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Textured World

Posted by
Darkelf Photography (Perth, Australia) on 29 November 2022 in Landscape & Rural.

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There are always surprises to be found in the least expected places and at the least expected times. I found this interesting spot at Canal Rocks in Western Australia. The strange markings created by bird guano added intriguing texture and a little bit of mystery to the scene. We have been to this place a lot of times in the past and I have photographed these rocks from various angles, during both sunrise and sunset. This time we went purely for a bit of leisure and fun but, as always, I had my camera with me and was it came in very handy.

It was a sunny late morning hour and we just wanted to hop around the area. It is a wonderful spot to climb on some rocks and it is always great to explore around because there is so much interest to be found. After climbing atop one of the small cliffs, I then descended to a secluded location right amongst the rocks and it was the first time that I noticed the strange markings left by birds on the boulders. They looked almost like some kind of ancient art and the variety of streaks seemed painted on the rocks by hands from the eras passed. The rocks have a natural dark brown hue and the bright marks stood out in this already strange looking landscape.

It is not often when I choose to post a photo which I took in bright daylight. I favour the golden hours of the day and overcast conditions for my 'artistic' photography. However, I am always on the lookout for photographic opportunities at any time of the day and in any light. The moment when this scene really came to life for me was when I used my polarising filter to maximum effect. Positioning myself at ninety degrees to the sun and turning the filter darkened the sky and increased the contrast between the dark rocks and the markings. That was when the texture and detail really jumped out and enchanted me. It was fascinating to see in the viewfinder how much difference this effect made.

I also enjoyed working on this photo in post processing very much. I had an inclination when I took it that this was going to end up as a black and white image. I still started to process this photo in colour, as I would normally do most of my photos. I found in some recent black and white photos I processed that working with colours first can help me to establish a much better base for converting to monochrome. Enhancing tonal contrast allowed for the textures to come through very well later on. From there, I concentrated on localised contrast adjustments, detail enhancement and finally dodging and burning throughout the scene. I wanted every single boulder to be visible on its own as part of this grand mosaic and I also wanted the streaks to be very prominent in the foreground.

I would like to return there again in the future to what see photos could be taken during the golden hour and explore whether this scene could work with interesting colours as well. On this occasion, I was really happy to discover something different about a location which was very well known to me. I hope you enjoy the image and as always, your comments and interest are appreciated greatly.

Canon EOS R5 1/320 second F/8.0 ISO 100 19 mm

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This image has been featured in 2 Remix collections.

Black and White by Linda Candilas

Mes coups de coeur N&B by Francesc B.