by Editor Michel Romaggi in collaboration with the author Robin Wechsler 
Edited and published by Yvette Depaepe, the 26th of April 2023

 'A foggy mountain dreamscape'
EF-S55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM  f/8.0,  ISO 2000, focal length 157mm.

Intrigued by the colourful mountain landscapes in Robin's portfolio, I was eager to know how she composed them.  Robin was kind enough to reveal some of her artistic secrets. Thanks Robin, for taking the time to answer my questions about your outstanding work.

What place does photography occupy in your life?

It is not my day job, but photography is a passion that borders on addiction. I shoot as a way to stay connected to people and this delicate planet we call home. Through my lens I see lights, colours, the change of seasons, birds in flight, a moment of life on city streets and much more. I honestly believe that before I learned to use my camera (to borrow from a movie title) I was missing “most everything, everywhere, all at once.”

What led you to this path?

I began shooting after the death of my father about a decade ago. It helped me deal with the emotions I was experiencing. No genre was off limits. Beginning 2021 I spent mornings shooting agave and focused my energy on botanical art photography. At this point I started experimenting with a wide range of tools in Photoshop.  Studying the creative edits and nature art photography posted by fellow 1x members was instrumental in taking the next step. A trip to New Mexico was icing on the cake. There, I wanted to try something new and different but remembered how much I loved the land, plants and flowers as seen in work of Georgia O’Keeffe. My first attempts at nature art photography as inspired by O’Keeffe were my agave shots published on 1x. This year, tree bark!

'The pastel side of winter 2023'

How did you realize that amazing beautiful landscape we can see in 'A foggy mountain dreamscape'?

A foggy mountain dreamscape began life as a section of Eucalyptus tree bark.  The “skin” of this tree is a spectacular visual crayon box of colours when it rains. On a day that it was pouring, I shot hundreds of bark sections, selected the captures I believed had potential to convert into landscapes, and picked one image that most resembled my California Coast “home” colours with fog resting on the land.

How did you choose it?
I didn’t! It chose me. It is a bit like a beloved song. Hard to say why it moves you so much, but you feel it deeply when you hear it. A photo can trigger all kinds of memory and emotion for one person but not for the next viewer. In the absence of a road trip, these bark/mountain shots transport me to places I have been and places I wish to go. Foggy mountain dreamscape reflects my love for the California Coast.

What photographic equipment do you use?

I own two cameras, a Canon EOS 80D and a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. All of the bark shots were captured with my EF S55 – 250mm lens.

Under what circumstances did you take it and what settings did you use ?

The colours in the tree bark glow almost neon during and just after a rainstorm. I’m often shooting right out my wind shield between the swipes of the wiper blades. Best time for heading out is dawn, but if more light is needed my car headlights can work.
The settings for “foggy mountain dreamscape” were EF-S55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM  f/8.0,  ISO 2000, focal length 157mm.

'Daybreak'

I understand that it takes a long time to get this great result. Can you describe the steps in this process at least schematically?

Given the number of steps involved (hundreds) and the time it takes, I’ll respond to this question categorically. It is really important for me to stress that the steps are not linear and I jump between them constantly. Few of the shots work out. Very few.

Form:  I rotate the shot 90 degrees so that the colours have a horizontal orientation. I use the FILTER/DISTORT/TWIRL to create hills and EDIT/PERSPECTIVE Warp for mountains.

Details: The tree provides the details. Knots form the tips of the mountains. Lichens become trees, grass, and everything green. The blues in the tree bark become rivers and sky. I use the PATCH/EDIT/FILL tool but always select “content aware” to move the lichen patches where needed. I spend a lot of time on this process using the patch tool so that the layers have a smooth flow. Sometimes I need to use the paintbrush tool on very low opacity and flow to smooth things out but I try to avoid this if possible.

Colours: I drop down the FILTER tab at top of the PS page to CAMERA RAW FILTER. I scroll down to COLOR MIXER. I subdue some colours and enhance others.

Light and Blur: I use all of these tools: blur, burn, dodge, smudge, contrast, highlights, shadows, whites, blacks, brush, and on and on.  You will find the BLUR GALLERY under FILTERS.

Clean up: If needed I reduce noise, and sharpen.  The creative tools in Photoshop are almost limitless and do not have to be used in a strict and linear fashion, but I use them freely and as needed as part of my creative process.  Success is not guaranteed and failures will be many. This is still a brave new world. I stand in awe of my fellow photographers who have paved the way in the creative edit category and who have supported my efforts! I can’t thank you enough.

Finally, a special note of thanks to Michel Romaggi for the selection of 'A foggy mountain dreamscape' and the associated questions in the interview. I also wish to express my appreciation to crew member Mike Schaffner for the role he (and his online blog) has played in my development as a photographer.

'On the road to Santa Fe'