This is a mini post containing fewer images than usual. I’ve been holding on to these three since last fall. I was hoping to go back to this location before now but it just didn’t happen. So, in the spirit of moving on, I decided to go ahead and post them. Besides, spring is just kicking in to full gear in our mountains, so I haven’t accumulated a lot of new material yet. I was pleased when I saw these trees, with all their branches bowing down. The light was catching the dried and somewhat bleached branches just right! I pre-visualized what they would look like in B&W and am pleased with the result. Seeing them now reminds me how much fun I had shooting in this forest … I will go back!
Mountains and trees are two of the most constant themes in my portfolio. It’s an undying love. The mountains offer up many moods, making them an intriguing subject. They are in a constant state of change, depending on the weather, lighting, time of day and season. Trees speak to me in a similar way! Also changing with the seasons, and years … they offer beauty wherever they are rooted. Every tree has a character all its own, making them wonderful artistic subjects. I hope you enjoy this curated selection, showcasing two of my favorite things!
Looking at my blog’s collection folder just now, I see I have several sunset photos queued up. So, it shall be that kind of post! Another folder contains some dramatic, sunrise/sunset silhouette images, but I’m saving those for another post. I just love being out, under a colorful sky … it’s one of my favorite things for sure. And, I get a good feeling looking at them now, remembering what it felt like to be there!
For this post I’ve rounded up this year’s images that feature autumn foliage, other than aspen. While looking through my folders again for this collection, I found even more fall landscapes to process. However, eager to move on to other subjects and scenes, I think I’ll hold off. Perhaps I’ll present them as a prelude next autumn. The way time flies by, it might be here before I know it! Thanks very much for checking out this entry, and my other autumn 2023 posts.
Following are my next set of images for Autumn 2023. Golden hues and bits of orange have become more widespread. Snow is just days away and there’s a chill in the air. Some trees begin to lose their leaves to abide, while others hang on to green in defiance. One of my favorite things to shoot are groupings of trees that make pleasing and intimate compositions. These are sometimes referred to as ‘small scenes’ … in comparison to a ‘grand landscape’. I think they are often more unique as they require a more personal vision to see and compose. I included some small scenes in my previous post, and there are several more here. As always, thank you for visiting and looking. Feel free to leave a comment or let me know if you have a favorite!
NOTICE: WordPress is now marking comments ‘Anonymous’ when the commenter is not signed in. While you are all friends, I cannot tell who the Anonymous commenters are. A WordPress change … I know it’s a pain but I think you will only have to sign in once and then it will recognize you. You can also leave your name at the end of the comment. If you want, you can refer to the previous posts to see if your comment was marked ‘Anonymous’.
If you’ve been following this blog you probably already know that fall is my most favorite season. I realize many others … maybe even a majority feel the same. Because it comes and goes so fast I spend as much time as possible shooting. I might be able to squeeze out one more week after writing this! Processing images and checking in on friend’s blogs has been delayed … I’m just not as energetic as I used to be! The photographs here are just a small start from the beginning of our autumn colors. You’ll see that there is often green mixed in at this stage and I like that. A true autumn lover appreciates all the phases of autumn … right? The term ‘peak’ foliage is actually misleading because it can look peak on one side of a slope and green or past prime on another side. Bad weather and wind can come at anytime stripping trees before they’re ready. It’s a very dynamic season in the mountains! I have lots more to come … some from a quick getaway and others that show recent snow on the mountains. Please stay tuned, and as always, thanks for visiting.
NOTICE: WordPress is now marking comments ‘Anonymous’ when the commenter is not signed in. While you are all friends, I cannot tell who the Anonymous commenters are. A WordPress change … I know it’s a pain but I think you will only have to sign in once and then it will recognize you. You can also leave your name at the end of the comment. If you want, you can refer to the previous post to see if your comment was marked ‘Anonymous’.
Here are subjects in keeping with my ‘Remnants & Remains’ collection and some that also fit into ‘Windows & Doors’. They’re finds I’ve yet to post from some short road trips here in Colorado. I’ve been working with subjects like these since the beginning of my interest in photography. It’s not only weathered structures that I find fascinating, but the objects left behind too. This post includes both!
Lines in weathered wood, the rusty patina
of an old truck, and items left behind
tell rich stories about lives that once were.
This post is a little shorter than usual with just four images from a very specific photo shoot. I processed others and when I looked at them all I felt these would make a nice collection, and tell my visual story. Sometimes less just feels like more to me! A wildfire occurred at this location in October of 2020. Rugged and difficult to battle, it destroyed almost 600 acres of mountain forest, mostly consisting of spruce and aspen trees. The road to the area was closed for a year afterwards. During a jeep ride through the area last summer I saw all the fireweed blooming among the charred trees. It was beautiful but past peak, so it was then that I decided I would try to return the following year. The terrain is steep here and the forest chaotic with fallen trees and fire debris scattered everywhere. I had to pick compositions from accessible points while keeping clutter to a minimum. In the end I love the way the bright purple combines with the dark trees. There is a contrast to the story in more ways than one … dark & light, death & rebirth, despair & hope, etc.
Coming across a beautiful patch of lupines can feel magical. The work to get the shot that I’m visualizing … not so much! Let me preface by saying, I do like flower images with bokeh backgrounds and a shallow depth of field … they’re fun to do and nice to look at too. However, creating a landscape image with the flowers very close and a mountain very far away, while keeping focus throughout is challenging for me. Years ago I learned that using a hyperfocal distance (focusing 1/3rd into the scene) does not work when you are just a couple inches from the foreground subject.
The first task is to find a good patch of flowers that also line up with a pleasing mountain backdrop. It’s important that it is not too windy and here that means getting out very early. Searching for an area without distractions often takes some time, crouching low and looking through the lens for acceptable compositions. Once found, a tripod is necessary so it all lines up later in Photoshop. Some photographers use a tilt-shift lens and one shot for this type of image, but they can have drawbacks too.
To describe my method I’ll use the first image, ‘A Lot Of Lupines’ … six focus-bracketed frames layered and then manually blended in Photoshop. In the field I focused on the foreground flowers, then the ones just behind them, then a little farther and so on, all the way to the mountain peak. All of my camera settings stayed the same except the selection of focus points, from very close to distant. Once the raw images were processed as a batch, I stacked the frames, aligned the layers in Photoshop, and masked out the unfocused areas on each layer. I often focus-bracket and stack my other landscapes but foregrounds are feet and yards away instead of inches. Hyper-focal distance works better in that case, and one, two or three focal points are most often sufficient. The post-processing work can be trickier and time-consuming with more layers and masking … and one reason why I’m only showing a few images here that depict near and far!
Denise Bush's Photo Blog 