MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS YNP

[gary ellwein]

The limestone formations at Yellowstone's Mammoth Hot Springs provide an endless supply of abstract material. I did the tonal adjustments with SEP and then blended back the color ala Michael. A bit of Fractalius was used to accentuates the coarse texture. I usually don't frame my images in IOOB: however, a frame seemed to work in this instance.

PS The frame looked much better on a lighter bg.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Gary, I like this different and interesting look at a very cool place. I really like the very subtle colors and tonalities you used. I might tone down the bright area in the upper right corner.

[Dennis Bishop]

I could look at this for a long time. Actually, I think I already have. It's nice to have the primary diagonals, especially when they're curved like this, and the 3-D appearance is very striking. You have a good range of browns, and the brown frame is a plus. (I took the image into Photoshop to see the brown part of the frame against the medium gray I use.)

[Anita Bower]

The frame doesn't bother me at all--works well with image. The shapes repeat themselves in various tones as they create diagonal lines--nice. I like it in this monochrome. I wish the upper right corner were not so different in shape, texture and color. I tried cropping the corner out, which was only partly satisfactory. I also painted over the upper left corner with a 35% opacity brush in one of the dark brown colors in the image. That was the solution I liked best--helped it blend in better.

[gary ellwein]

I toned down the upper right corner and agree it is an improvement. Thanks to all.

[Anita Bower]

I toned down the upper right corner and agree it is an improvement. Thanks to all.

Did you post the redone photo? I don't see much difference.

[Dennis Bishop]

I do see the difference. There's definitely less contrast there, now. Originally, I didn't think much about the darkness of that corner because I was so taken by the image as a whole. Because it's at the top and the darkness adds weight in a sense, I wondered what would happen if partially masked Curves layers were used to gradually darken the bottom with a gradient from the bottom to about a third of the way up and lighten the blues in the upper right. I liked the way that turned out, but I still like both your original post and re-post.

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Gary,

Greetings. I like the variety of pattern along with the tonal variation throughout. The repost is just right. Thanks for posting.

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Nancy Bell]

I'm a bit late on this one. I like the abstract of the limestone very much and I feel the frame keeps the eye inside and moving through the interesting patterns. I agree with Anita that the dark & different pattern in the upper right adds a dissonant note. If this is part of a larger crop, maybe you could crop differently.

[Anita Bower]

Here is what I had in mind. I did a quick painting at 37% opacity using one of the mid-browns from the image.

[gary ellwein]

This version incorporates Dennis's suggestion of darkening the base and lightening the blues in the upper left corner. I originally tried to omit the dark area without success. Thanks again for the input.

[Diane Miller]

Lots to play with here -- an excellent image and the various interpretations have all led to a subtle but very nice improvement.