The
guidelines for this assignment were to compose an image that describes a unique aspect that you discovered during the course of photographing your subject.
Rebecca's
Emerald Lake Hillside image was a great example of allowing the process of discovery to unfold through our photography and lead to a new understanding of our subject. Her composition of the wildflower-covered hillside, which included the patterns of the tall stalks of the Monument Plant, piqued our curiosity about these plants. This curiosity later led to a conversation that left us with a greater appreciation of the unique life-cycle and beauty of these plants, and an appreciation of how lucky we were to have witnessed the rare blooms.
Emerald Lake HillsidePhotographed by Rebecca
Monument Plant close upPhotographed by Rebecca
Michele's
In-flight and
Crane images also led to a process of discovery. I thought the bird looked much like a Great Blue Heron we see here in the States, and so I did a little research. According to Wikipedia, "The Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America as well as the West Indies and the Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to Europe, with records from Spain, the Azores and England." I think we can now modify that to read "It is a rare vagrant to Europe, with records from Spain, the Azores, England and
Switzerland!" Great job capturing this magnificent bird in flight Michele. I was fascinated by the detail and patterns in the flight feathers in your second image.
In-flightPhotographed by Michele Bollhalder
CranePhotographed by Michele Bollhalder
Congratulations to Dave, whose Billy Tripp image won the vote for
People's Choice. Dave did a great job using fill flash to separate the bike and rider from the background without letting the image look "over-flashed." It sounds like Dave made quite a few interesting "discoveries" while photographing the bike.
Billy TrippPeople's ChoicePhotographed by Dave Leiker (prairiedust)
Like Dave, I must have been "hungry for color and light," because his
Peaches image was one of my favorite from the assignment. Dave did a wonderful job handling the high contrast lighting in this image. The highlight areas "pushed the envelope" a bit with respect to blown color channels; however, the overall exposure and colors in the image were very effective at conveying the feeling of being in the bright sun & shade dappled orchard. Beautifully handled Dave. I've selected this image as
Editor's Choice for Artistic Merit.
PeachesEditor's Choice for Artistic MeritPhotographed by Dave Leiker (prairiedust)
I always enjoy Lars' Photoshop creations, and love the way he can take a simple subject and transform it into a work of art. Lars took an image of a simple candy wrapper and created an image that made us curious and invited us to explore the unusual shapes, forms and colors. Thanks for sharing your creativity with us Lars.
Discover beauty in a simpel wayPhotographed by Lars
Rick's image of the
Old Coral in Colorado was another shot that made me want to explore. I found myself wishing that I could zoom into the image to see more detail in the fascinating patterns and textures of the wood rails. The
Old Coral looks like an intriguing and rich location to explore with a camera. Great job composing the overall scene to convey a sense of place and leave us with the desire to go exploring.
Old Coral in ColoradoPhotographed by Rick Pepin
My
Discovering Wildflowers image was a tribute to the wonderful photographers that accompanied us on our explorations around Crested Butte, Colorado. Many of their wonderful compositions will remain in my memory, and help to redefine how I think about wildflowers. (Now that I look at this image again, I think it is a bit over-sharpened. I think the varying sharpness throughout the image tricked me into over-sharpening the foreground.)
Discovering WildflowersPhotographed by Keith
Thank you to everyone that participated in the "Discovery" assignment. I suspect that like me, many of you enjoy photography because you recognize how it enriches your lives by providing an avenue for you to explore, discover, and share interesting aspects of your world. Recognizing this process of discovery, and consciously giving it time to unfold, can help our photography become even more enriching. I hope you enjoyed this assignment as much as I did.
Keith