On a trip through Montana, I went into the Beaverhead NF to explore the ghost town of Coolidge.
While the ghost town was not that photogenic, Elkhorn Creek was lined with some great color.
This fallen log was jammed with debri creating a cascade in the creek. Throw in the rocks and you have a nice balance of blurred water, the still creek leading you to through the picture, and the lines of the colorful willow.
For processing, I used luminosity masks to add detail to the flowing water by darkening it slightly. Then selecting the colorful willows and bumping contrast and saturation, selectively.
Finally, I selected the green forest in the background and darkened them to allow the colorful willow stand out more.
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Related Posts: HDR and Exposure Blending in Glacier NP, Compositing 6 of Me Into One Image
While some might feel this is not nature photography because it is arranged, it sold as a stock photo a couple times including a cover. So who cares, right?
On one fall photography trip to New England, I had spent about 2 weeks in New Hampshire and Vermont, capturing an amazing array of rivers, mountains, waterfalls, country scenes, and ponds.
I had shot so many ponds and lakes with amazing color reflecting in the water that on the day I shot this, I felt I did not need another pond reflection.
So after parking my car and walking through the forest to see this pond near Glover VT, I felt I had to find a different view.
That need to for something different is what had me stop and look at this scene through the trees and branches. So I set up and framed the pond and reflection between the trees and this is the shot. The trees place visual boundaries on the sides and that helps keep the eye centered on the background, through the branches.
I must have had a decent idea as this was published once in a Vermont book.
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Related posts: Window to the World, I love photographing in Crappy Weather
Oregon’s McKenzie River flows down the western slope of the Cascade Mountains, heading towards Eugene.
It is a designated Wild and Scenic river that flows through old growth forests, is lined with a series of incredible waterfalls, and is a popular area for kayakers, hikers, and rafters…
…and photographers. Anytime of the year is amazing to photograph along the river but fall is special. The river is lined with a variety of maple trees, river rapids, small cascades, and in the deeper pools of water, the color is a tropical blue.
Several years ago I was teaching at the Black Hills Photo Shootout in South Dakota and when the event wrapped up I headed off to Badlands NP.
I had a half day to shoot there before returning to Rapid City for an early morning flight and I arrived in the early afternoon.
I drove the loop road heading west and stopped at each point to see what could be captured. It was unfortunately a perfectly clear day and I adapted the the harsh sunlight and did pretty well.
I have been here to this overlook at Dallas Divide in Colorado many times and it is amazing….and usually crowded in fall.
During my visits the weather has been ‘perfect’ and other times sunny. What I mean is that one time the sky was so clear, it was hot, and it just was not that great compared to this visit when a storm was passing through and even leaving a dusting of snow on the mountains.
I love photographing in crappy weather! Some of my best or maybe favorite images happened when the weather sucked.
When it is overcast or even raining, specular highlights created by the sun give way to diffused highlights from the overcast. Scene contrast is lowered and colors become more vibrant.
Photographing this image made me realize that fall color that we all love and cherish photographing, is not all about trees.
While I was photographing the amazing aspens in Colorado, I found amazing color closer to the ground.
These plant species, as best as I recall, were not more than 5-6″ across from left side the right side and literally were ground cover.
I dont know what they are but it look to me that they were having their own fall color transformation. The icing on the cake so to speak, literally, is that light coating of frost that added the edges and some white sparkles to the leaves.
One of my favorite places to chill is Belknap hot springs in Oregon’s Cascade Mtns, a little over an hour NE of Eugene. This picture is the Secret Garden which is an amazingly beautiful developed garden deep in the forests there.
The hot springs are developed swimming pools with water nice and hot. There are cabins to rent, RV spaces, and lodge rooms. Hiking trails abound right from the springs. The beautiful McKenzie river is great shooting and nearby attractions like Proxy Falls is a favorite for photogs.
Best time to go: October (IMO) when it is cold and rainy. Makes those hot springs feel wonderful after a hike.
I used a Canon 70D with 16-35mm zoom lens and a Induro tripod.
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