EarthShots.org Photo of the Day Contest

Monday, 13th June 2011

Paradise Forest

by Marc Adamus

We started by canoe, crossing a river near the boundary of Olympic National park. The river was high from spring snow-melt and the use of a boat allowed us access to a faint, all-but-abandoned summer trail up the river which helps cut through the thick rainforest foliage for almost ten miles. After the trail's disappearance at a series of landslides, our journey was just getting started. We continued upriver, reduced to hands-and-knees innumerable times, taking it slow and marveling at the groves of Spruce, Fir, Alder, Maples and all that surrounded it. Over the course of sixty miles spent vastly off trail we encountered hundreds of elk, many bears, eagles and dozens of other citizens of the forest world. The forests themselves are beyond spectacular. No photo nor words could ever be suitable to describe them. Almost all of our trek was spent simply figuring out which creeks to follow up, where to ford the rivers, how to traverse the terrain, setting-up camps and admiring grove after grove of the best temperate rainforest on the continent. At times, we were three long days from the nearest road or; presumably, person. This image was taken there, in a place we called Paradise Forest. The photograph is my simple and humbling attempt at doing anything that would hope to stir the emotions we felt in this magnificent place, so far from anything. I used an 8-second exposure with polarizer and mild ND filter at 40mm to capture this reflecting pool of greenery in soft light. To achieve the dreamy effect I blew a layer of fog over the lens near the end of the exposure, keeping all details in tact. In processing, I started with a very dark file and layered light back in with types of dodges, an attempt at simplification, depth and mood.

Equipment: Canon 5D II, Canon 24-105 at 40mm & f/9. Polarizer and 3-stop ND filter.

Marc Adamus

I am a professional landscape photographer based in the Northwest US. My love in life is wilderness. I enjoy having the opportunity to bring my experiences in nature to you through my photography.

Website: www.marcadamus.com

Paradise Forest by Marc Adamus was photo of the day on Monday, 13th June 2011. It is tagged Rainforest, Reflections, Water. You can leave a comment below.

43 Comments

Tim Andes

13th June 2011 at 2:16 am

This is incredibly enchanting. Gorgeous place, gorgeous photo

Samantha Goode

13th June 2011 at 2:32 am

Absolutely beautiful.

Gerry Woodling

13th June 2011 at 3:06 am

A fairly land of green! So lovely.

Chris

13th June 2011 at 4:16 am

Absolutely fabulous Marc, and a great experience too. Well done

Terri

13th June 2011 at 4:53 am

The greenest water I ever saw (and would probably ever wish to see- ha!)
It’s a spectacular find, though.
Thanks for the details of your discovery, Mr. Marc Columbus Adamus.

Craig Wolf

13th June 2011 at 5:35 am

Truly Paradise. You’ve managed the perfect balance between the softness of the light and bringing out some of the fine detail. Unique and well done.

Mike Hayward

13th June 2011 at 8:11 am

Lovely image and great website too!

Aloke Sahu

13th June 2011 at 8:19 am

So incredibly beautiful and serene!

Gerry Pacher

13th June 2011 at 9:08 am

Indeed – a dreamland !

Fantastic work – congratulations!

Regards, Gerry

David Richter

13th June 2011 at 10:00 am

This just oozes awesomeness, Marc! The perfect rendition of the temperate rainforest with its extremely lush growth and diversity. Those complex scenes are tough to pull off but you did a fantastic job here. My imaginary hat off!

Wanda Krack

13th June 2011 at 11:34 am

Absolutely Beautiful. Thanks for the story and the image!

Vann Helms

13th June 2011 at 11:39 am

Wilderness perfection!

Nancy L. Nyman

13th June 2011 at 11:54 am

Thank you for taking the time and effort to bring us this enticing photo of what is truly paradise. I can almost smell the fecundity.

PopsDigital

13th June 2011 at 12:56 pm

Breathtakingly beautiful.

Pat

13th June 2011 at 1:03 pm

I’ve never seen so much GREEN in one place! very nice!

Richard Dart

13th June 2011 at 1:23 pm

Have you ever seen anything more beautiful, Frodo?

Roman Johnston

13th June 2011 at 2:00 pm

What an exceptional shot Marc. A monochromatic world of wonder.

Helen Hart

13th June 2011 at 2:23 pm

You absolutely succeeded! One of my favorite places in this gorgeous land of ours.

Joyce

13th June 2011 at 2:36 pm

Awesome !! Thank you for sharing this picture and your website. I am in awe of your expertise!!

Nancy

13th June 2011 at 2:47 pm

Beautiful. I wish I were there. No worries. You can almost see the pixies.

Anne Strickland

13th June 2011 at 3:19 pm

Ridiculously good !! I love the intimateness of this landscape. A beautiful picture throughout and I especially like the details in the ferns. You are a great artist, Marc.

Marie Dunphy Harding

13th June 2011 at 4:14 pm

Incredibly beautiful! Thanks as well for the journal entry; it must have been a fascinating journey!

Lisa

13th June 2011 at 5:14 pm

So gorgeous!

Mario Gustavo Fiorucci

13th June 2011 at 5:19 pm

Hi :So incredibly beautiful and serene!

Regards

Gouldkb

13th June 2011 at 5:37 pm

Beautiful. You have captured the true beauty of the Olympic forest. It looks surreal and dreamy.

AlfonsoPaz

13th June 2011 at 5:57 pm

Looks like a landscape from Pandora. Thanks for sharing. Beautiful.

James Fougere

13th June 2011 at 6:32 pm

Marc, I would love to see this image printed big!! It is one of my favorite rainforest images in your incredible body of work. I could stare at this image for an hour and just imagine the rewarding journey it took to find this hidden gem. Your humble presentation is solid evidence that you are what I believe to be as one of the most talented landscape photographers on the Planet

Charlene Burge

13th June 2011 at 7:36 pm

At times in the spring and early summer Olympic forests are so green the air *almost* tastes green too. Great job of illustrating that feeling. I think I know where you started–I used to do forest and climate research up many of the river valleys on Olympic.

Breanna Klein

13th June 2011 at 9:50 pm

For some reason it reminds me of LOTR!! Beautiful shoot!!

rainboy

14th June 2011 at 12:24 am

This is one of those magical scenes … you were very lucky to witness this scene. I love it. I wish I was there to click this haha

Nice shot!! keep it up .

Jacqueline Deely

14th June 2011 at 4:15 am

Beautiful color, detail and reflection.

Rashid Mukoon

14th June 2011 at 6:21 am

Wonderful reward for your journey,great greeny,mystical shot.

Andrea

14th June 2011 at 8:22 am

This is really stunning. Magical. gr Andrea

Pauline Jones

14th June 2011 at 8:37 am

Looks primordial; like a little dinosaur should be peaking its head out from behind a tree.

Diana

14th June 2011 at 7:19 pm

WOW!!! That is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

Philippe Sainte-Laudy

15th June 2011 at 5:50 pm

Everyone has already said everything… but this is really a……….. NICE ONE!!!

Dean

16th June 2011 at 7:27 am

I love this picture. Very well done.

Rikke

17th June 2011 at 12:52 am

Incredibly beautiful !

Laura Milholland

19th June 2011 at 3:23 am

I can’t take my eyes off this shot! Truthfully, I think it is one of the best photographic images I have EVER seen! Thank you for including not only where you were, but also the technical info. And thank you for this magnificent photo!!