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A Farmer's Road
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A Farmer's Road



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Dirt roads connecting farm fields throughout the Palouse country of eastern Washington are sometimes called "Primitive Roads," and are closed to vehic...
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Dirt roads connecting farm fields throughout the Palouse country of eastern Washington are sometimes called "Primitive Roads," and are closed to vehicular traffic between November and March. When these roads become saturated with rain or melting snow, the clay mud surface renders them unusable and even dangerous. But during farming season, they mirror the contours of the crop fields, ribbons of brown through fields of green and tan.
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cameraNIKON D7000

settings Aperture 8/1 ISO 160 Shutter 1/30 Focal Length 1400/10 

upload_dateOct, 2016

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Legendary Award
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efimbirenbaum ricrog mewilcox Hulya thierry_82000 Ranette sweetpea72
Top Choice
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jraj2017

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4 Comments |
timlucas
 
timlucas January 22, 2017
Well composed image, with the curve in the road matching the rise/fall of the total scene.
GEFAELL
 
GEFAELL January 22, 2017
Magnificent! This photo is like a Van Gogh's paint work.
deannefortnam
 
deannefortnam January 27, 2017
Gorgeous. gorgeous, gorgeous! wonderful composition!
madeinPortugal
 
madeinPortugal January 28, 2017
Wonderful result - like it a lot. Congrats :)

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#farm #road #dirt #field #rural #country
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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken in rural Whitman County, Washington, in the heart of the picturesque Palouse region of eastern Washington and north Idaho, toward the end of an afternoon of photo-exploration with my daughter.

Time

Late afternoon, one of the best times to capture the play of light and shadow, colors and textures in this unique area of undulating hills and fertile crop lands.

Lighting

During spring planting and fall harvest, dust in the air often creates a haze in the distance, as is evident in the far back of this scene. There were some clouds in the sky, creating uneven (and constantly changing) areas of light and shadow, hence the different shades of green in the emerging winter wheat, there being more light in the foreground.

Equipment

Handheld shot, f6.3 at 1/60 sec. with a Nikon D7000 and Nikon f2.8 70-200 mm lens. Image was captured at maximum telephoto to compress the perceived distance between hills.

Inspiration

What caught my eye initially was the ribbon of dirt road bisecting the fields, following their contour as it stretched out toward the far horizon, and the peacefulness of this pastoral scene. Its quiet beauty and the promise of a crop stirred feelings of optimism, which I wanted to capture and preserve with my camera.

Editing

As best I can recall, I increased both brightness and saturation in post.

In my camera bag

It varies with the trip, but usually my D7000 and D300, one fitted with a telephoto zoom and the other, either a 35mm prime or my Sigma wide-angle zoom. This combination allows me to respond quickly to a sudden opportunity and is the most versatile for alternating between large landscapes and close-ups of old barns, abandoned vehicles, and other subjects one might encounter during a drive such as the one we were on that day.

Feedback

Even though the landscape make look uniform, even slight changes of angle or viewpoint can reveal new and striking differences in perspective. Don't be afraid to experiment with a variety of compositions while you're shooting. You can always discard the ones that don't work out, but you may never again encounter this scene, this lighting, these conditions, etc. Make the most of every outing.

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