Wednesday Landscapes, 7 February 2018

[Leslie Reid]

Some landscape images I know are contemplative, and some I know are not. And then there are those in between, which is where I’d peg this one. Whether I see the in-between ones as contemplative or not seems to depend on my mood, while the two end-members seem affect my mood. Still contemplating contemplation...

 

[Norma Desmond]

Maybe this one is contemplative with an edge? The activity in the textures of the tufa (Mono Lake's limestone formations) against the smoother and more passive water and sky produces for me a kind of contemplation counterpoint.

 

[andy_szeto]

[Dieter Schaefer]

A place for contemplation - maybe, maybe not. You sure will have company contemplating here:

Lots to contemplate: why is it called "Lone" Cypress? Is it worth protecting a tree on a rock with wall and tying down with cable? Is it really America's most photographed tree? Which other ones could lay claim to the same fame? Is it worth spending $10.25 to see and photograph? Why is there always someone flying a drone despite the sign up by the stairs that says "no drones"? Is it worth leaving the steps and platform and venturing into the rock for a better composition of the image?I clearly wasn't contemplating a better set of exposure parameters (f/8, 1/1250s, ISO 4000)!

Edited February 7, 2018 by Dieter Schaefer

[Sanford]

The tree is the official logo of Pebble Beach Co. so you can't even sell your photo of it without permission.

[JDMvW]

Pictorial Carmel Coast

[Glenn McCreery]

 

Ten or fifteen miles down the coast from Lone Cyprus, and away from the crowds, at Garapata State Park.

[michaellinder]

I offer no opinion whether the following image is contemplative, since I'm not sure about the meaning of "contemplative" in a photographic context. I shot it in the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona.

[Deborah Vallette]

[Andrew Gosden]

[sjmurray]

Scenes with water seem more typically "contemplative" to me for some reason.

[michaellinder]

Scenes with water seem more typically "contemplative" to me for some reason.

 

I agree with you in this case. Aside from the peaceful atmosphere of the image, the area of light leading one's eye to the moon (sun?) can provide grist for the meditative mill.

[Norma Desmond]

Other meditative potential can be found in:

 

SAND - LINK (Zen garden minimalism + soothing texture)

 

REPETITIVE GEOMETRY - LINK (Grace Cathedral Labyrinth)

 

CLOUDS - LINK (Stieglitz Equivalents - a seminal series which Minor White took to a more meditative place)

[michaellinder]

SAND - LINK (Zen garden minimalism + soothing texture)

 

Fred, don't most Zen gardens also include symmetrical patterns in the sand?

[paul_hoyt]

To me contemplative equates to serene and Leslie's image "fills the bill", as do most of the images . Fred G's image wakes me up, I like it, but it is far from serene, it is powerful.

[Norma Desmond]

Fred, don't most Zen gardens also include symmetrical patterns in the sand?

I’ve seen them both ways, some with symmetrical patterns in the sand, others with asymmetrical patterns. Often, when the patterns in the sand itself are symmetrical, the rocks or other elements are positioned asymmetrically.

[bgelfand]

 

Mono Lake Canon PowerShot PRO 1

[Ed_Ingold]

Chicago Botanic Garden

Sony A9 + Sony 24-70/2.8 GM

[tcyin]