Yellow and Red

Gallery: LandscapePosted November 24, 2010734 views31 comments

Original title #67.

We had a great time with the fall colors in Yosemite a couple weeks back now. This was captured in an intense little circle of peaking Pacific dogwood and big leaf maple probably less than a couple hundred feet from the main office of the Yosemite Lodge.

I wanted to put these beautiful leaves against the red background. And in using my longest lens of 450mm there was enough separation between the leaves and background that even at f/32 the background was still thrown out of focus. Now my modern lens doesn't have the same bokeh as Harley's Verito, but I'm still pretty happy how this came out.

And for the soft blue in the background, it's not sky, but of course the granite walls of Yosemite Valley.

Thanks so much for the comments and feedback on my previous image. I really appreciate it! Please feel free to leave your honest comments and critiques with this image as well.

4x5, Nikkor 450mm, V100 f/32 @ 1/2s

Thanks!

Lon

Comments

31 comments

Comment posted by Youssef Ismail on November 24, 2010 at 3:55 AM

Lon,

On many an occasion I have wanted to photograph the leaves around the Yosemite Lodge and have done so in some cases. This one is a great example of using the primary colors and light. Well seen and executed. Next time borrow Harley's Verito...

Registered on November 1, 2003, 474 Posts, 5555 Comments

Comment posted by Giovanni Russello on November 24, 2010 at 4:32 AM

The colours contrast here is great, Lon. You did a great job with this scene.

gio

Registered on January 21, 2007, 95 Posts, 1617 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Maile on November 24, 2010 at 5:35 AM

Simple, elegant and beautiful Lon. If I had to throw in a little nit (which I guess I don't, but...), that one brown leaf is a bit distracting, that's all.

Registered on March 2, 2009, 984 Posts, 2518 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Richter on November 24, 2010 at 6:42 AM

Really delightful colors and composition! What is most important, I think, is the perfectly chosen depth of field, so that all leaves are in focus. I also enjoy the contrast between the red an blue part of the background.

Peter

Registered on November 10, 2010, 218 Posts, 2723 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Lowe on November 24, 2010 at 7:23 AM

Superbly done, Lon. The backlit yellow maple leaves stand out beaautifully against the red ones inthe BG. Great eye to isolate this scene.

Ed

Registered on February 7, 2004, 414 Posts, 7115 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Stough on November 24, 2010 at 8:20 AM

I think this is an excellent shot. The sharp-focused yellow leaves and soft scarlet and steely-blue background make for a classic autumnal image.

Registered on November 20, 2010, 26 Posts, 273 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Baumbach on November 24, 2010 at 8:23 AM

Very pretty. The separation is good and the color lovely.

- Dan.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 473 Posts, 7980 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Breitkreuz on November 24, 2010 at 8:32 AM

Has to be one of my favorites of your many images I've seen and commented on here at NPN & CANP. Nothing to talk about here technically for an image of this caliber.

Registered on February 25, 2006, 525 Posts, 8448 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on November 24, 2010 at 8:42 AM

Really nice Lon - love the mix of colors as well as the comp. Very pretty. No nits at all from me.

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Andreas Resch on November 24, 2010 at 9:13 AM

This is genius, Lon. Send me a huge print of this one ;)

Registered on November 14, 2007, 322 Posts, 6101 Comments

Comment posted by Arnab Banerjee on November 24, 2010 at 9:18 AM

Eye catching fall intimate. Original? probably not, but execution is superb

Registered on January 3, 2007, 313 Posts, 2270 Comments

Comment posted by Kevin Trinkner on November 24, 2010 at 9:21 AM

Beauty Lon, love the reds and yellows, and a great comp here. Simple and elegant. Nice work.

Registered on June 30, 2008, 203 Posts, 2641 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on November 24, 2010 at 10:07 AM

Simple and beautiful. Very well done Lon. I like this a lot.

Sorry to hear about your lens envy. Some guys have a Verito and some don't.

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by Jason Kim on November 24, 2010 at 10:36 AM

You're on a roll, Lon. Looks like it was a very productive trip! These backlit leaves against the red background is wonderful. The small hint of cool granite also adds a lot to the image. Very nice composition.

Registered on July 1, 2006, 60 Posts, 1233 Comments

Comment posted by Gary McGhee on November 24, 2010 at 11:39 AM

Beautifully framed and the backlighting really highlights the leaves Lon. The colours are sublime.

Gary.

Registered on April 15, 2010, 142 Posts, 2416 Comments

Comment posted by Kyle L. Krause on November 24, 2010 at 12:56 PM

Awesome Image Lon. I like the moodyiness and simple beauty. Very creative as usual. Definitely is a keeper.
This must have been on Sunday. Have a Nice Turkey day.

Registered on June 15, 2010, 29 Posts, 605 Comments

Comment posted by Laurent Baig on November 24, 2010 at 2:23 PM

Pretty cool how the sky didn't blow out either. Nice work, Lon.

Registered on January 12, 2005, 206 Posts, 6784 Comments

Comment posted by Dietrich Gloger on November 24, 2010 at 2:40 PM

Oh yeah!! That's one great image Lon! I think this one of your strongest efforts (you have many strongest efforts and much more really really good images..

). I love every aspect of this one. Well just one tiny nit: I think this would be a perfect composition without the two little twigs in the upper right corner. Really a small detail and it does not take away from the beauty of course.

Registered on January 26, 2007, 360 Posts, 9876 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on November 24, 2010 at 2:56 PM

Beautiful fall image, Lon. The colors and comp are great. Really nice that all the leaves are sharp, not just some, and the out of focus bg really sets them off. Nice work.

Nick Bristol
lone Rock, WI.

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on November 24, 2010 at 9:35 PM

Certainly not every 4x5 photographer can imagine or execute a photo like this. Heck, I even think this would be hard for dslr users. You did it very well. Love the sharpness of the foreground leaves and the colors in the back. Just wondering about cropping a bit of the left edge to remove the black "line" on the upper part.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by dean hebert on November 24, 2010 at 11:36 PM

I like the sense of depth, as well as the saturation.

Registered on August 4, 2010, 70 Posts, 1132 Comments

Comment posted by Mel Ladewig on November 25, 2010 at 12:44 AM

Quite the feat to pull this off in 4X5. I was going to mention the bokeh is very modern, but you covered that too. Hard to believe its stopped all the way down to f32 and the BG is still that out of focus! Very nice Lon.

Registered on July 24, 2005, 114 Posts, 1205 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on November 25, 2010 at 7:54 AM

Real pretty, Lon--wouldnt change a thing!

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Anthony Vincent on November 25, 2010 at 11:11 AM

Hey Lon,

Lovely dof and the colors are fantastic. Hard to come up with a wonderful scene such as this.
Great job and one I can stare at for some time.

Registered on February 5, 2009, 199 Posts, 2775 Comments

Comment posted by Reno DiTullio on November 25, 2010 at 11:57 AM

Beautifully done, Lon. The soft bg colors are gorgeous

Registered on November 14, 2003, 130 Posts, 1644 Comments

Comment posted by Jimmy Gekas on November 25, 2010 at 1:59 PM

You've done it again! I love this.

Registered on July 26, 2007, 244 Posts, 2807 Comments

Comment posted by Timothy F. Hale on November 25, 2010 at 2:48 PM

Lovely shot, Lon, and a great story to boot!

Registered on December 10, 2003, 282 Posts, 405 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on November 25, 2010 at 2:50 PM

Hey Lon, you ought to post some of these in Flora and give us a treat. Beautifully seen and captured.>=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Vance Gese on November 25, 2010 at 6:57 PM

Beautiful, Lon, really a beautiful intimate portrait of these leaves against an amazing background. The light on the leaves is amazing.

Registered on November 13, 2008, 298 Posts, 6629 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Anderson on November 26, 2010 at 4:08 AM

Gorgeous Lon! Nothing to critique here. Masterful composition as always!

Registered on January 31, 2006, 228 Posts, 3072 Comments

Comment posted by Maurizio De Vita on February 4, 2011 at 1:37 PM

My sincere compliments, Lon.
I find your image is a lesson in composition planes: foreground, middle-ground, background. A cycle that calls me in the picture and make me look at it again and again.
Fantastic.

Registered on August 26, 2008, 11 Posts, 66 Comments