of Photoshop with its remarkable Blend Image function shows Wayne composed, perhaps beforehand, certainly knowing his collective images could be post processed to provide this impeccable, award-winning image.
Just as in Bisti Mosaic, Three Worlds provides a digital tone poem…
Scenes within scenes; dry cracked ground, water covering cracks, clouds obscuring cracks, the sun, and, finally, darkly obscured cracks under the mountain’s forest reflection!
I admit that when I’m alone in nature I’m a bit of a daydreamer. Every sound seems amplified, the smallest things suddenly seem much more apparent and everything seems beautiful in its own way. If anyone were to watch me, I’m certain that they would have a good laugh watching me stumble around, looking at the sky and staring down at what would seem like nothing to the average person. I’m sure I look goofy, but that is my creative process – to walk around and study every detail with an open mind and an emotional connection. Once I find something that interests me, my graphic design background kicks in and I begin to methodically construct a composition.
The morning I created this image was no different than any other – I wondered around admiring the lines the cracked mud created, the bright green grasses springing up in the cracks, the preserved animal prints, and the interaction between the cracked ground and the puddles. What initially intrigued me about this scene was actually cloud formations and trees reflected in the puddle. Once I looked a little more and refocused my eyes, I noticed how the cracked ground went under the water and the two seemed to merge. Three worlds came together in a single puddle, and were begging to be photographed… but how?
The Technical Side
This image presented several technical challenges that needed to be addressed. I needed to figure out a way to get the surface of the puddle and the underlying mud in focus at the same time, then I had to show the transition between the water and mud in a pleasing way, and last but not least I needed to create a perfect sun star. I started by waiting for the clouds to part and give me an unobstructed view of the sun and then created one exposure focused on the reflection at an aperture of f/18. I then quickly created a second exposure with my polarizing filter turned to cut the reflection and focused on the mud at the front of the puddle. I then blended the two exposures in Photoshop to create a subtle transition from the in-focus mud to the in-focus reflection.
Canon 5d, 24-70, f/2.8, USM @ 28mm, 1/6 sec, F/18, Iso 100
Tripod, cable release, mirror lockup
Editor’s Comments
I love how Wayne simplifies, seeing photography as if in a reverie. I often want this Muse’s mood when I shoot – seeking icons.
I might not have thought of using a polarizer to establish clarity between reflective water and underlying cracks. That’s the creative element of Wayne’s evocative shoot. Advanced use of Photoshop with its remarkable Blend Image function shows Wayne composed, perhaps beforehand, certainly knowing his collective images could be post processed to provide this impeccable, award-winning image.
Just as in Bisti Mosaic, Three Worlds provides a digital tone poem…
Scenes within scenes; dry cracked ground, water covering cracks, clouds obscuring cracks, the sun, and, finally, darkly obscured cracks under the mountain’s forest reflection!
I salute Wayne’s creativity… Three Worlds is a truly remarkable image!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment