The Maple Grove

Gallery: LandscapePosted May 9, 2014694 views23 comments

Moss covered vine maples in a remote area of the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon.

A few weeks ago my buddy Jordan Ek and I spent an afternoon shooting forest scenes in the Columbia River Gorge. We were off trail and found a really nice grove of moss covered vine maples. It's not quite the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic NP, but it's pretty close. It was a lot of fun trying to create images in this maple grove, but the photography was incredibly challenging. There were lots of compositional options available, but most of them just didn't work. This one "works" for me, but I'm interested to hear what everyone thinks about it.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 14-24 at 14mm, fotodiox polarizer
4 image blend for DOF, 1/5 sec at f/16, ISO 800 x4

Thanks for any feedback or comments you have on this one. Please check out the larger version.

Comments

23 comments

Comment posted by Nathan Apodaca on May 9, 2014 at 6:57 PM

These types of images are somewhat my favorites for my eyes to explore in. Maybe that's just because I dream of visiting the Gorge some day!

I really like your comp here. It's amazing that practically the whole image is green, but its the subtle forms that make a solid comp. Honestly, even though I like the right side, I am wondering if that dark clump of moss in the upper right corner, with the two lighter strands of moss hanging down, could be distracting. Maybe a crop on the right, approximately to the "M" in your name, might make it an even cleaner image? I dunno, just a thought... Well, I did check out the large version, several times. I can't imagine coming up with a good comp such as this in such a complicated forest. Nice work!

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

Comment posted by Scott Smorra on May 9, 2014 at 7:07 PM

Thanks Nathan. I appreciate your suggestion and will probably play around with a slight crop from the right to see if it works. You are right about how complicated these forest scenes are...I like to call it "visual complexity". It's incredibly challenging photography, but it also very mentally stimulating.

Registered on November 2, 2009, 161 Posts, 2143 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel Rappaport on May 9, 2014 at 7:17 PM

Very well composed. Love the Oregon green on green on green.

Registered on September 9, 2009, 294 Posts, 2006 Comments

Comment posted by Phil Pogledich on May 9, 2014 at 7:25 PM

This is great! These scenes are becoming a bit common on the internet, but you have a nice find here and I really like the composition. I agree with Nathan abotu the "dark clump" but that's real minor and could be left alone from my perspective.

Registered on August 24, 2009, 123 Posts, 3099 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Cothran on May 9, 2014 at 8:15 PM

Scott - this is gorgeous. Green & yellow plus a really nice composition make for a beautiful image. I love seeing full DOF as you have provided.

Registered on December 5, 2012, 31 Posts, 730 Comments

Comment posted by Jared Warren on May 9, 2014 at 9:29 PM

Works really well for me, Scott. Feels like tentacles are reaching out to grab me. I've been playing with comps from this, including cropping from the right about 1/4th, but I'm not finding an obvious alternative to the nice comp you already have. Well seen and executed!

Registered on May 11, 2012, 84 Posts, 931 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on May 9, 2014 at 10:14 PM

Real nice, Scott. I like this a lot. Very interesting perspective, great green shades. I also like it cropped on the right far enough to remove the downed tree on the right. Very different look, but I like both.

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

Comment posted by Ian Cameron on May 9, 2014 at 10:36 PM

Hmm very lush and even slightly eerie. I like it.

Registered on August 6, 2004, 1125 Posts, 3318 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on May 9, 2014 at 11:35 PM

Almost abstract in a way Scott which I like. Colors are as I remember them from the WA and OR rain forest..... the cooler green ferns and intensely warm moss covered trees. There is a sense of an alien creature reach out but that adds a lot of interest.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by John Williams on May 10, 2014 at 3:09 AM

It really takes the large version to fully appreciate, such amazing intricacy. Nicely done Scott, not easy to do in the chaos of our forests.

Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments

Comment posted by gary phillips on May 10, 2014 at 4:04 AM

Wow, Scott. I like it alot. I just got back from a few days in the badlands of Utah an this the antithesis of where I've been. Love the lush green glow and the patches of light. Wonderful comp and presentation.

Registered on October 24, 2013, 185 Posts, 4136 Comments

Comment posted by Karsten Wrobel on May 10, 2014 at 7:53 AM

WOW, love the lush vegetation and vibrant greens... what really makes this stand out for me though is the relatively tight comp you have chosen which works really well imo... unique image, Scott!

Registered on November 1, 2008, 117 Posts, 851 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on May 10, 2014 at 3:09 PM

Very nicely done, Scott. I like the perspective in this as it adds a lot of depth and dimension to the scene. The greens are lovely and the warm light helps to create the mood.

Registered on May 28, 2004, 114 Posts, 2890 Comments

Comment posted by Navin Sarma on May 10, 2014 at 3:52 PM

Spectacular shapes and light, Scott. I love the lush saturation in the greens. Not too much but extremely, realistically vibrant

Registered on July 17, 2011, 233 Posts, 1373 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Kearl on May 10, 2014 at 4:22 PM

These kind of photos are so much harder to do than they appear.
I like the perspective and comp, I do agree about the clump in the RHC, but these are about impossible to get the perfect scene.
A lot of nice detail and clarity in the large version.

Registered on September 2, 2013, 209 Posts, 1514 Comments

Comment posted by Sairam Sundaresan on May 10, 2014 at 5:03 PM

This is gorgeous Scott! No nits for me, just enjoying the view

Registered on March 14, 2013, 100 Posts, 643 Comments

Comment posted by Ingrid Vekemans on May 10, 2014 at 6:55 PM

Nothing much more to add…gorgeous 'jungle' shot!

Grt, Ingrid.

Registered on August 2, 2010, 138 Posts, 780 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on May 11, 2014 at 4:41 AM

This pattern in the chaos certainly works for me. As does the soft warm lighting.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Jon Daining on May 11, 2014 at 6:11 AM

I really enjoy the leading lines and all that wonderful green!

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

Comment posted by Albert Darmo on May 11, 2014 at 3:47 PM

Hi Scott

Am really enjoying this scene..

love the interesting flow of lines, sublime light.. and the lush color of the moss

Albert Darmo
Canada

Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Smorra on May 11, 2014 at 5:21 PM

Thanks again to everyone for the comments and suggestions. I tried a few crops from the right, but I wasn't happy with how any of them looked. It's interesting how just cropping off a bit from the right changes the whole look of the image.

Registered on November 2, 2009, 161 Posts, 2143 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on May 12, 2014 at 2:18 AM

Scott, This is really nicely done! Beautiful light, details and texture all through the image. Great work on your composition here too. You really brought a difficult scene together wonderfully! Nothing I would change.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

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

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on May 13, 2014 at 8:38 PM

I hope I get to visit the Columbia Gorge one day because images like this make my mouth water. Excellent capture Scott.

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