I like this a lot, but it bothers me that the DOF ends around the trees. Was that on purpose? A ZE21 is certainly capable of getting it all in focus. The two bright patches of dirt on the distant hillside also both a bit.
Ben, I see where you're coming from. I'll be honest, the DOF in this picture wasn't a meticulously particular decision. For the most part, I'm still (1) learning the ZE21 in general, and (2) figuring out DOF for various apertures at various distances more broadly. Nevertheless, I like how the slow fade away of DOF here really emphasizes the leaf and riverbed texture as a focal point of the image, with the lighter, water-smooth soil gradually leading the eye up and back.
This was in the Gila Wilderness during our hike back down from the Turkey Creek hot springs. I like what you did to emphasize the texture here. Is that predominantly a high contrast/high structure b&w conversion? I'm still learning b&w as well, and I have a couple other shots from the trip that capture riverbed texture and (in my mind) are ripe for b&w. I'll take a stab at them tonight, perhaps.
The textures are fantastic and make the image.
Kent"s (RustyBug) BW conversion works well for me, but so does the original color. I think Kent has also illustrated how you can lose quite a bit of the distant trees and foliage and intensify the focus on the textures more. I would crop maybe half off the top center foliage, leaving some of the stream narrowing in the distance.
Scott
