On Saturday afternoon, the family went down to Horsetooth Reservoir to try out the inflatable kayak we had purchased last summer. The included foot-pump stopped working partway through the inflation process, but the craft was seaworthy enough for my wife and son to take their maiden voyage. I paced them on the shoreline, coming across a stand of Cottonwood trees. What made the stand unique was the high-water level of the reservoir. The trees were completely submerged, and most were surrounded by people swimming and wading. I found a tree without people nearby and took some shots. I loved the soft colors- green from the reflections of the leaves in the water, yellow where the shallow water covered the sand underneath, and of course the blues from the sky. This became my favorite image of the week.
Submerged
Fujifilm X-T2, Fujinon XF 18-55 f/2.8-4 R LM OIS at 39mm, f/5 at 1/6000, ISO 400.
Digital Darkroom. My vision here involved a soft palette of hazy colors- impressionism. I punched up the exposures, and surprisingly the contrast as well. In the tone curve tool, I dramatically lowered the highlights a lot to take out the light reflections on the water, leaving me with relatively dull soft light. I punched up the vibrance to emphasize the yelllows, greens, and blues. Clarity is one of my favorite adjustments, and I often crank it pretty high. This time I dropped it, aiming for soft, not sharp. The results were good, but something else was needed. I pulled up the PhotoToaster app and added a canvas-like texture. Now I had what I was looking for.
WIRR stands for Weekly Image Rich Ruh. This regular feature on Das Has von Ruh will show and describe my favorite photo created during this weekly period. My weeks start on Mondays, as does the WIRR. I’m hoping to include commentary on the story, the setting, the specs, or the sentiments, depending on the circumstances.
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