Uncle

 

Mouseover to see the Original RAW

I give, I’m tapping out…uncle.

This was one of the very few pictures I had time to snap this week. I shot it from my car window; I was too tired to get out and do it right. This was a bad week; It’s hard to explain why the last seven days were particularly difficult but they were and I’m glad they’ve passed me by. I’m guessing the biggest culprit was the three day disaster training I sat through for work.  The training really brought home the gravity of a life in public health and the very difficult decisions that must be made when things are bad and resources are vanishing. I very much hope to never be faced with those decisions.

Aside from all the valuable things I learned in training, there were a few other things I picked up this week that just made everything peachy. I learned that some people suck right down to their very core. I was informed this week that such a person has decided I should be exposed to his vast suckitude for the foreseeable future…so that’s nice. I also learned by taking this picture that I keep a disgustingly soiled lens. Each and every dust-induced flare had to be meticulously repaired turning what is usually a very enjoyable experience into tedium. Finally I learned as I write this that I’m too damn old to be up at 1:00 am working on a post and when that happens I might just wipe out an entire farm, you know, because I can.

Harumph…

This entry was posted in Places and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

29 Comments

  1. Posted March 5, 2011 at 6:26 am by Mike Blanchard | Permalink

    Wow, you really did it ……. wipe out the farm that is. :) That was kind of a surprise. Love the wonderful gold tones of the final image. Not bad for a ‘car window’ shot.

    I really did it–not usually fond of radical edits in my shots but I kept struggling with the RV and several other distracting elements until the late hour spurred me to act a bit decisively. I’m guessing some will really dislike the edit on principle; heck I might be one of them. Thanks for the comment Mike!

  2. Posted March 5, 2011 at 10:22 am by theysroland | Permalink

    Superb photo! bravo!

    Thanks so much Theys!

  3. Posted March 5, 2011 at 4:42 pm by PixeLuz | Permalink

    I’m quite impressed by your post-processing. And the result offers to our eyes, sometimes our tired eyes, such a beauty that makes us overcome the hard times we have to live from time to time. Thanks, Christopher, for sharing your efforts.

    Many thanks PixeLuz, for the kind words–I really appreciate them!

  4. Posted March 5, 2011 at 5:42 pm by Phil Vaughn | Permalink

    Nice shot! Sometimes you have to see past the true view and get what you really want to see. The lighting in the processed image is really very nice. I like the way it amplifies the rays of the sun. As for the farm, I really don’t miss it in the second shot, but you could have left it in. We won’t complain, Chris. You did well in spite of the stress training, suckitude, and soiled lens. Maybe the new week will be better.

    Thanks Phil–I really appreciate the zen! Cheers!

  5. Posted March 5, 2011 at 5:58 pm by sherri | Permalink

    Sorry to hear the brief summary of your bad week and I know the feeling of sitting there posting an image when you’re exhausted. After doing this since 2004 I’ve finally been able to shut it down without making a post when I was that overcome with exhaustion, but it’s taken me until this past year to get there. As for you photograph, it’s quite splendid and I thought of that quote about the best ones being close enough to not get out of the car:-) You certainly found the spot. Glorious golden mist across a gorgeous landscape.

    Sherri you’re so right; I should have gone to bed hours earlier. Had I done that I think my narrative would not have been so grumpy. Thanks so much for the kind words! :-)

  6. Posted March 5, 2011 at 6:11 pm by Doug Hickok | Permalink

    You’re post-processing work is pretty awesome Christopher! Suffering suckitude, I thought only aliens were capable of removing entire farms without leaving any evidence behind! I love the diagonal light and warm mood of this image. It was well worth the effort!

    I should have photoshopped a crop circle! Thanks so much Doug–really appreciate the kind words!

  7. Posted March 5, 2011 at 11:56 pm by Ayesha | Permalink

    lovely colors and great post processing sir,
    The way you make the houses vanish from the scene is just perfecr.i loved it

    Thank you very much Ayesha!

  8. Posted March 6, 2011 at 3:53 am by Dave | Permalink

    Stunning light levels, a magical image Chris

    Thank you Dave–really appreciate that!

  9. Posted March 6, 2011 at 7:39 am by Krunal | Permalink

    splendid shot, it’s a magnificent landscape.

    Thanks so much Krunal!

  10. Posted March 6, 2011 at 8:29 am by Andrey Samolinov | Permalink

    Amazing work
    Stunning colors and the magical aerial perspective
    Very beautiful – bravo!

    Thank you very much Andrey–much appreciated!

  11. Posted March 6, 2011 at 10:17 am by Corinna | Permalink

    What a stunningly beautiful vista. The golden light soothes the soul… at least I hope so anyway. I know the internal battle about car window shots, but I think this is gorgeous. Sorry about the suckitude. Remember to breathe.

    Thanks Corinna–breathe, right!

  12. Posted March 6, 2011 at 10:24 am by Klaus | Permalink

    Wonderfull mood Christopher, and a big thanks for the glimpse in your PS skills. Men, you have the drive.

    Thank you so much Klaus. I’ve always appreciated that you share your amazing editing skills at Pixeldreamer. Your site was definitely the inspiration for this new feature.

  13. Posted March 6, 2011 at 11:17 pm by Mirco | Permalink

    Such a Lovely light.

    Thanks Mirco!

  14. Posted March 7, 2011 at 1:03 am by k@ | Permalink

    Not sure i understood all your words (my english is not as good as i’d love it to be) but the general feel for sure and the hard decisions too. Plus we all are in this in-between season before Springtime that turns us all into tired & nervous folks, not only the Nature is reacting to the end of winter but us too and this year i can feel it – and accept it. Soon finished with Springtime real here (even in California you live almost an endless one ;) Love the special light of your image, hues are caresses, the feel is opposite of the one described in your text and both proposed together makes… a human being. Good ! ;) Take care, be patient, and you’ll sunshine again (and so on) Hugs.

    Thank you so much k@. As always, I appreciate the words of support. :-) My spirit is much more like the picture today and much less like my negative words. Time always gives perspective and this is a new week! :-)

  15. Posted March 7, 2011 at 5:03 am by fabrizio | Permalink

    i hope thet the difficult days are now history, but i’m sure in life are the onle ones create experiences. We learm much from the difficulty. Technically i lile very much this photo, and this soft air and atmosphere bring a rebirth, bring a new “incipit”

    Thank you very much Fabrizio–you are so right about learning from difficulties!

  16. Posted March 7, 2011 at 8:55 am by Kala | Permalink

    Beautiful light in this image.
    Christopher, I’m not sure what happened, but it must have been pretty bad because you strike me as an eternal optimist. My heartfelt best wishes for your happiness.

    Very kind Kala–thank you. Things are much better. :-)

  17. Posted March 7, 2011 at 10:08 am by k@ | Permalink

    Time is the great healer (wel, also great killer – each day is different, let’s be patient ;)

    Ha! So true k@–wise words. Thank you again. :-)

  18. Posted March 7, 2011 at 12:29 pm by CushmoK | Permalink

    Nice treatment, but yellow is for me too strong… too artificial.. but effective !

    Thank you so much CushmoK–I really appreciate the honest critique and that you took the time to visit my site. Cheers!

  19. Posted March 8, 2011 at 3:09 am by Kevin P. | Permalink

    Wow, amazing light and landscape ! Well done Christopher ! Very impressive !

    Thank you Kevin–greatly appreciated!

  20. Posted March 8, 2011 at 4:33 am by Rue Du Lavoir | Permalink

    Persévérance et lumière. Superbe dégradé de plans photographiques. Ta photo est magnifique, Christopher.

    Olivier

    Merci beaucoup Olivier! J’apprécie vraiment les paroles aimables

  21. Posted March 8, 2011 at 5:05 am by Marcie | Permalink

    What an absolutely stunning image – a good thing you stopped the car to capture the scene. And – one good week always follows a bad. Here’s to this new one being better!

    Here’s to that Marcie–thanks so much!

  22. Posted March 8, 2011 at 9:15 am by george | Permalink

    What a wonderful word….. “suckitude”

    Sorry to hear that it’s been a hard week Chris, but you can console yourself with the fact that you managed a great viewpoint for the sunset, in or out of the car.

    Blame everthing bad that happens in life on politicians. It may not be true (although it probably is!) and the transfer of guilt will make you feel much better.

    (Try and) have a nice day!

    That is awesome advice George–you’re right, it might not be true but I’ll feel a lot better. Cheers!

  23. Posted March 8, 2011 at 12:39 pm by K. | Permalink

    I think its good that you wiped out the whole farm. It would just distract, from my point of view. Very nice photo!

    Thank you very much for the feedback K! I struggled with the decision so it helps to hear that you think I made the correct decision. Thanks too for visiting my site.

  24. Posted March 9, 2011 at 9:23 pm by Anny | Permalink

    When the going is tough… it is ok take a breather and rest instead. Look the other way if some people are trying to make your day tougher.

    I like the part on the entire farm wipeout.. hehehe.. i shall remind myself not to piss you :D
    hope your days are much much better now.

    Much better for sure–thank you Anny!

  25. Posted March 11, 2011 at 3:45 am by joshi daniel | Permalink

    you pictures are always so beautiful and refreshing!

    Thanks so much for the kind words Joshi!

  26. Posted March 11, 2011 at 8:56 am by Olivier | Permalink

    Fabulous natural light for this landscape

    Thank you so much Olivier! Really appreciate that!

  27. Posted March 13, 2011 at 1:07 am by yz | Permalink

    this is so beautiful

    Really appreciate that yz–thanks!

  28. Posted April 27, 2011 at 2:41 am by Pierre | Permalink

    Great post processing. Brillant picture. thanks for sharing

    Many thanks Pierre–appreciate that!

  29. Posted May 8, 2011 at 7:46 pm by Michael Behlen | Permalink

    This is a G R E A T photograph.

Post a Comment

Your email is never published nor shared. Required fields are marked *

*
*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

*