As with the prior submission, taken during the same surprisingly rewarding extemporaneous stroll through the courtyard where I live, on an overcast late fall morning.
I've mulled over this image many times (and another of the same subject, taken from a slightly different perspective), with conflicting feelings . . . Neither of the two shots is truly satisfying in their native as-taken formats -- frustratingly, each has strong elements which if were present in its sibling would yield exactly what I was seeking to create in a single shot.
Here I settled out on the "better" baseline, then decided to experiment with some rather more radical surgery and cosmetic alterations than is my norm: considerable cropping nicely strengthened the composition and energy, and application of some new plug-in filters, adjusting brightness and sharpness, at last yielded an effort worth posting.
This photograph represents an example of what seems to be a newly emerging theme in what catches my attention of late, that being a triad of Survival, Perseverance, and Endurance. The main subject is clear not so much because one's eyes are directed to it by the arc and flow of organic geometry, but stems instead from its stark example of dying - yet still holding out - amidst flourishing life.
The image also illustrates a type of composition which never ceases to surprise and delight me, wherein the main subject is revealed not by spacial dominance but instead by means of irony and contrast focused in a minimal amount of canvas space.
I've mulled over this image many times (and another of the same subject, taken from a slightly different perspective), with conflicting feelings . . . Neither of the two shots is truly satisfying in their native as-taken formats -- frustratingly, each has strong elements which if were present in its sibling would yield exactly what I was seeking to create in a single shot.
Here I settled out on the "better" baseline, then decided to experiment with some rather more radical surgery and cosmetic alterations than is my norm: considerable cropping nicely strengthened the composition and energy, and application of some new plug-in filters, adjusting brightness and sharpness, at last yielded an effort worth posting.
This photograph represents an example of what seems to be a newly emerging theme in what catches my attention of late, that being a triad of Survival, Perseverance, and Endurance. The main subject is clear not so much because one's eyes are directed to it by the arc and flow of organic geometry, but stems instead from its stark example of dying - yet still holding out - amidst flourishing life.
The image also illustrates a type of composition which never ceases to surprise and delight me, wherein the main subject is revealed not by spacial dominance but instead by means of irony and contrast focused in a minimal amount of canvas space.
Cascade #1359
(c)2009 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.
(click image for larger version)
Details: October 31, 2008; Canon 20D; f/9 @ 1/60 sec; -1/3 EV; ISO 400; 85mm.
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