Charthedral

Gallery: LandscapePosted September 2, 2017292 views18 comments

Greetings, and thank you for your comments on my Cascade Temple image. A little play on words here and a similar theme. The hollowed out insides of a Western Juniper, charred by fire, most likely from lightning many moons ago. The inside of this stately tree reminded me of a grand cathedral, walls and ceilings a hundred feet up, either painted or giant stained gas windows. The scale here is more like just a piece of a 4 ft diameter tree....

The blue/cyan may be too much for some, but the color is definitely present in the RAW image; reflection of a blue-bird sky above. What attracts me to this little scene is not only the patterns of the charred wood, but also the iridescence present on the char. I have a couple others I may share from the same scene. This one is kinda the bigger picture.

Preston, Harley and I have photographed this tree a few times in the past. You may remember a Triptych we put together a number of years ago - like 6!

This is a 3 image focus stack at f/11. I could have used a few more for the stack, but this is cropped a bit from original and the center is pretty sharp.

Thoughts, critiques and suggestions always welcome.

Lon

Comments

18 comments

Comment posted by Kathy Barnhart on September 2, 2017 at 2:15 PM

This is really gorgeous, Lon. I love the detail you've managed to get out of it and the colors are magnificent. A fantastic abstract study in texture, light and color.

Registered on November 11, 2011, 404 Posts, 1639 Comments

Comment posted by Preston Birdwell on September 2, 2017 at 2:57 PM

First, I must say the large version is a must-see! The detail is outstanding The blue and gold color scheme is quite dramatic, and the thin red streaks act as nice boundaries for the vertical char patterns. This is a great nature detail that is also abstract. You did your usual yeoman's job with the processing. I really like this a lot, Lon. Well done!
--P

Registered on November 1, 2003, 471 Posts, 5188 Comments

Comment posted by Igor Doncov on September 2, 2017 at 3:49 PM

This is really excellent IMO. The large version is remarkable due to the dark grey background which gives a sense that the image is coming forward, protruding from the background. As Preston describes the dark orange slices separate the blue most beautifully. For me this is an abstract and therefore the colors, especially blue, should be adjusted to please without concern about reality. The graphic qualities in both tone and color is what this image is about for me.

I often seem to come up with crop suggestions for your image and this one is no different. I would suggest a crop that includes about the top 1/3rd of the image. That is crop off just above where the solid browns end, their upward boundary. You may need to raise the luminosity of the vertical brown streaks as well. This simplifies the composition resulting in a more regular pattern. This would result in an abstract that has little association to reality.

This is really marvelous. I often find that a smidgeon of yellow/green moss or a single pine needle is nice to break up the repetition, which sometimes works.

Registered on November 22, 2014, 189 Posts, 2733 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on September 2, 2017 at 6:13 PM

Beautiful patterns and colors! No suggestions here. It is a beaut!

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

Comment posted by Ana on September 2, 2017 at 8:47 PM

Wow, what a find. No suggestions from me, though I can certainly see this is a rich subject for cropping in so many ways. It's fantastic. Kind of reminds me of the northern lights, in addition to the resemblance to cathedral windows and stained glass. That iridescent blue is gorgeous.

Registered on February 10, 2004, 191 Posts, 1446 Comments

Comment posted by Doug Koepsel on September 3, 2017 at 1:04 PM

The blues and bronzes look real nice with the pattern of checkered charcoal.

Registered on April 1, 2010, 196 Posts, 1592 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on September 3, 2017 at 7:00 PM

I like the contrasting colors as well as the contrast between the vertical orange-ish lines and the polygon shapes. Great abstract!

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

Comment posted by gary phillips on September 3, 2017 at 7:25 PM

Top shelf abstract, Lon. Great title to go along with it. Just fantastic, color combo, texture, and tremendous detail. Wouldn't change a thing,

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

Comment posted by Ian Cameron on September 3, 2017 at 7:49 PM

Very beautiful Lon. Such a lot of character etched into it and an amazing mix of colours too. The vertical slits of tan coloured wood are beautifully spaced to add to the sense of woven cloth.

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

Comment posted by Mattia Oliviero on September 4, 2017 at 5:16 AM

Love this, Lon. Great focus and very detailed. Colors are simply gorgeous but I think you can work on a BW version either. Very well seen.

Registered on August 24, 2016, 43 Posts, 254 Comments

Comment posted by Anil Rao on September 4, 2017 at 1:32 PM

This is a marvelous example of the power of creative photography. To me the image is not only about the striking details in the burnt tree but also the ability of the photographer to recognize the potential in the scene and render it in this stylistic manner.

Registered on November 15, 2003, 234 Posts, 4923 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on September 4, 2017 at 1:52 PM

Thank you so much for the comments and keen observations.

Especially:

Igor: "...For me this is an abstract and therefore the colors, especially blue, should be adjusted to please without concern about reality."

Thanks for this observation. While for the most part my philosophy is to render scenes naturally, I do find myself pushing the edge and agree that as an image steers more towards abstract that the creative boundaries - well, have no boundaries.

And from Anil: "...ability of the photographer to recognize the potential in the scene and render it in this stylistic manner."
Thanks Anil! One should never stop looking, observing.

And one quote that remains with me continuously when developing and processing images is paraphrased from our own Tony Kuyper: "Let the image take you where IT wants to go....." A fascinating concept to say the lest.

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

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on September 4, 2017 at 8:07 PM

Charred wood makes for an impressive mirror. Very nicely done.

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

Comment posted by Dan Kearl on September 4, 2017 at 11:02 PM

Glimmering abstract...
Congrats! i would add or critique if I thought i could.....

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

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on September 7, 2017 at 4:12 AM

Terrific abstract. The patterns and colours are most compelling and aesthetically pleasing. The shiny glint sets it up for me though.

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

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on September 7, 2017 at 6:36 AM

Really beautiful abstract Lon. The blues look fine to me and go well with the orange tinges. Such beautiful patterns. I realize that you may have cropped a bit already, my only observation might be a slight crop off the bottom to kep more of the uniform shapes of the patterns. Not necessarily better, but just an option, probably 4 x 5 format looks best. Great find, and your processing made the most of the file.

Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments

Comment posted by Reno DiTullio on September 7, 2017 at 11:10 AM

Gorgeous, Lon, and an apt title. The "glow" certainly reminds me of the many majestic cathedrals I visited in Italy, they, too, have a beautiful glow, whether sunlight scattered through stained glass or the soft glow of candle light, gorgeous.

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

Comment posted by Prashant Khapane on September 7, 2017 at 4:49 PM

PHENOMENAL

Registered on November 1, 2003, 492 Posts, 4580 Comments