Japanese Maple 2
Apr, 2015Views
4227
Likes
Awards
Contest Finalist in Dear Trees Photo Contest
Action Award
Chatter Award
Contest Finalist in The Colorful Outdoors Photo Contest
Zenith Award
Top Shot Award 21
Legendary Award
Featured
Contest Finalist in Colors and Mood Photo Contest
Curator's Choice
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Superior Skill
Virtuoso
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rank
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Categories
PRO+
PRO+
ervinhabel
May 21, 2016
Wow! I'm obessed with capturing nature. When I came across this photo I was like: "Oh my God, what a wonderful shot. It's like a painting." This is stunningly colorful! Congratulations for this shot!
Platinum
Platinum
williamatkinson
February 23, 2017
Amazing shot! Love the random chaos of nature with the structure of color. Great share
Platinum
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in the Japanese Garden at Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia!Time
It was later in the afternoon probably 4:00pm, but way up in the Pacific Northwest in April.Lighting
The lighting was typical late afternoon lighting, but shooting the tree from this angle, it was pretty well shaded.Equipment
For this image, I used a Nikon D610, Handheld, and I believe I used a Sigma 10-20mm DX lens, which is what cause the vignetting in the corners.Inspiration
My inspiration for this image was basically just walking through the garden there and seeing this beautiful tree, but in the back of my mind, I had an image of another Japanese Maple by Peter Lik in my mind's eye.Editing
This image is an HDR image, 3 frames, +/- 1.7, then processed with Photomatix, then moved to Photoshop Elements 9 to remove some lights, a spigot and other distractions from the image. I usually adjust the saturation a bit, and add a little sharpening to images like this. HDR image processing can be overdone. I try to keep most of my images looking natural. HDR is an amazing tool for adding highlights and low lights from the scene as long as it is used tastefully.In my camera bag
I shoot with Nikons, I carry a D750 (FX), a D610 (FX) along with a Nikkor 28-70 f2.8D and Nikkor 70-200 f2.8G VRII, and still often carry a D7000 (DX) which I use exclusively with my Sigma 10-20mm Super Wide Angle. I usually carry at least one SB600 speedlight, and occasionally rent lenses depending on what I'm shooting. On a recent trip to Hawaii, I rented a Sigma 20mm f1.4 for the purposes of photographing the milkyway.Feedback
If something catches your eye, be patient and try to capture an image that moves you. SEE what is in front of you. Pay attention to exposure (Shoot Manual and RAW- they both give you much more control in what comes out the other side). In the case of this Japanese Maple, looking at it, the light was not ideal. Based on where the sun was and where I was shooting from, there was a lot of shade. I shot several sequences, at different exposures/different brackets and focal lengths to play with when I got to the edit. I saw the potential and continued to work with the image until I got what I wanted. Some images just jump out and take very little post processing, because all of the elements just came together right. Sometimes though, it takes a little (sometimes a lot) of work to achieve your vision. I ALMOST threw this one out because it wasn't coming together for me quickly, but I believed enough in the image to keep working on it in post, to get what I wanted. It has been one of my most popular and successful images.
