The Beauty of Spring II

Gallery: LandscapePosted May 14, 2012267 views18 comments

The amazing thing about Yosemite Valley, is that there is almost always something happening with the light. This is intense spring color reflected onto the surface of the Merced River in the late afternoon. As well as the greens and yellows, there is the warm reflected light of the granite walls. I had to process the color out of the raw file quite a bit, but in the end, this is the intensity of color and light that I remember.

D200,
24-70 2.8,
.6sec, F/11

Comments

18 comments

Comment posted by Kyle L. Krause on May 14, 2012 at 9:12 PM

Beautiful use of light on the Merced Chris. I think you could boost the saturation just a tad more. Very nice work.

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

Comment posted by John Fan on May 14, 2012 at 9:22 PM

Like the color and texture. I agree you might want to increase contrast.

Registered on August 24, 2010, 135 Posts, 489 Comments

Comment posted by Jon Daining on May 14, 2012 at 9:34 PM

Lovely abstract, Chris.

Registered on February 25, 2012, 25 Posts, 191 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Dayton on May 14, 2012 at 10:51 PM

You're right about Yosemite Valley regarding the variety of light opportunities. This beautifully illustrates
your point, Chris.

Registered on November 11, 2008, 281 Posts, 3958 Comments

Comment posted by Nathan Apodaca on May 14, 2012 at 11:06 PM

Excellent! The shutter speed is great, and the colors are perfect...

Registered on November 16, 2011, 67 Posts, 1127 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on May 14, 2012 at 11:22 PM

Great abstract. the processing is excellent. color and movement emphasize the flow of the water, Beautifully done

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Youssef Ismail on May 14, 2012 at 11:24 PM

Outstanding photograph Chris. I love the patterns and seeming brush strokes of color. Very nice.

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

Comment posted by Stan Rose on May 14, 2012 at 11:24 PM

It's nice, Chris--some good colors and textures. To be honest, ive seen so many water abstracts like this that without an added 'X' factor, i can't really get too excited, but as you know im a grumpy jaded photog...

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

Comment posted by Michael J Greene, on May 15, 2012 at 1:14 AM

The colors and soft, surreal flow of the water make this special. I could see burning down the edges a bit to focus the attention. I think the colors look excellent as presented. Terrific work Chris.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 86 Posts, 2317 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on May 15, 2012 at 9:49 AM

Real sweet, Chris! Excellent colors and very painterly effect.

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

Comment posted by Mat Malone on May 15, 2012 at 11:42 AM

Hi Chris, is it just me or does this have a bit of a blue/green cast? The whites don't look very white to me. (Disclaimer: I am on my uncalibrated work monitor, but it's usually pretty accurate.)

At any rate this is a nice water abstract. I like how you found a patch of long "strings" of ripples.

Registered on December 15, 2008, 91 Posts, 882 Comments

Comment posted by Zack Clothier on May 15, 2012 at 12:09 PM

This has a very peaceful quality to it, so delicate and beautiful. Perfect rendition of spring. I can also see the cast that Mat pointed out..doesn't really bother me though, the colors still look great..

Registered on January 28, 2010, 343 Posts, 2257 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on May 15, 2012 at 12:12 PM

Ditto on being a little brighter and the sat boost, but that's more my preference. I like the long "brush" strokes.

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Vance Gese on May 15, 2012 at 1:11 PM

Love it Chris. Imagine there are endless possibilities with contrast and color in development but I really like the subtle color transitions as presented. The large image gives a hint of the beauty of a large print. Outstanding work.

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

Comment posted by Wayne Jones on May 15, 2012 at 5:10 PM

Yes, this is a lovely combination of colors, and you found a beautiful way to display them. The lines and motion are as relaxing as the colors. The brightness of the top center part keeps lifting my eyes up there. Makes me wonder what is causing those reflections. That's a good thing.

Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on May 16, 2012 at 3:50 PM

Chris,

Beautiful. I was hoping to get a result like this, but alas, not (just got the film back.) Beautiful flow and motion. the colors are wonderful too, although my personal recollection is a little more towards green than yellow. But the saturation levels look pretty controlled. Well done!

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on May 18, 2012 at 9:15 AM

Very nice. Just love these types of abstracts.

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

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on May 18, 2012 at 6:14 PM

Thanks guys!

About a blue/green cast. There might be, but there was a spotless bluebird sky overhead when I took this as well. I'm sure the water is picking up some of that blue too.

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments