February + March 2013
The story behind it
01/02/2013
"Majestically and imagistically true"Late October and I walk with a friend in the beautiful Albergaria Forest, in the Serra do Gerês (north of Portugal). Apart from shooting, I led him to mountain areas of outstanding beauty amidst the autumn colours. Those were difficult years, in which he wouldn't photograph much or walk with the same light spirit of previous years (age?). Beyond the orange colours of the beeches, oaks show rare vivid yellows. All day outdoors in the clean mountain air, entering freely our nostrils, ears, skin, mouth and eyes, admirers of all such beauty. Coming back, in passing the Bridge of S. Miguel, over River Homem, the occasion and the light reveal an absolutely unique and majestic show.
This was it, majestically and imagistically true.
Comment
Technical issues
01/02/2013
With the Nikon D200 without any graduated ND filter mounted, I had to be fast, not to lose time and the occasion. Everything changed very quickly, both light and clouds. I resorted to 5-exposure bracketing, EV -2, -1, 0, +1, +2. Eventually I only used 3 to combine into HDR. The goal was to keep as much detail as possible, doing a realistic HDR, respecting the dynamic range, color and contrasts faithful to what at the time I saw.I used HDR Photomatix Pro 4.2 for processing, as the performance seemed better than the HDR Pro of Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended (this created strange effects that are visible in a large print). Then I worked the usual settings in Adobe Lightroom, with contrasts, blacks and details.
Critial review
01/02/2013
The material and camera settings at the time, as well as a careful use of Photomatix, has ended up in a super-detailed photograph. The occasion was of direct and indirect light, in the forest. Parts of the river banks and the left mountain sides are directly lit, with the low sun enhancing the yellow and orange colours in the leaves. The bottom of the river, with water and large stones, is indirectly lit by the dominating cloud high in the sky. The composition I chose centres the river and the col far in the horizon. There is an "X", whose centre is at the lit oak, in the river. The photograph clearly communicates aesthetics and beauty in Nature - in this case, composed by a wild river, a forest, mountains and golden light.
Where you should place it
01/02/2013
This photo has a native size 22cm x 33cm at 300ppi. It may handle some upsampling, but only up to 40cm x 60cm, on textured paper, according to my printing experience. Yes, a dark gray or black passpartout, or a cream one, on the other hand. I'd imagine a wooden frame, even though if it has no passpartout.I see this picture as a little jewel, in a corner or small wall, possibly painted with a dark colour (gray, ideally). It's like a pot with a golden and artistic drawings. And as with such pot, lighting! lighting!
Sit back and enjoy!
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