Tree stumps struggling to survive

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DSCF6279 2024-08-05
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DSCF6279 | 2024-08-05.raf (24.0 MB)
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Two days ago, I took a walk trying to avoid stepping into numerous puddles, resulting in a route that I never took before. I was looking for things worth of a photograph. Being way too hot for comfort, I only had my small Fuji X100F with me. I saw these three tree stumps, one of which had been decapitated, with trees growing in a strange angle, not upwards. It felt like I walked around forever, trying to get a decent photo of the trees, but excluding any suggestions of nearby modern life.

I had the Fuji programmed to shoot RAW+JPG, with the jpg being a film simulation of Fuji Across 100. I liked it, but wanted to do it on my own using the PhotoLab tools on the RAW image to simulate that film.

I look at it now, as it’s finished, and think two things. First, why am I even bothering to take a photo of some ugly tree stumps. But another part of me is seeing something beautiful, and all I had to do was crop and edit to bring out what was giving me that feeling.

Also, another thought, the Fuji viewfinder has the capability of being either a “Mirrorless Digital Viewfinder”, or an “Optical Viewfinder”. Just like all the ads for mirrorless cameras, the one that shows exactly what the camera “sees” is considered by many people to be the ideal. On the other hand, using the Optical Viewfinder shows me what I am seeing with my eyes - which to me is more important than seeing what the camera sees. After all my editing, the image does NOT look like what the camera showed me. The saying WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) doesn’t really apply any more, as PhotoLab can bring out what I can imagine.

I have been thinking about that for a while now, and found an article which describes my feelings about this:
In a mirrorless world, I still love my DSLR and see no need to upgrade | Digital Camera World

If it hadn’t been so hot and humid, I’d have taken my D780, but I wasn’t in the mood - just wanted to get to my local Bagel Bakery and return home. If it wasn’t for the large (but comfortable) leather strap I put on the Fuj, it comes almost close to being a pocket camera. Almost. As for the camera strap, now it is on all the cameras I use.

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I like it. Very nice…

Mark

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DSCF6279 2024-08-05_1
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Perhaps it’s something I ate, or maybe my sub-conscious mind is examining these images in ways that I don’t understand, or I’ll accept that sometimes my imagionation (sp!) is playing tricks on me, but when I was looking at the original image, at this part of the image, I saw two faces, especially the one on the right, with eyes, a nose, and a mouth.

I wonder if anyone else here will recognize what I saw/see.

I used to edit my images, then export.

Most likely because of things @Joanna has said, editing now takes much, much longer, as my mind keeps fighting with itself about so many things, many of them so minor I never recognized them before. Whatever I do, there is then something else, and eventually I can’t see/notice/become aware of something more to change. It’s spooky, as I’m aware of it happening, over and over.

I used to imagine what I wanted in the photo, then capture the image. With some photos (many?) I see things I was not aware of when I captured the image. I suspect Joanna and others see this before pressing the shutter release, not after.

Maybe none of you will see what I saw. Eventually, it might come to life, after which it’s difficult to un-see.