Blair christmas

Folks, where did anyone get the impression a warming grad filter was used here? Ian said it was a 0.6 GND (Graduated Neutral Density) filter. I suppose it's possible some are not truly neutral, but that's what was stated.

 

Personally, I was drawn into this photo because of the color, and I like it very much. I like the contrast between the cold foreground and the warm background.

I think that this photo has a very artificial, surreal look that some viewers may find appealing. Maybe that's because it a familiar enough scene but with lighting that is unreal. The problem I have with this photo is that the sky looks like a sunset, but the foreground has even illumination. This kind of even illumination would not be seen at the time of day when you would have a sunset. A similar (but not exactly the same) kind of lighting anomaly can be seen in many photos where the shadow/highlight filter is overdone.

comments on composition praising? what composition, it looks point and shoot, where are you supposed to look? the color of the snow is drab, nothing pops. Now if it were a composition of color, then at least 2/3rds of the frame should have been filled with the sky. at the moment the scene is too busy

I rather liked it as is at first glance even though the tonal range is somewhat compressed and muted. More like a pastel painting. The composition is well balanced, but I wanted to see it with a fuller tonal range and ran it through HDR plugin. Attached is the default processed image, which to me provides a distinct separation between the three planes without any tone mapping. All purely subjective of course, but does offer a full deck to start with.

 

That said, I would still have voted for the original as a POW selection.

Great shot - no problem aesthetically - but why down on "highly saturated" images? Grain in black & white vs. grain in color are like apples and oranges! I'm still a 'sprocket scientist' myself,

and I'm among the thrilled-to-death that Fuji brought Velvia 50 back in a new incarnation. No, "Disneycolor" is not for portraits, but

from mother nature to human-made still life I'll proudly swear by it until I can afford a DAMN good digital camera that can mimic it. I defend it the same way I defend "basic" black & white filter use: It effectively catches the eye of the viewer who could not behold the original scene with all five senses and is therefore justified in a compensatory manner.

Superb image, a big congratulations.

Excellent work! I like your artistic approach and your rendition of color. Congratulations for the Photograph of the Week, it is very well deserved. You have a great portfolio.

 

Great work.............. Mike

First I'd like to thank the photo elves - I think!! - for making this a POW. I don't think it is my strongest image but it is one that pleases me.

 

For those that enjoy it -- many thanks.

To those that offer constructive criticism -- many thanks.

To those that offer neither -- well lets just say that with this particular image I'm laughing all the way to the bank..

 

cheers

 

Ian

I like the photo Ian, but there is something that is simply not "correct" with the perspective, focus, and lighting. I can't quite put my finger on what is bothersome, but the view seems compressed, and the railing out of place. Was the image edited extensively in photoshop ( or another program )? Please....the comment is not meant as a "flame" or to embarass or challenge you....simply curious.

 

Edwin

Just a straight scan of a Velvia transparency with contrast hue and brightness adjustments to match original tranny as viewed on a calibrated light box.

From someone with excessive reality contact...

 

At first glance, I was quite impressed. The pond especially is quite evocative, so I do like the initial impact.

 

But as I started wandering around it, the sky started bothering me. It's incongruent with the rest of the landscape. Normally that kind of weather has grey skies, or maybe it just doesn't look real.

 

The colors also negate the ice and snow. And since they're critical to the image, that bothers me too.

 

So this leaves me thinking it's a pretty nice image with impact, that somehow misses. Nevertheless, I would have been happy to have been the one who created it.

Beautiful colors but I have to agree with the above comments that it somehow looks artificial and unreal or surreal. It looks so much like an HDR image. Nothing wrong with that as that is the way the world is changing. I am sure they will have DSLRs in a few years that do the HDR processing automatically. Don't hold your Photomatix stock too long.

Horrible colours (like circus performing, not nature), empty space, no human or wild face...

I also do not like the railing. It stops the eye from following the curve of the water into the

distant view. Also, as the light source is on the left I would have expected some shadow in

the reeds. Overall, the light seems to come from a diffuse overhead source. In my opinion the

picture is more like a painting than a photograph.

I believe a metallic print of this would have come out great. We print lots of HDR shots that have a crisp focus and they all pick up that dreamy quality with an eye-popping 3-D effect.

 

Cheers,

Doug

ScrapbookPictures.com

I think your composition is right on. I would have liked to have seen whiter whites, but you captured the moment at a very good time.

Hello Ian,

Congrats on being chosen POW! and Wow!, what a bee-hive of comment activity your "Blair Christmas" has generated (March 17, 2008). Possibly it is a case of even a bad comment is better than no comment at all. I'm not completely convinced of that statement but it is a possibility. The point of my comment is to say that I liked your rendition of a winter pond with sunset and for me what it captures is a reflective moment and a warm feeling inside in spite of the cold temperature and. No, I wouldn't suggest how you should have taken the picture: with or without filters, B&W or colour - saturated or muted, crop with or without railing etc... To some of your critics who offered suggestions: Isn't it obvious, the way you displayed it IS the way you intended your image to be viewed.

You are in possession of an excellent portfolio that can not be disputed. Maybe the main purpose of the PhotoNet elves is to generate controversy.

Obviously, this was a very nice scene and one that most would probably like to have experienced. A cool morning, fresh snow, up at dawn and romping in nature. But was the experience captured on film--errrr--pixels?

 

When I look at a photo, I try to figure out what was trying to be said by what has been presented--then, I visit the portfolio to see if there are any other hints that either confirm my feelings or that will help shed light on what is in front of me.

 

Here, my first cut was that the treatment of the color (I love to post process color to bring things out and to accentuate my "feeling" of the moment), with the blanket of warm light, was that there was a very claustrophobic feeling that had been created, instead of the morning crispness that I would have expected. This is ok, I guess, and my uneasiness was further enhanced by the central placement of this obtrusive railing. Since there are so many other ways to effectively use such an object, rather than centering it, I felt that there was an intent here. Maybe this image was made about frustration, oppression and generally being prevented from doing something we would like to do, like "getting into" and enjoy this glorious morning.

 

Of course, upon looking at the portfolio, I didn't see any hint that such a use of nature and the landscape was in the photographer's vocabulary. So, I was left with the thought that opportunities were lost here, both in the composition and in the post processing. Compositionally, rather than finding a way to use the railing to help push the viewer into the image, it has been placed as one would do a road barricade--in the middle of the road. In post, the warm color has been accented in the lower portion rather than clarified to lift the blanket that creates a very muddy feel. Because the snow covered bushes are so warm, a cooler push might have really helped to create some local contrast that would have clarified things. In a photo like this, I think you have a choice on how you push the color in the foreground, cool(ambient sky/shade) or warm(light reflecting from the clouds). Either would have been believable, but here, the choice just depressed the image. Moving cooler would have clarified it and you would not have lost the warm glow in highlight areas.

 

In any case, sometimes a visceral moment in nature should be left as an experience.

Landscapes can be beautiful but boring. This one makes me feel I'm right there.

I love the way the photo is composed and framed. I just keep looking at it. The warm, soft pastels compliment the cold of winter. Your eye travels from the dock, across the water, over the marsh to the trees. I love this pic. I would hang it on my wall.

Not one of your best ... but has elements that most photographers overlook, i.e. ways to help yourself make a great shot by using time-of-day and in camera (using ND, etc) processing (NOT PS!). Where this shot seems to lack is the compositional element ... as pointed out by some of the previous comments. I don't particularly like the bench or foreground ... but I doubt that you do either. I am guessing that there were no other nearby locations that provided more interest in the foreground ... and certainly time was resulting in rapid changes and perhaps lack of time in adjusting. In lieu of all else, I would suggest cropping to alter the compensation. I continue to appreciate your portfolio and your vision of what photography is ... also I envy your proximity to wonderful locations and the time to explore with your vision.

a beautiful shot but i would have moved the point of focus one third more into the shot

mick

I like this one a lot - it's a very unique blend of elements... that sky makes you stop for a moment but that is what is so awesome about it. These are not normal conditions which is why it's as special as it is.

 

Congrats, Ian. You deserve it.

This is a very beautiful and surreal image. I think to remove the railing would interfere with the intent of the artist regarding manipulation of the image. I also believe such an action would render the image sterile. The railings add a touch of realism.

Congratulations, Ian, on your POW. In my opinion, you've captured the essence of the scene at that particular moment. The sky is what makes it for me. As for a point-of-interest, this photo works well because the point-of-interest is the sum of the parts. That is, I look at the shot as a whole and find that I am drawn to the sky, as well as the foreground of snow-covered trees and pond, and, yes, even the railing. You've done well to capture a moment in nature.

The photo is amazing and I can find no fault with it whatsoever. The pastels of the sky are fabulous and comfortably even-toned yet the crispness of the landscape is remarkable. It doesn't get any better than this.