When Color Isn't Enough

I went on a long hike this weekend up the Holy Jim Trail in the Santa Ana Mountains.  This mostly unimproved dirt trail follows a winding path along the Trabuco Canyon Creek and includes multiple crossings along the way.  Careful footing and good balance was needed in order to step across the rocks and logs, and avoid ankle-deep ice-cold water.  At the end of the trail is Holy Jim Falls, a beautiful 20-foot drop into a cool shallow pool...a great place to sit and relax, eat a snack, and get a drink.

The day started early, almost in the dark, as we drove to the trail head.  This rocky dirt road can be punishing to a passenger car which explains why most pickup trucks and SUVs make the trip.  Because of the extensive rains we've had recently, one of the river crossings was completely washed out, forcing the road closure at that point.  From there it was about a 2 mile walk to the trail head.  The Falls would be another 3 miles.

As we loaded our gear for the day hike, the temperature was in the upper 30s.  By the time we returned mid afternoon, the temperature was nearly 70.  The plan of layering clothing really paid off.  Even though this would be a relative short walk, we were none-the-less prepared for the realities of being out in the wild...extra food, extra water, first aid, etc...

The tree in this posting really caught my attention, and was discovered fairly early in the hike.  It's brilliant white bark set it apart from the brown hills and green grasses and brush around it.  It stood much taller than it's surroundings and seemed to have a story to tell.  I didn't originally visualize the end product for this shot--all I really knew at the time was that my attention was completely focused on the tree.  This would have been a good time to think about how to translate what I was feeling as I looked at that tree into a final image.  But I'm like a lot of others...shoot now, ask how to edit later.  If you want to grow as a photographer, you have to think more before and during the image capture process, and not rely on post-processing to create good imagery.  Similarly, you should have decent post-processing skills to coax the best image out of why might have been a well thought out and technically complete image capture.

Back in the digital darkroom it quickly was obvious to me that the colors in this image actually detracted from the tree.  As is often the case in photographs of subjects with artistic shapes, the colors can compete for the attention of the viewer.  When I converted the image to black and white, I was quickly back in the moment of that hike, gazing at the magnificence of the tree.  A few adjustments to the green color channel completed the effect.