Wonder Valley Redux Photo

Photographer’s Note

Wonder Valley Redux

Scene
This is a complimentary image to one I posted previously. This image was captured just 14 days after I first captured the image. The little yellow wildflowers have now been over taken by other flowers as the days grow longer and the weather grows warmer. This morning it was a bit chilly with a brisk breeze blowing and the ground was wet from the morning dew.

Background
Wonder Valley is a bit of a wonder when you first crest the hills along the Kings River and drop down to the valley floor. The views from divide are spectacular with the river and the large irrigation storage reservoir dominating the scene. But looking into the valley you see fields or green grass and scattered oak trees. I was in the valley looking for wildlife this spring morning, but I did not spot anything other than domestic cattle. The low and warm light with long shadows on the meadows made for some nice images even though the spectacular wildflowers are a bit subdued.

Wandering_Dan, Floydian, Photo65Net, stego, jhm, plimrn, pboehringer has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Floydian (30970) 2009-03-29 23:04

Hi John,

Good to see you here, hope all is fine with you.
An image with hard light, but still the composition and the colours make it interesting enough to post. Maybe a few weeks later and those in flowers in front are showing all their beauty, but also this looks like Spring has arrived. Here is still not much going on, will take another month for showing nature his colours...

Regards,

Henk

Photo65Net (43096) 2009-03-30 3:42

Salut John,
I like a lot the FG texture here, with all the little flowers.
Your compo is nice too,
Have a nice day,
JB.

vincz (19045) 2009-03-30 13:46

Strong light, the flowers in the foreground are amazing. There are so many to see there with different colors.

Wandering_Dan (3285) 2009-04-02 13:35

Hi, John -

This is more subtle than the earlier one, with few strong colors, but I think I like this one better because of the overall balance. And it's clear the wildflowers are bursting out all over. Are you considering a set of shots in this location with the changing seasons?

Best,
Dan

PS: I threw out the wildflowers and factory shot; you were right - it couldn't be saved. I'll see if I can get back there and try again; we don't usually get that much lupine in a bunch here in the city.

batalay (21185) 2009-04-04 9:28

Hello John,

I like the freshness of this shot — shot and posted on the same day. The lovely early spring shot, colorful and reminiscent of the works of Seurat, the Pointillist painter. Wonderful colors and resolution.

Warm regards,

Bulent

stego (22448) 2009-04-05 10:55

Hi John,

It's always amazing to see how much nature can change its appearance so quickly, specially in Spring and Autumn. I wouldn't be surprised if you showed a different view of the same POV in a few days.

It's a very attractive photo, with a clever compo that may look deceitfully simple and obvious. The colours are well rendered, at least on the grass and the trees, which is crucial in this kind of image.

I don't think that there is anything really wrong with the sharpness, but it isn't at the same level of the previous one. That is more apparent in the sky, which presents smooth stripes and is also very slightly yellowish/greenish. I see that the file has only 126 Kb, so it might be because of the compression.

I also wonder if the crop on the right side of the dead tree is intentional. Again, it's just a detail, but I wonder if it wasn't good if that hadn't happened.

Regards, José.

jhm (83276) 2009-04-06 3:59

Hello John,

Simple but I look with pleasure.
You chose a great foreground with vegetation this leads us to the tree in background.
Composition and presentation are very nice.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John.

plimrn (19694) 2009-04-09 21:16

Hi John,
Fascinating to see the progression of spring in Wonder Valley. The oak is starting to leaf out now and it takes center stage from the wildflowers. Lovely color and detail as always.

Thanks for your comments on El Camino Real, I knew that the group that would recognize the significance of the bell would be small.

HLj, Pat

carper (65598) 2009-04-21 23:20

very beautiful shot here John,
good balance in the good shot, nice composition, fine one to look at, have a nice day.
regard jaap

pboehringer (770) 2009-05-18 23:35

John,
this is pure Wonder Valley. By the amount of shots that you're presenting of this spot I have to beleive that you guys really enjoyed this hidden jewel. As far as I know this place spring is definitively the best season to go around, but fall might be some interesting alternative. Unfortunately we don't have snow in Fresno, otherwise that could be another interesting alternative to all these oaks covered in white.
Peter