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Morning Light
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Morning Light

by Geoff Powell

Gallery: LandscapePosted March 27, 2012212 views8 comments
I love playing with morning light. Like my previous floral image, this too is shooting directly into the light. I particularly like the way the light hits off the dawn mist, which was particularly heavy on this singular morning.

(edit) It occurred to me I should explain the size. This is a 6 image stitched panoramic, not a crop. I wanted to print this HUGE. ;~)

Comments

8 comments
Comment posted by Kurt Budliger on March 27, 2012 at 6:54 PM
Cool shot, lovely light and very provocative. I find the upper left 2/3 the most compelling part of the comp and if it was mine I might crop in from the right and up from the bottom about 20%
Registered on June 11, 2006, 113 Posts, 2116 Comments
Comment posted by Eva McDermott on March 27, 2012 at 9:49 PM
Beautiful light Geoff! After reading Kurt's comment, I kinda agree. The silhouetted trees against that fiery light is gorgeous.
Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments
Comment posted by Ben Horne on March 28, 2012 at 1:28 AM
The dark shadows give this image a sense of depth. I like the unusual composition with the dark foreground. I don't think I would have thought to compose the image this way, but I'm glad you did!
Registered on August 27, 2009, 51 Posts, 959 Comments
Comment posted by Stuart Williams on March 28, 2012 at 1:58 AM
the light here is fabulous. i wonder about the large dark area in the FG? I wonder if you pulled more detail from it, it might work slightly better. a bit more luminosity on the right may help as well - negating any need to consider cropping from the right.
Registered on December 7, 2007, 247 Posts, 4792 Comments
Comment posted by Geoff Powell on March 28, 2012 at 7:35 AM
Thanks everyone. I appreciate the comments. I actually did take two exposures of this incase I wanted to throw a luminance layer in there to bring out some foreground, but I felt it was too busy and negated the power of the image, while only adding incremental depth (there was nothing but grass in the foreground). To me there is enough subtle light playing off a bit of the foreground to prevent a flat silhouette, while maintaining extreme darks to accentuate the light and create the mood.

I certainly agree about the focal area of the image, but I also like to prevent any abrupt endings, which the suggested crop would have done IMHO. Instead I thought a fade out would be more effective. Plus, the subtle light play to the right continues to add depth, which is why I chose to frame after the tree instead of before it. My only concern about leaving it that far right was the balance, but I concluded it was supported by the number of other trees on the left.
Registered on March 20, 2012, 21 Posts, 170 Comments
Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on March 30, 2012 at 12:26 AM
Beautiful Geoff! I do find the right a bit dark and keep wishing I could see some more on the left. I don't mind the dark FG at all and feel it helps to make this a success. All I really miss are some deer amongst the trees :biggrin:
Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments
Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on March 30, 2012 at 4:01 PM
The light really comes through here. The foreground maybe seems a bit dense, but it's the light that keeps me engaged, so it's not a big deal.
Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments
Comment posted by Nick Bristol on April 6, 2012 at 3:20 PM
What cool looking scene. The trees, light and shadow are quite striking. I like this! :smile:

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI
Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments