Junkyard Art

[Andrew McLachlan]

I am going to venture away from nature for this weekly theme photo. I pass this old beat-up truck on my way to the family cottage near Parry Sound, Ontario. A couple of years ago I was in the area during the winter months and it was snowing, so I pulled off on the shoulder and grabbed a few quick shots of it.

Used Topaz Adjust - detailed for this one for a "grunge" effect.

Nikon D200
80-400 VR lens @ 175mm (effective 262mm)
ISO 100
f22 @ 1/10 sec.

Look forward to comments.

[Kerry Perkins]

Andrew, I love this! The color and detail are amazing and you have a great eye to see the potential in this capture. I like the crop a lot but would suggest that you take a tiny bit from the top to eliminate those bits of bg showing at the very top edge of the frame. Nice work!

[Paul Lagasi]

Nice, nice , ice and snow...looks like a cool HDR effect, colors make it...well done

[Ken Childs]

I was thinking the same thing....it looks very HDR. These old trucks make great subjects!

It looks great as is but Kerry's suggested crop would direct all the attention to the truck so I'd give it a try.

[denise ippolito]

Andrew, Awesome grunge look for the truck. I love the snow it adds a great touch. Good eye for this one. I do like Kerry's idea to clean up the edge. but I do like the snow-caps so I might take a teeny tiny bit. Nice work!!:)

[Arthur Morris]

Love the careful image design, the great colors, and the grunge look. Have you considered taking the blue out of the snow?

[Andrew McLachlan]

Thanks for comments everyone. They are much appreciated. I will crop out the bit of BG showing. Noticed it as soon as I posted the image. :(

Arthur, thanks for pointing out the blue in the snow. I did not catch that, but now that you mention it sticks out like a sore thumb. Will clean that up too. :)

[Arthur Morris]

YAW Andrew, How is your landscape guide coming?

[Andrew McLachlan]

Arthur, landscape guide is underway I think it will take a couple of months to complete. First I had to finish an article on my travels to Ontario's far north this past summer. I'll let everyone know if the article sees the light of day.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks. Did you go north for scenics or birds and wildlife? Or both?

[Patti Edens]

Awesome image and great vision to use that grunge effect! I love the colors and the treatment is perfect! I agree that the snow could be a bit less blue. I love the missing headlight and wouldn't change that since the "socket" is so interesting. But, if it were mine, I would clone the middle green light (across the top) into the empty right spot. The dark "socket" where that light is missing isn't nearly as interesting to me as the green colors.

[Judy Howle]

I love grungy old trucks and cars, HDR or "simulated" HDR, and this one is terrific. I love the colors and the snow. The others gave good suggestions for improving it.

[Anita Bower]

I'm not a fan of old truck photos, but you did a fantastic job on this one. Excellent.

[Andrew McLachlan]

Thanks Patti and Judy for comments, very much appreciated.

Arthur, I mostly went for scenics which went well. I traveled as far north as one can go by road - literally to the end of the line. Next trip to this region will be by canoe, with guide. Many more photo possibilities would be possible by canoe than by road. This area is very dense boreal forest and the road I traveled crossed the Abitibi River a few times at excellent vistas. The canoe route passes a gravesite for fur traders who died along the way, back in the 17 & 1800's.

You would think being that far north and so far from humans I would have had some good wildlife opportunities, but I saw no wildlife at all. I did find some moose bones though and a small flock of sandhill cranes flying in the distance. Lots of moose and wolf tracks though. While driving home a lynx ran across the highway, that was about all I saw in the way of mammals.

[Andrew McLachlan]

Much thanks Anita.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks for the info. Amazing that there was no wildlife. Did you see any old, rusty trucks ? :)

[Andrew McLachlan]

Sorry Arthur no rusty old trucks either.

[Christopher Miller]

Great job, Andrew. I'm not usually a fan of heavy HDR-like effects, but it works very nicely here. Love all the details and colors.

[Steve Adkins]

One of my favorite subjects. Wondeful effect and comp, Andrew.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Andrew, I love the colors and HDR effect and the composition. It's great!:)

[Andrew McLachlan]

Cheryl, Christopher and Steve,

Thanks very much for the kind words. Much appreciated.