 I exited the car and proceeded forward toward a hill. I saw a beautiful landscape in front of me. I paused for a short moment before moving to the left, where the wild weeds and flowers grew. I knelt down. I closed my eyes. The amazing storm that was brewing in the distance made me forget about my worries. And yet: there was no storm in the distance. In fact, it was a lovely afternoon in the Bavarian countryside. The sun was high in the air and there was a gentle breeze. I closed my eyes to reflect, and this is what I imagined: a powerful storm. Then I opened my eyes... Which brings me to the image in today's entry. I captured it in broad daylight and indeed there was no storm when I captured the photo. But I imagined what this scene could be and what it could become. It felt real. I envisioned the ominous clouds in the distance. In my mind, I could hear the thunder and the raindrops. A sense of calm came over me. I wanted to see a storm over those mountains, and in a way, I did. In fact, the most vivid memory I have at this particular place is my thought process and how I envisioned this scene. Photographers and non-photographers alike sometimes ask me whether I “Photoshop” my images. For this image, the answer is yes. But I think that isn't the right question to ask. What is the right question to ask? I think it's these: “What about this scene moved you?” and “How and what did you feel when you were standing there?” If you ask me those two questions, then my answer per above: at peace, as I imagined the clouds and the raindrops in the distance. When I saw this image on the LCD screen of my camera (and later on my monitor), I already knew how I wanted the final image to look like. Consequently, the post-processing of this image is my way of reconciling of how I felt and what I envisioned at the time I captured the image. Here is David duChemin on the subject: It reminds me of the ongoing debate about post-processing a little, reminds me of the “did it really look like that or did you do something in Photoshop?” questions we all get from the purists and the cynics. The answer, of course, is yes. And no. More to the point, it felt like this.And this is the point: the scene felt like that to me. Since this is a personal photoblog, I choose to post-process images to reflect my thoughts and feelings. But I also want my audience (that is, you) to see things the way I saw them. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. I don't think this image would have had the same visual impact if I didn't post-process it the way I did. But after looking at this image, can you imagine that perhaps there was a storm here? Do you need to see the original file for comparison? On a technical note: I shoot in RAW. I also always shoot in auto white balance, because tinkering with white balance in camera is counterproductive. The time I would be switching among different white balance modes could be spent observing the scene and/or capturing photos. In fact, because I shoot in RAW, I have tremendous flexibility in correcting white balance in post-production. David duChemin provides an excellent anecdote about a photographer who's obsessed with colour balance; don't be like the guy described in the beginning of this post. Tune in next week, as I will post between three and five more images from Bavaria. My dream of a storm over the Bavarian countryside would come true later in the same day, and I will share those images next week. Until then, enjoy your weekend. ### If you like this image and/or the images I've been posting on Erudite Expressions over the last three and a half years (I've been posting regularly since April 2006), please take a moment and vote for Erudite Expressions in the 2009 Photoblog Awards. I have almost enough votes to be considered a nominee for the America region. Registration is required to cast your vote, but it takes less than a minute to register. I promise you won't get spammed (I've registered on the site myself and have yet to receive a single email from them). I think voting is one of the most important things you can do, primarily because it allows for increased exposure (especially for my photoblog, which is hidden from google search and difficult, if not impossible, to find otherwise). Of course, I strongly encourage you to check out the other Additionally, the Photoblog Awards have recently added a new category: Picture of the Year. I submitted one of my images, “Inspire,” for this contest. Please take a look here. I highly encourage you to check out that image and watch the accompanying video. The video inspired me so much; I hope it inspires you as well. If you have a minute, and you like the image (but perhaps more importantly: the message it conveys) please register on the site and cast your vote. Thank you. |
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