Early Spring Walk up the Creek

[sojourn]

I took a nice hike up our nearby creek. While the sun was overhead, light was harsh and the sky was somewhat hazy, it was still a fun day to snap some pictures.

I've tried to implement some of the composition tricks I've learned here, lately, and took them in RAW. Now I know I need some bigger memory cards, because mine only took 140 images!

The lighting wasn't the best, this creek with it's textured cut banks would be a better shot in the afternoon, but I captured it the best I could.

1. East Stillwater Creek

2. Colorful clays and pebbles color the clear water:

3. The oak tree boneyard and Trinity mountain range:

4. Winter coloration of California Poppy leaves:

5. B & W version of the oak tree boneyard, looks like a monster snapping its jaws:

 

[reznap]

Pretty solid. I love the composition of #3 and the colors in #4.

 

[cnutco]

Pretty solid. I love the composition of #3 and the colors in #4.

+1

 

[sojourn]

Thank you, both. I am amazed at how differently I regard my image taking just in less than a month being here.

Here is one more, a bit different view of the oak boneyard and the Trinities :

 

[brettmc]

I like this last post. I like the way that the "stumps" kind of frame out the pic. I really enjoy #4 and 5 above good B&W and I like the California poppy macro. I think #1 and 2 have some potential, I don't know if you do any PP, but I think they could use some more contrast (or something) they come off a little bit flat. I would like to see a little more color with them

 

[burstintoflame81]

#3 is very solid. Nice composition.

 

[Vinny]

Nice Shots!

A question though -do you own a polarizing filter? If yes, did you use it on shots 1 & 2?

A polarizing filter (if you didn't use one) would have taken some or all of the reflections off the water and may have made the clouds in #1 stand out a little more.

But they are very nice!!

 

[sojourn]

I like this last post. I like the way that the "stumps" kind of frame out the pic. I really enjoy #4 and 5 above good B&W and I like the California poppy macro. I think #1 and 2 have some potential, I don't know if you do any PP, but I think they could use some more contrast (or something) they come off a little bit flat. I would like to see a little more color with them

That day was hard for good lighting...I do PP very well, and I could try a bit more contrast and saturation, but in this early spring/late winter time of year for us, everything is overly bright and washed out. I agree, it is flat. Here, I've bumped the contrast...but it makes the cliffs very dark:

Nice Shots!

A question though -do you own a polarizing filter? If yes, did you use it on shots 1 & 2?

A polarizing filter (if you didn't use one) would have taken some or all of the reflections off the water and may have made the clouds in #1 stand out a little more.

But they are very nice!!

Vinny, all my shots are with a PF. The sky was a light haze, also with the heavier jettrails and cirrus, very little color, nothing short of deleting the sky and dropping another one in would have made those images better.

While I usually drop the surface reflections out of my water shots, this way allowed less of a contrast between the brightly lit hills and the dark cliffs I was trying to compensate for.

I couldn't even shoot facing south because EVERYTHING was blown out. Bleah. West was the only good sky, and that was why the oak-bones and mountains had such good exposure.

Shot number 2 doesn't have reflections so much as ripples that obscure some of the creek bed beneath. I like the earthy pastels and textures.

I usually take one photo each of the turn of the PF, but oddly enough I did not do it this time. My hiking-mate and dogs kept getting in way of my photos .

Here's a bit different view, not so much pale sky, but still not the rich dark blues I can get with a PF at times: