March 2010 Photo of The Month

Rock Topo, Red Dirt Creek, CO, ©Jay Goodrich

I often look to abstract painters for inspiration in my photographic work. This idea of looking elsewhere is not new, I know many photographers that do it. It has done one major thing for me – put me always on the look out for new and interesting compositions. I don’t care what time of day it is, how good the light is (well for the most part), where I am, what gear I have with me, if I see something that catches my eye, I have to catch it with a camera. It could be the most simple of things or the most difficult subject I have ever tried to photograph. I will not quit until what caught my eye is recorded to something, even my iPhone, for availability to share with others at some point.

This month’s image came to me during a private workshop that I was teaching just after traveling for close to a month. During that month I was backpacking for a good part of my travels, which means I was looking at a topographic map constantly. When I discovered this rock, it immediately reminded me of those maps – pinnacles, and valleys. I grabbed my macro lens and had my participant stand next to me to block the late morning light. The subtle reflections added a subtle glow to the image. Taken with a Canon 1Ds Mark III, 100mm macro f2.8 lens, Gitzo tripod, Kirk Ballhead, Singh-Ray Warming Polarizer. Mastered in Lightroom and Photoshop.

Related posts:

1. March 2009 Photo of the Month
2. Photo of the Month for March 2008
3. February 2010 Photo of the Month
4. January 2010 Photo of the Month
5. November 2009 Photo of the Month

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 12:00 pm. It is filed under photo of the month and tagged with abstract, pattern, photo of the month, topographic map. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.