July 2013
The story behind it
01/07/2013
"In the deep"With a friend, we had gone down deep in the Sabor River valley. The aim then was to prepare a CAUSES Photography Workshop. This was March, and a good workshop was being prepared for later in April.
Coming up the valley, the blue and purple clouds make part of a world with fading light. The other half was darkness, in the deep. Except for what seemed to be a tiny stream of light, in the bottom - the reflection of the river.
This reflection will never be like this, when the dam closes and the river rises.
Comment
Technical issues
01/07/2013
If there was an error in this photograph, it was not having used the tripod. It isn't shaky, but I could have reduced the ISO, having finally used an ISO of 6400. Fortunately the camera has little noise, but even so the final picture has a good deal of noise. The original RAW photograph had less contrast, and I have also greatly increased the level of blacks. The idea was to pursue a low-key photo, dark, where the only light would almost exclusively come from the sky and the river. I also applied a graduated neutral density filter, in post-processing, darkening the sky by 0.75ev and increasing contrast, clarity and a little saturation.Although there is noise, the picture shows the small lights in the valley, and so kept some detail where needed. I used matrix metering, having executed several shots with different exposures.
Critial review
01/07/2013
Noise plays in favour of this photograph, giving it a dense visual look and a texture almost that of watercolour in the clouds. Noise isn't therefore a problem. On the contrary. The deep blacks also helped the presence of noise, seen to be intentionally used. This is a picture of extraordinary beauty and simplicity, where blacks fill about 50% of the whole, only cut by the detail of the river's reflection. In the distance, the different layers of hills along the valley are also visible in the distance.The blues and purples of the sky contribute to a sense of an ending, loss and nostalgia of loss. In this case, saying good-bye to the the original bed of a river. It is a photograph of farewell, with heavy and emotional charge.
Where you should place it
01/07/2013
Though I most often go for large prints, I see this photograph at a small scale. Maybe as a piece of a treasured jewel, to be valued by its intrinsic profound value and not for its scale. It should get to the viewer by its deep meaning, and not by graphical scale.Place it on a special wall, where onloy special people access. Well lit, always.
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