383 - Fern Canyon
Oh man, did we get abstract today. Some BRAND new editing techniques on the table, while at Fern Canyon in the Redwoods of California.
Hands down, this is one of the coolest places I've ever shot at. Since this is my second time here, I figured I'd be a bit less awestruck upon arrival, but nope. Same exact feelings.
Now, the phenomenon of not knowing how to take photos of something because it's so goddamn beautiful is fairly rare to me. Once in a blue moon I'll feel this. I think the last time it hit me really hard was at Steptoe Butte earlier this summer.
But the trick is to focus on SMALL SCENES. It's impossible to take it all in in one shot, so I've found that I got to divvy it up. The thing is, I showed up at the wrong time AGAIN. Even two hours before sunset, the light had left the canyon for the day and we were left with moody shots.
Slightly annoying, because the last time I was here I arrived too early and my camera died right when the light started hitting it. So now I've been on both sides of the spectrum. Well now I've learned this is definitely a mid day lighting spot. The canyon is narrow as hell, so the lighting isn't around for long.
The most interesting scene I could find was this pointy log that was surrounded by ferns that looked like hands. I spent about 20 minutes shooting it at all angles, still not entirely satisfied with what I'd gotten. Eventually I landed on this... But let me explain after you check it out:
The editing is where the minimalist magic came in here. In some of my earlier work, I was fascinated with the concept of isolating subjects via darkness- creating a creepy, dreamlike state. One example is this shot of me on a Library Bridge.
However that technique took a bench for awhile, and I haven't used it since. But when editing today, I realized I can just apply the concept of isolating scenes of darkness to landscapes! So I isolated the ferns and log, then painted black over some ferns to create an "arch" shape. It's a fun concept I've never explored before, and opened my mind to some new possibilities in the future...
Anyway. What else? Oh yeah. By this point in the adventure, we were pretty much done with the canyon. We'd paced it several times, and couldn't find anything else interesting enough to shoot. It was just so dark!
But right on the way out, some MAGIC lighting appeared. The entrance to the canyon faces the ocean, where light beams were peeping through.
I snagged this shot of three similar trees that got hit by the light HARD:
“Three Flair”
Sony a7rIII + Zeiss 24-70mm f/4
ISO 320 ~ 70mm ~ f/10 ~ 1/15s
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
Fuck that scene just looks like pure fairy magic. I COULD EAT THAT SCENE FOR DAYS.
Since we still had about 30 minutes until sunset, we decided to walk out onto the beach right across the street and see what we could find. I never waste a sunset if it's accessible. Never.
The most interesting thing was these two logs sticking straight up, so I inspected them up close and found a hole. Since I hadn't done portraiture in forever, so I used the hole as a frame and put Haley in the middle, then used the other log to create a type of yin/yang. Here's the result:
Banger. The edit was really fucking hard on that one though. I'm starting to realize Photoshop's focus stacking tool doesn't work well if you have an object that's super close and one that's super far. It blurs the edges a bit. So I had to do some manual focus stacking, and even then it didn't turn out perfect.
But I'm not too worried, it's just a portrait probably for Haley's Instagram. If that was a GALLERY piece, I'd probably still be editing that shot to perfection.
Solid shoot today. If a bit abstract. My present self is happy, my older Instagram-focused self would be pissed. I think that's a good thing.
I’m on a mission to explore as much as humanely possible.
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