Evergreen

viewing large, i think i seee yyoouu!

Good eye, Jax! There is a jeans leg here...

...and here.

it ain't a jeans leg... it's one of those trees in LOTR!

A bit of ambient snuk in there.

That was actually part of my post-processing decision making. Do I make this all black back here? But, it turns out that I liked the very subtle orange glow here and especially on the other side of the photo where there is a second layer of tree outlines just barely visible.

Single SB-600 flash with green gel manually fired from behind each of four trees during an ir-remote-triggered bulb exposure.

Fun story: Ellen just reminded me that while we were walking down the dark road to take this photo, two staff members from the YMCA camp drove by in a golf cart and stopped at another tree only a few feet away. One said to the other, while gesturing upward with his flashlight, "So this is the tree that I saw the bear cubs climb up into last night."

UPDATE: Thanks for all the extra attention from the Strobist blog, David! I'm simultaneously shocked, honored, proud and thrilled. I only recently got on the Strobist kick when my friend, Kim and his wife invited me, my wife and another friend over to start watching your DVD set about a month ago. During the sessions, we watch a few chapters and then practice our newly learned techniques. What we have lovingly dubbed StrobeFest2008 continues this weekend with Part III. I'm really grateful to you and the Strobist community for sharing your knowledge, wonderful ideas and encouragement!

Could it possibly be even better On Black?

This photo has notes. Move your mouse over the photo to see them.

To take full advantage of Flickr, you should use a JavaScript-enabled browser and
install the latest version of the Macromedia Flash Player.

Comments

~aspidistra~ says:

Oooh, very nice. Love the effect.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

Kristian M says:

Magical!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

phxpma says:

I'm definitely going to pick your brains on how you did this one (besides what you wrote, anyway). Great effect!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

Denis Collette...!!! says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Vision Group / Invite only, and we'd love to have this added to the group!

To see... such a fabulous colours...!!!

On Explore my dear friend...!!!

Please add this magic moment on the heaven's gate for all the Visions

Maybe this feast for the eyes will be the first on the future Vision 1 000 000...!!! :)))
Please tag your artwork "Vision Group"

Congratulations! Félicitation! Felicitazione! Felicidades! Felicitats! Glückwunsch! تهنئة 恭喜 Felicitação! Čestitke! Blahopřání! Gratulation! Felicitatie! Õnnitlus! Onnittelu! Συγχαρητήρια! כל הכבוד! Gratulálok! مبارکPowinszowanie! Felicitação! Честитке! Lyckönskningar! Поздравляю! Tebrikler! Поздравления! تبریک おめでとう Til lukku or til hamingju! GEFELICITEERD! Parabéns! Gourc'hemennoù! 축하합니다!

Champagne... peanuts... chocolate...ice cream... !!!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

Cher12861 says:

Great shot! Congratulations on explore!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

jjsink says:

Wonderful! Looks like an ideal place for an alien abduction.
Did it take long to get the shot all set up?
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

boeke says:

Thanks for the kind comments, all! It feels good to be back in explore. It had been quite a while for me. Thanks, magic donkey!

@phxpma: There's not much more to the shot than what I explained. (1) Put camera on tripod and frame shot. (2) Remotely open shutter (Ellen helped with this). (3) Walk around behind trees. (4) Fire flash with test button. (5) Repeat. (6) Close shutter. (7) Edit all the "hot pixels" out. It was just a vision I had while we were walking around the woods earlier in the day. Must have been that thin Rocky Mountain air getting to me.

@jjsink: I took a total of about 6 shots. One of them was just a setup to see how much ambient light I was getting. A few more were with a blue gel and then I switched to a green gel for the last two shots.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

Jurischk says:

This is beautiful, babe! Great job on Explore!!!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

Musa... says:

perfect for a tale
:-)
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

` ®© ROBERTO CARBONI says:

what a beautiful photo congrats.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

Saleh_KW says:

Nice shoot

Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

Miss Advantage says:

great shot :-)
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

Manuel Gual says:

Photo added to my Blog
Congratulations !!!

Fotografia añadida a mi Blog
Felicidades !!!

manuelgual.blogspot.com/
www.manuelgual.com
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

Skylinephoto says:

I like this alot , fantastic job, thankxs for telling how you did it.
Have a great day=)
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

yeoldeblackhippie says:

beautiful
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

Dmitry Kolchev says:

amazing!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

mudmonster says:

That is lovely.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

Timothy Schenck says:

supernaturally cool!
123
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

Denis Collette...!!! says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Vision 100 / (+100 VIEWS) New rules...!!!, and we'd love to have this added to the group!

Your beatitude was viewed in

Thank you very much my dear friend
for sharing your unique vision of this world...!!!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

Darren C. says:

The color and light are amazing. Great shot!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

[ L.K ] 夜 says:

Brilliant photo

Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

jmven says:

Very nice colors
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

JMaz Photo says:

Wow, that's neat. I didn't realize it was a long exposure until I read your comments. Same flash behind each I tree I presume, and the colored gel really helps the color of the foliage pop. Good job.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

Kannanokannan says:

very creative...
nice...
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

John MW Samuelson says:

Very X-Files - eery green light in the woods!! Nice.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

therealjurischk says:

Nice shot Jon, love it!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

MERLIN08 says:

You are invited to join
the
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

boeke says:

Thanks again, flickrfolk!

@MusArañas: Is the tale of the bear good enough?

@Manuel Gual: Thanks for sharing my photo with a wider audience!

@Skylinephoto: I like learning how others work so I only thought it fair to share.

@Some lucky guy: Yep. Same flash fired multiple times. On some of the earlier test shots you could actually see a "ready light" trail from the flash. After that, I learned to keep it under my jacket as I walked from tree to tree.

@Timothy Schenck and John MW Samuelson: "Supernatural" and "alien" was kinda what I had in mind when envisioning the shot in my head. I originally hoped that we could have used a red gel, but I really like how the green turned out.

@denis collette and MERLIN08: Thanks for the invitations!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

shelbytwhite says:

Thats pretty cool! Now just get a person in there to model =)
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

Peggy_V says:

Absolutely awesome! The deep greens - wow!
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

Bill Wight CA says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Elite Photography, and we'd love to have this added to the group!

Very nice shot. Great lighting!
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

eyesplash Mikul says:

I have played with gels on my flash with night shots too.
Well done on the green with those trees.
Elite Photography Award. Hope you enjoy the award and become active with us daily. Please tag your posted images with "Elite Photography"!
Visit Us Here!

Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

Darien Chin says:

very creative and cool. love it
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

Hashem Elassar says:

absolutely Brilliant :)
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

olystad says:

As they say.. very creative and cool.
I dont even know what "gel" is.. still its working fine :-)

Elite Photography Award. Hope you enjoy the award and become active with us daily. Please tag your posted images with "Elite Photography"!
Visit Us Here!

Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

D_O_S says:

Nice work, done similar with just bare 580EX (without a gel thou). Definitely a nice effect.

--
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2008/07/one-ligh t-night-landscape.html (?)
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

_Harry Lime_ says:

Wow. Great work. I tried to do something like this before, but what sets your apart is the use of the green gels and not being afraid of the underexposed parts (i.e. the front of the foreground tree)
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

Zozman says:

Really well done - love the gelled look.
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

mooremikea says:

Congrats on making the Strobist home page. Great shot!
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

rolandw1 says:

What a great effect - well done!
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

beautifoto says:

Excellent shot!
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

beautifoto says:

I did something similar here:

30 second exposure and a heck of a lot of running and firing the flash in all directions.
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

Adam Buteux says:

Great photo, saw on Strobist Blog
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

SKI U L8R says:

very cool
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

PavotDouner says:

This is beautiful. Great idea and splendid execution.

Seen on Strobist.com
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

phxpma says:

6701 views, Mr. Man!
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

Arborist says:

Fantastic!
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

:: nUNo TenÓRio :: says:

Great photo,very nice work.
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

fstop studios says:

Nice man, love the gel idea to make it pop.
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

andrew71ca says:

Very cool! Creative use of gels, I like it! :)
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

Daniel Stark says:

nice work--great write up on strobist.com
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

ZekaG says:

Great work there. I like.
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

Damian Gadal says:

WOW - this is great!
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

jon-e says:

saw you on strobist, too. great image!
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

K100Dave says:

very nice work
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

boeke says:

I'm pretty overwhelmed by all the kind comments. Thank you all so very much!

To those who had direct comments or questions:

@shelbytwhite: Getting a model in there would certainly be a challenge. Let's see you have a go at it!

@bill_wight_ca: Thanks for the invitation. Added.

@eyesplash Mikul is suffering a stomach virus: Sorry you are ill, but thanks for the award!

@olystad: Truth be told, I didn't even use an "official" gel. Ellen insisted that we pickup some gels, but all we could find in the Boulder/Ft. Collins area was an art supply store selling yellow, blue, and green acetate in 8.5"x11" sheets that we cut to the proper size.

@D_O_S: Is this the one you are talking about? Very nice.

@_Harry Lime_: I'm interested in a little more "strobist info" about how you created this and this.

@beautifoto: Using the remote shutter helped prevent the need for running around too fast. Your method sounds much more athletic.

@fstop studios and andrew71ca: The image I had in my head was with a red gel but, alas, no red was to be had. So, I started out with blue then took the last 2 or 3 shots with green. Sometimes the improvisation works out better than the plan.

@dstarkphotographer: Thank David for the writeup. It was all a pleasant surprise to me this morning! I guess free, random exposure is certainly one big advantage to the (cc) licensing!
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

shotbart says:

Thank you for sharing such a piece of strobist beauty :)

P.S. one question: was the wind that made the green on the trees so blurry?
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

boeke says:

@shotbart: I would *love* to blame the lack of focus on the wind. Unfortunately, that was all me. There wasn't enough light for autofocus so I had to twist the ol' ring until I thought it looked sharp. (Somewhat difficult at night.) Guess I was a little off and I guess a smaller aperture could have helped me get more in focus.
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

Mike LaPalme says:

That looks awesome. Excellent!
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

Greg Cee says:

I like this! Really great work.
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

pato_garza says:

saw this on the strobist blog.
I like it a lot, i'm going to try it when I get an external flash!
congratulations.
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

The Muffin Man says:

great shot, love it. now i want to have a go :)

seen on strobist.
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

DJ-RJ says:

Great idea and color!
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

Jimbo pht says:

i really like how this looks, great work!!
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

Stacey_D says:

This rocks - great color, great idea, and thanks so much for sharing! Saw this on strobist.com, too.....congrats!
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

Storrs says:

wow
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

phxpma says:

18,468 views! DUDE - this shot is like the guys from KISS in a stadium full of groupies.

Bona fide rock god status, this.
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

Dilip Muralidaran says:

very nice light...

--
Seen on a rss aggregator. (?)
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

boeke says:

Thanks again everyone. I'm honored!

@pato_garza: Looking forward to seeing your shots. Before you get a flash, you could also try light painting with a gel covering a flashlight or a colored LED light. There are some beautiful examples around flickr.

@The Muffin Man: Have a go, indeed!

@Stacey_D: I was pretty surprised to see it on Strobist one morning, myself. Glad I could share!

@phxpma: I guess I'm going to have to start partying like a rockstar, eh? Anyone got any coke? (Dear ATF Agent: This comment is purley a joke. Have you heard of those?)
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

biopot says:

Love the way you've kept almost all of the ambient light out and gone for a gelled flash.

Been doing something similar using coloured and ungelled flash (http://www.flickr.com/photos/biopot/sets/721 57603995007714/)

I've been keeping the ambient light in, but I think I need to try a few of these now the leaves are out in the woods.

Excellent!
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

boeke says:

Great stuff biopot! I love the rich colours in your skies.
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

TheBauerGallery says:

this is f'ing killer
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

AbraCadabRa 13 says:

lovely..
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

D_O_S says:

Boeke: That was one of the shots I've done with light painting. others not on flickr but after seeing this i think ill have to go out and try again and post the results

Again nice work. Congrats on Strobist and 20,821+ views

--
Seen in my recent comments. (?)
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

Reedew says:

Awesome! I viewed it on Black and it really looks great

View On Black
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

Brunocerous says:

really wonderful!
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

boeke says:

Thanks again, y'all.

On Black is pretty good, Reedew. Thanks! I'm adding that link to the description.
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

slanting_eye says:

great shot.i look for green forrest....
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

shotbart says:

boeke thanks for your explanation, it's an astounding and inspiring shot whatsoever ;)
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

stunnaben says:

wow i like this. great idea for a couples photo just came into mind
Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )

boeke says:

@slanting_eye: Good luck in your search. Let me know when you find (or create) one!
@shotbart: I aim to please.
@stunnaben: I'd love to see the end result. Please link back to it when you realize your dream.
Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )

mark_twells says:

A pleasure to give you your 250th fave. Lovely image.

--
Seen on strobist.blogspot.com (?)
Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )

Guille__ says:

Very nice picture
Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )

boeke says:

@Mark_Twells: A pleasure to have a 250th favorite!
@Guille: Thanks!
Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )

Lens-work says:

Creative!

You are INVITED to add this photo to:
GOLDEN VISIONS

Tag this photo with "Golden Visions"
Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )

BlackDiamond Images [deleted] says:

neat idea but alot of noise at full size
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

RATATATA...TATA [deleted] says:

******* 7 star rating!

It does no get any higher than that!
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

boeke says:

@Lens-work: Thanks for the invitation. Added.
@BlackDiamond Images: Just a limit of the D80 with a long exposure I suppose. Cut me a little slack, though. Because I edited out the hot spots, at least.
@RATATATA...TATA [deleted]: Thanks for the highest ranking! Sorry about your account, dude.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Jurischk says:

Geez, dude. 29,857 views. Wow.
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

Lets Talk About Sets! says:

ooooooooooooooooo i love green gels hehhe
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

Jokin BCN says:

wow!
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

phxpma says:

Zoinks!

Holy crap and your 30,000+ views!
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

zoe-delay says:

Hallo, ich bin Zoe, die Administratorin der Gruppe 20.000 Views, und wir würden uns freuen, wenn Du dies zu unserer Gruppe hinzufügen würdest.
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

louisa_catlover says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Tree Photos , and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 3 months ago. ( permalink )

Would you like to comment?

[?]

	boeke's photostream
		1,850 uploads

This photo also belongs to:

	Explored (Set)
		25 items

	Interestingness (Set)
		30 items

	jonathanboeke.com (Set)
		179 items

	Night Images (Pool)
		0

	.:Utterly Surreal:. (Pool)
		0

	FlickrCentral (Pool)
		0

	Green is Beautiful (Pool)
		0

	Lynched (Pool)
		0

	1-2-3 (Pool)
		0

	Flickr Wow (2 posts per day please) (Pool)
		0

	Nikon World (Pool)
		0

	WOW! [Add only pictures commented with a "wow"] (Pool)
		0

	Flickritis: 32,622 of the BEST people on flickr! (Pool)
		0

	FlickrToday (only 1 pic per day) (Pool)
		0

	20000 VIEWS (Pool)
		0

	30 000 VIEWS (Pool)
		0

	GREAT: commented with great (Pool)
		0

	AMAZING: commented with amazing (Pool)
		0

	Long exposures at night (Pool)
		0

	Favorites: 200 (Pool)
		0

	Interestingness - Top 500 (READ THE RULES!) (Pool)
		0

	The World Through My Eyes - Post 1 / Comment Any 1 (Pool)
		0

	10000 Views (nudity welcome) (Pool)
		0

	Enchanted Forests of the World (Pool)
		0

	Strobist.com (Pool)
		0

	Explore/INTERESTINGNESS Group (Pool)
		0

	Lovers of GREEN Photography (Pool)
		0

	Views: 10000 (Pool)
		0

	Over 10000 Views (Pool)
		0

	Views 30 000 (Pool)
		0

	'Views: 20,000+ (Pool)
		0

	Vision Quality 100 / (+100 VIEWS) ...!!! (Pool)
		0

	Vision Quality Group / Invite only (Pool)
		0

	Elite Photography (Quality Images Only) (Pool)
		0

	Tree Photos (Pool)
		0

	20.000 Views (Pool)
		0

310 people call this photo a favorite

Additional Information

Some rights reserved Anyone can see this photo

Taken in Beaver Point, Estes Park (map)
Taken with a Nikon D80.
More properties
Taken on July 3, 2008
Viewed 33,852 times

Add to your map

Yay location removed

...

(Some formats are OK.)

Anyone will be able to see this on the map

(edit)

Or, remove it from the map.

Go to the map | See nearby photos and videos

You	Sign in \| Create Your Free Account
Explore	Places \| Last 7 Days \| This Month \| Popular Tags \| The Commons \| Creative Commons \| Search
Help	Community Guidelines \| The Help Forum \| FAQ \| Sitemap \| Get Help