Meadow Grasses, Autumn Rain. Yosemite Valley, California. October 30, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Meadow grasses made shiny by autumn rain, Yosemite Valley, California.
This fall I have been “playing around” with photographs of very dense and detailed vegetation. (Two other recent related photographs include one of aspen leaves and one of creek dogwood.) This is a difficult thing, especially with a subject whose colors seem somewhat muted, but if it works the largish prints can work both by revealing some form that might be difficult to see in all the detail and by presenting the detail itself. (As much as many of us rightfully point out that sharpness is not everything, sometimes it is pretty important!)
I noticed the subject of this photograph while shooting something quite different. I was standing in a meadow near Curry Village in light rain and using a very long lens to photograph mist and clouds drifting among trees and spires high on the Yosemite Valley rim when I happened to look down at my feet. (Always a good idea to look at the other stuff when shooting a specific subject that you came for.) I noticed the shapes of the grasses and the mixture of greens and browns with the “cool” light from the cloudy conditions. Since I couldn’t shoot this subject with the lens I was using at the moment, I went back to the other subject and made a mental note to switch lens and pay some attention to the grasses when I finished.
This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.
G Dan Mitchell Photography
Flickr | Twitter | Facebook Fan Page | Facebook | Friendfeed | Email
Beautiful vertical rhythm in this shot Dan. We often forget to look down and get some details. “Look down” was I think one of tips in the special edition of Outdoor Photographer this month.
Thank you for your comment and your observation. I think I recall seeing that in OP, too. I always try to make myself look away from my primary subject at some point when I’m shooting, and I’m still surprised at how often I find something nearby that I didn’t see.
Dan
Your technical data is keeping us in suspense…..what lens did you ultimately use?
Ah, thanks for catching that glitch! I fixed the text so that the information should now appear. It was made using the Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens. I most often shoot with L zooms, but for work like this I always carry a few primes for those times when I can work a bit more slowly and the prime’s focal length works for the composition.
Hey Dan
This is really nice. I personally have been photographing grasses for years and am always looking for interesting compositions based on colors and textures. This image is a winner! You can check some of my grass work here: http://www.stephen-weaver.com/gallery/grass/
Steve
Thanks, Steve. And following the link, I see that you have some very lovely work online, too!
Dan