reaching for the sun

[Dennis Bishop]

The first photo destination in our February trip was Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park in Cross Creek, Florida. My mother had introduced me to Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' book, The Yearling, when I was a kid. A later book, Cross Creek, talks about her life there, but it's much more than that. Cheryl suggested I read it in preparation for visiting the park, and I'm very glad I did. This image is a composite of the first two sets of images I shot there. To me, the image expresses the joy that Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings must've felt while living there, and it certainly portrays how I felt that day.





Nikon D3s, ISO 400, f/45, 9-exposure HDR at 1 EV intervals, zoom lens at 140mm (The "sun" was shot with different settings but the same lens at 200mm with a 2X teleconverter. There were many more oranges in the shot; I had no idea, then, of compositing one of them into this image.)

processing highlights

• Topaz Simplify -- saved watercolor preset
• Alien Skin Snap Art -- saved watercolor wash preset, Hard Light blend mode
• Red Giant Software Knoll Light Factory -- masked off sun and most of tree
• Fractalius -- two saved black & white presets, Multiply and Divide blend modes
• Simplify -- saved black & white edges preset, Multiply
• uniform gradient vignette on right and bottom, masked to affect only the leaves and branches

[Jackie Schuknecht]

I see the ball that you shot at Barnes and Noble. You have piqued my curiosity about both books. I like the "sun" and the radiating lines and the orange tree reaching for the light. Sounds like an idyllic place to have lived there.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Dennis, this is perfect - Marjorie would have loved it - she sure loved her orange grove I'm glad I had a chance to share her place with you and also to share the books - both are great reads but Cross Creek is one of my all time favorites. I like it that there's a faint rainbow up there also.

[Kerry Perkins]

Wonderful visual analogy for sunlight turning into oranges! I really like the radiating lines and the feeling of sunlight coming down to nourish the oranges. Very nice!

[Anita Bower]

This image makes me smile. It is a happy image. Love the branches reaching up to the orange sun, and the rays spreading down on the tree. Beautiful colors. Such a creative sun!!Excellent composition. Wonderfully conceived and executed. I like everything about it. This would be a happy photo to have on my wall. It reminds me of a summer I lived in California as a child in a rented house in an orchard. A special memory.

[Dennis Bishop]

. . . It reminds me of a summer I lived in California as a child in a rented house in an orchard. A special memory.

I don't know why, but there's something special about orchards. At the park, there were harvesting poles that visitors could use to pick an orange or tangerine and eat it on the spot. It'll likely not happen, but I'd love to spend a year there making images that would include passages from Rawlings' Cross Creek book. I thought I might like it there but wasn't fully prepared for how wonderful it was.

[Anita Bower]

I don't know why, but there's something special about orchards. At the park, there were harvesting poles that visitors could use to pick an orange or tangerine and eat it on the spot. It'll likely not happen, but I'd love to spend a year there making images that would include passages from Rawlings' Cross Creek book. I thought I might like it there but wasn't fully prepared for how wonderful it was.

I remember picking oranges and eating them warm, in the orchard. Wonderful. I think you captured the wonder of a fruit tree in your image.

[Diane Miller]

Wonderful story to make the image extra special! I read her books when I was in high school and need to revisit them -- that was a few years ago...

I didn't know about the park and had always wondered where Cross Creek was. Will research it for the next trip that way!

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Dennis,

Greetings. This is spectacular! The concept radiance, story and just beautiful image is breathtaking. The nerd that I am though can't help but mention the dislocation of the halo which should center on the sun as a concentric circle (I'm sure most people don't notice these things but it catches my eye to my dismay). Thanks for posting.

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Dennis Bishop]

. . . The nerd that I am though can't help but mention the dislocation of the halo which should center on the sun as a concentric circle (I'm sure most people don't notice these things but it catches my eye to my dismay). . .

Thanks for your comments. I think I need to be educated about the halo. Are you referring to the light color at the bottom of the sun or the chroma hoop farther away from it? I had second thoughts about that light area and considered using an HDR version of the orange to minimize it. In Knoll Light Factory, I had a bit of control over some of the characteristics of the hoop. My choices were based on artistic rather than scientific considerations, but I might've at least compromised if I'd known better.

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Dennis,

By halo I meant the chroma hoop (not the photographic sense of halo, sorry for the confusion). I'm something of a rainbow aficionado so I've learned to look for the specific conditions where they exist. Here the rainbow/chroma hoop/halo would only form as a concentric circle around the sun (a Google search says it's at 22 degrees angle from sun to halo). A short(ish) aside follows.

I was driving one day when it just worked out that the sun was at an angle for the water spraying off the hood of my car (from a sun shower) to form a little rainbow off the front of my car. I thought ha! my own little rainbow. Thinking further I realized that all rainbows were "mine" in that a rainbow is the effect of millions of water droplets acting as prisms for a light beamed to a point where my eye is. All rainbows that I've seen are played out just for me. Some one next to me might see an almost identical rainbow but a different set of water particles would be doing the trick for them. As you move so does a whole other set of water droplets cooperate to provide the show. Cool. The angle to the sun determines how high the curve off the horizon so near sunrise or sunset gives you the highest rainbow (reflected from the opposite direction from the sun). Rainbows do not occur mid-day (the reflection points are below the horizon), but halos around the sun (as in the OP) will.

Anyway, enough... out of curiosity did you use a polarizing filter? I've found that the polarized sunglasses really bring out the chroma in the halo (which was discovered when a friend and I were commenting how beautiful a halo was and another friend couldn't see it at all until she looked through one of our polarized sunglasses ;-). I assume that a polarizing filter would have the same effect.

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Diane Miller]

Definitely, on the polarizer! When you see a rainbow, reach for the polarizer then reach for your camera. You can quench it or bring it out dramatically depending on how the polarizer is rotated.

PS -- have you ever seen a moonbow? I did, twice in one night. It was amazing!

[Dennis Bishop]

Michael, thank you. That was a beautiful explanation.

I didn't use a polarizing filter. In fact -- up to this point, at least -- I rarely do. Your timing is amazing because our local photo group is having its monthly educational meeting this Friday, and I'd suggested the use of polarizers as a topic. I'm virtually certain this was the first time I've used a plug-in to put a chroma hoop into an image. Next time, I'll try to make it closer to reality.


Diane, I've never seen a moonbow, but I've heard of them. Cumberland Falls State Park, just off I-75 in southern Kentucky is famous for them. I've only been to the park once, and the timing wasn't right. The next time I head in that direction (perhaps to or from Florida), I should give it another try.