Paint Brush in Tufa, a photo from California, West

Photographer's Note

As the light brightened, I was surprised to find Indian Paintbrush growing 0n the Tufa. On the shoreline of Mono Lake, a lone photographer looks for a shot.

As you can see the level of the lake was much higher, these Tufa are quite a distance from the lake.

mugush, pboehringer, Gerrit, jwmunro, edytungkal, feather, xuaxo, pranab, bakes888, scobert, danos has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

mugush (2104) 2007-06-12 11:50

wow..amazing work Pat.. you captured masterpiece. i love this .. good composition, fantastic colors , 5 thumbs up for this
thanks for sharing
love
mugush

Floydian (30970) 2007-06-12 11:52

Hello Patricia,
I also have seen these Tufa's on large distance from the lake, interesting compositions could be taken from the land.
Your photo has a very warm atmosphere, i like that a lot. The dof is well choosen, although a f22 would also had worked i think. Like the tiny red flowers in front, they stand in good contrast with that soft blue/yellow gradient in the sky...very nice..!!!
Regards, Henk

[2] +

banyanman (7797) 2007-06-12 11:58

I like the warm colours in this, Pat, and the composition too, but with the greatest respect to Henk (who is one the photographers on this site that I admire very much) I don't think f22 would have worked nearly as well as your chosen DOF. It is the contrast between the sharpness and detail of the foreground, against the soft OOF background, that really makes this shot. Cheers . . . David

quetzal (3665) 2007-06-12 12:20

Bonsoir Pat,
Jolie composition avec ces couleurs chaudes et cette palette de dйgradйs qui va jusqu'а l'horizon.
Bonne soirйe
Jean-Louis

pboehringer (770) 2007-06-12 13:33

Hi Pat, know I see what you were doing in the far. It seems that you really found a beautiful spot with that marvelous Indian Paintbrush. The colors are very warm and support well the flash light enhanced flower in the foreground. The choice of wide open shutter and allowing the blurr in the background is great. I guess that the dim light conditions and the abscence of a tripod almost forced you to do it that way.
That photographer wasn't so lonely as it looks here ;-)

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leo61 (0) 2007-06-12 13:37

Ho Patricia!
Well done to use the flash here.Your image has a nice atmosphere and I like the colors of the vegetation.The red blossoms and the lonely person in the distance make your conmposition perfect.
Regards,Leo

lasscor (7640) 2007-06-12 17:20

Hi Pat,
WONDERFUL composition.
Nice landscape, framing, colors, light and sharpness.
I like much the red flowers and rock in FG and the Blurred man in BG.
TFS,
Corinne

jmcl (14535) 2007-06-12 17:27

hi Pat,

Wonderful tone,
Wonderful depth,
Wonderful dream like diffusion.
Beautiful image.

take care,

John

derek3755 (2341) 2007-06-12 17:34

Hi Pat

very nice shot, good find to see the Indian Paintbrush, and use of fill in flash works well, nice warm light.

Derek

Gerrit (62042) 2007-06-12 17:43

Hi Pat,
excellent colourpalet. The light in the blurrred backgroumd is fantastic. Beautiful picture.
Regards, Gerrit

gunbud (34066) 2007-06-12 21:07

Hi Pat,
This bright red flower contrast wonderfully with the duller salt stained colors surrounding it. I love the muted background with the lone person on the shore of lake giving wonderful defition to this beauty.
Regards, Tom

jwmunro (286) 2007-06-12 22:52

Hello Pat -

Thanks for pointing these out to me. My first question was did you use fill flash and I now see that you did. the shallow DOF combined with the soft light and colors gives this image a painting like effect which I like very much. This is a winner in my book. Bravo, well done!

Thank you for sharing.

John

edytungkal (4551) 2007-06-12 23:35

Hi Pat
I see these picture on two parts, first is the soft and warm on the top, second very sharpness on the foreground. Nice try Pat, i like it. Thanks for share it.

greetings from Jakarta
daniel

vincz (19113) 2007-06-13 3:34

Yet another beautiful one, your recent serie is really spelndid. The choice of exposure is perfect here, the light is wonderful, all contributes to this so pleasant warm atmosphere. Very well done, very artistic.

dkeus31 (27739) 2007-06-13 5:51

hello Patricia,
A nice landscape, the use of the flash for lighting the foreground is a good idea, also the bokeh.
regards
didier

feather (51130) 2007-06-13 9:10

The use of fill flash works very well to illuminate the colourful foreground and the oof bg adds a dream-like quality to the entire scene. Flash is something I need to experiment with as it can produce some very different effects in a image. Good thinking.
Kath

[2] +

toto (0) 2007-06-13 13:58

Belle photo d' un bien bel endroit,le net a l' avant, le lйger flou a l' arriиre est trиs jolis. Amitiйs Thomas

delkoo (68) 2007-06-13 14:43

hi patricia
warm colours and the enlightened foreground make a pleasant landscape, the red flower is also a good point as well as the photographer in the bottom.

cheers
didier

xuaxo (6854) 2007-06-13 15:42

Hi Pat,
I like the colors and composition, but I don't like the shadow of the flash.
SAA
F

darrasin (2860) 2007-06-13 15:54

Hello Pat! Wildflowers growing in harsh places always make a great study. Very nice usage of the fill flash to focus our attention in the scene. The subtle yet warm earthy tones create a dreamy feel. Well done!

-Doug

Davidwh (3662) 2007-06-13 16:46

Hi Pat,
This is a real work of art....well done.You have cleverly focused on the lovely Tufa in the foreground softening and blurring the background to create a lovely effect.It has a real "painting" feel about it and the deep colours are a true pleasure to the eye.This is quality stuff...take care.
Regards, David

pnphan (3957) 2007-06-13 19:01

you got couple of shots that look like painting Pat.

Cormac (26565) 2007-06-13 20:28

Very nice use of the flash to bring some light and detail to the foreground. That splash of color from the flower really gives the shot something special, as does the presence of the person in the distance. Well done!

pranab (5354) 2007-06-14 0:46

pat,
wonderful capture! love the warm color accentuated by sunlight. good pov. well done.

ktanska (44416) 2007-06-14 6:27

Hi Pat,
Magnificient morning light. Colourful sky and shrubs. I like the red flowers too. It seems that you have tamed the flash on PP. If the fg was completely in shadows there was not much else you could do. Studio equipment would no doubt give more subtle results.
Kari

capthaddock (28790) 2007-06-14 13:02

Hi Pat - using the flash was a wise idea, the fg steals the show here, the low morning light gives a nice warm hue to the sky.

Angshu (56760) 2007-06-15 3:39

Hi Pat
I learnt what Tufa is, thanks to your shot. Judicious use of flash to bring out the details of the FG, but what attracts me most are the colours in the BG. The contrast between the sharp FG & the slightly blurry BG makes this shot IMHO
Best Regards
Angshu

bakes888 (18499) 2007-06-15 5:19

Hi Pat. Nice capture. Good to see the fruits of your meeting. You have caught a lovely light in the sky and used the flash well. In fact that’s my next project, how to use the flash properly. (well at least better) The out of focus BG gives a sense of place without detracting from the subject. Nice work and thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Paul.

ruisc_pt (11584) 2007-06-15 12:32

A 3 plane compo very well defined.
I like the 3 tonalities basing each plane and the 2nd to 3rd plane transition with the little man figure in the 1/3 line from above.
Great shot.
TFS
R

nels (2623) 2007-06-17 4:55

hi pat,, such a warm and tranquil atmosphere in this shot, great dof and the inclusion of the person just finishes it of tfs

adrian

gneufeld (15890) 2007-06-20 9:13

Hi Pat,
Very nice capture of this remarkable place. Good use of flash to highlite the foreground grasses. I quite like how your image is crystal clear in the foreground but fades into the distance. Great work and thanks for sharing. Gerald

wolf38 (30) 2007-06-24 5:11

Hello Pat. Light and coloredness constitute the value of this photo. The red flower in the foreground dominates that rather mono chrome picture. Very beautifully seen and realizes. Best regards, Wolfgang.

Ann75 (0) 2007-06-25 16:22

Hi Pat,

What an amazing shot! I love this composition and the way you brought the attention to the paintbrush in the foreground. Great lighting, beautiful colours and details! Great work, Pat!

Greetings,
Ann

scobert (5355) 2008-04-03 20:47

Hi Pat,
The thumbnails doesn't do justice to this fantastic photo! It blew me away when I opened it up! Excellent use of fill-flash and a brilliantly conceived work or art!
Stan

danos (110407) 2011-07-20 6:50

Hello Pat,
very nice presentation of the foreground plant,Indian paintbrush, as growing in this limestone environment.The yelloish ground spreading until the lake, creates effective layres in the image.

Regards,danos