Ancient Groves
A semi-abstracted scene from the Ancient Groves Nature Trail on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington State.
A semi-abstracted scene from the Ancient Groves Nature Trail on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington State.
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Jan, 2015Views
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Awards
Staff Winter Selection 2015
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Superb Composition
Peer Award
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
All Star
Genius
Emotions
Impressed
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
The Ancient Groves Nature Trail in Olympic National Park, Washington State.Time
This was our last day in the park, and we found the trail by accident as the day was winding down. We ended up in the woods as the sun was setting, and had to make sure we got back out before it was dark!Lighting
This was sunset light streaming through the trees... since the woods were thick and it was late in the day, I needed to use a tripod to keep things sharp with a longer shutter speed.Equipment
This was shot on a Nikon D7100 with a 35mm f/1.8 prime lens, on a tripod.Inspiration
While we saw many lovely landscapes in Olympic, this trail was our favorite. The woods felt so lush and mysterious, and everything had a lovely glow.Editing
Post-processing is my favorite part of photography! For this one, I warmed up the color so it matched my memory better than the out-of-camera version, and I applied a vertical motion blur to the trees above the foreground to smooth out all the chaos and clutter. This is how the forest actually felt: serene and quiet.In my camera bag
I used to always carry a 35mm prime when I took this picture, but I've since moved to the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 as my walking-around lens. It's bigger, but more versatile and even sharper than the prime. If I'm on a portrait shoot, I have a Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 as well, and I usually have a speedlight or two (and colored gels) on hand just in case.Feedback
If something catches your eye, even if you're not sure exactly why, shoot it and try to figure out what was pulling you to the scene. If you can capture that special something in camera, all the better, but sometimes (as with this shot) it's not until you let your creativity wander in post-processing that you draw the magic out.
