Icicles on a small bush

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 4:52 pm

We're having an honest-to-goodness winter storm today. Six inches of snow over everything, and 1/4" of ice underneath that. The roads are essentially shut down. Yesterday afternoon one of the sanding trucks slid into a ditch.

On the bright side, this little bush right outside my house had some nice icicles on it.

Enjoy!

--Rik

Technical: Canon 300D with Sigma 105 mm macro at f/11, 1/60 second. Four frames stacked in HF. Field about 3" wide
Shot in raw, stacked and post-processed in 16-bit mode, reduced to 8-bit jpeg for posting.

Edit: to swap in revised image and extend the technical info.

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 5:49 pm

You know this is really a refreshing change of pace Rik, lovely!

When the sanding trucks hit the ditch, I guess you do have snow and lots of it.

Seems Calif. is getting ready to get dumped on again too.

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 12:16 am

Thanks, Ken.

The more I looked at this image, the more I decided it could be improved. The upper part seemed too dark, especially the right corner. So I stuck in a level adjustment layer, with a gradient mask so that the lower left wasn't affected, while the upper right was brightened up quite a bit.

I edited the first posting to point to the revised picture. For reference, the original appears below.

--Rik

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 4:59 am

The revised image does look more natural but the original seems to set the mood of winter I think, a bit of a "more shadowy" time of the year. Both nice just the same and relaxing to the eyes of the viewer.

beetleman · Post by **beetleman** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 1:09 pm

Snow is Ok, but Ice Stinks. A beautiful wintery picture Rik.

JoanYoung · Post by **JoanYoung** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 7:35 pm

This reminds me of the small town I grew up in where sights like this were normal in winter. Thank goodness I moved!!

Lovely image Rik.

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 10:17 pm

Thanks, Joan. Hope you're enjoying the, uh, whatever season it is down there!

Ken, you might be right -- this evening I don't know which one of them I like better. But I do know that both of them are a good deal more relaxing than trying to drive today!

---Rik

JoanYoung · Post by **JoanYoung** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 11:15 pm

LOL!! We are the exact opposite in season to you Rik, so it is heading towards autumn here for us.

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 11:20 pm

Joan, I've been assured the seasons vary from place to place.

My brother-in-law lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota (USA).

He swears they only have two: winter and road construction.

--Rik

cactuspic · Post by **cactuspic** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 11:26 pm

Lovely image Rik. The edit definitely improved the image. Ice is sure pretty..and deadly. Take care and keep warm.

Irwin

microcollector · Post by **microcollector** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 4:45 pm

Rik,

Nice photo. I bet you are getting more snow today. I woke up to 4 inches this morning.

Doug