Forest Floor

[David Eckels]

I keep coming back to this one

[armand]

It's very nice, there's good reason for it. Did you try a touch more contrast/increased blacks/clarity/dehaze in the background? (the blacks look a little too lightened)

[Paulo Bizarro]

I like the darker mood it conveys, sort of envelops the viewer in mystery.

[francois]

The forest looks deep and dark but the light patch of moss brings a magical touch. Yes, it remains mysterious, as Paulo wrote above, but not that sinister.

[David Eckels]

Thanks for the comments, gentlemen, very much appreciated.
Armand, yes, I have gone back and forth on the contrast question. In this version, I've gone the opposite direction to reflect what I remember as an atmospheric condition, twilight, low light, filtered sunshine on the foreground. Also, I find if I lift the blacks about +15 with an otherwise straight curve, I get a matte effect that is very conducive to printing, although I'd have to lift the highlights a bit.
Paulo and Francois, I was going for that darker mysterious mood also as an emphasis for the foreground, but I didn't want to transition into sinister because that was not how I felt at the time. I remember hiking around the bend and was stopped by what felt like a magic moment; reminds me of a song

[Leszek Piotrowski]

On one of my past walks, I came across an old moss covered log, with the bright greens in your scene, but not late evening. It also stopped me as well.

Very lovely light with some mystery.

[David Eckels]

Thank you, Leszek, they are indeed magic moments.

[Mark Nadler]

Hey, David, when outside I come across scenes with an intense mood that I cannot translate into an image.  Your image depicts such a scene.  I have looked at your picture multiple times and still don't know if I like it.  But keep posting images like it.   

mark

[Leszek Piotrowski]

David,

Humbly, this scene is more ( for me ) much more than magic,

One can walk many kilometres in a forest,... and not come across one like this.

Thanks

[David Eckels]

Thank you! Fantastic and interesting comments, they capture some of what I feel about this image, now and when I discovered it in the forest.

Mark, I so appreciate what you are saying and I ask myself why I keep returning; do I go this way or that way? For me, there is a primordial feeling, and mystery for sure, but which could easily border into the sinister, and yet there are those golden highlights in the ground cover. I remember a small group of hikers that stopped to raise their selfie cams and I was glad I had my tripod set up so they couldn't intrude; I resented their presence. And thanks, I'll keep posting -- because I think this touches what I would like to express as an artist.

Leszek, I get what you're saying. If I had to choose adjectives perhaps I'd go with sublime, ephemeral, maybe not magic, but numinous, or maybe just leave out the thousand words Part of why I love photography are these surprising moments when I'm reminded I have a soul, and as you intimate, I wish I would come upon them more often, but then their value would be diluted by their commonality.

[Leszek Piotrowski]

David, indeed, not many would come across a scene as what you have shown.

Thanks so much for sharing.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

The green patch is a tad too bright and contrasty for the overall mood. Otherwise, excellent.

[David Eckels]

I appreciate the feedback Slobodan, I just look at it with     
I think the jpeg compression and sharpening regimen doesn't help. Printing is my gold standard these days.