Foxtrot

Thanks for your suggestion. I will have to go back to the original and see how far I can slide the crop toward the right. Your comment came in whilst I was responding to Rachel's comment on crop. I wanted to keep the square format, I think if there is any amount of file on the right side I could try your crop and still not alter the balance that I like at the moment. It would also get that annoying tree out of the centre of my frame :)

Gordon, I probably see way too much but to me this image has a very unique and detailed story. I identify a person with this tree. It is a person that has two very distincs sides: a very developed side (that of creativity, feelings and emotions) and a side that is less developed (that of numbers, bussiness and logical, numerical thinking). I love the imenseness of the world this tree is located in...so much openess, such perspective and in the same time...such solitude. I stand alone, in the face of the world, with my weaknesses and strenghts. And people (or foxes) come to see me, meet me and then they go...reaching constantly for their destination...

Such a rich image!

I love the way you relate to the photograph!

Thank you for returning and sharing your vision. The duality your perceive is fascinating in fact your entire concept is very poetic and travels deeply into the realm this image has set up. Speaking for myself, I see this tree as a solitary sentinel, a gatekeeper of sorts, for a realm beyond our day to day world of surface reality, a realm more of poetry than practicality. I see the tracks as the footprints of one who had been allowed to pass.

 

I just love this Gordon!! You have captured the beautiful simplicity of nature

at a time when there seems to be no life and yet the foot prints tell the story.

Can I ask where you have taken this shot??? Kindest Regards Andrea

Thanks for your comment.You share many of my own sentiments about this photo as well as this time of year.

 

The image was captured back in the bush behind my house one foggy morning a few weeks back when we were having an uncharacteristic Jan. thaw. My house is located just south of the town of Parry Sound which is situated on the east shore of the Georgian Bay in central Ontario Canada.

Thanks Gordon, I had a feeling it was in Canada! I am here in Maple Ridge

B.C. But take trips up north often and it has that look lol. Lovely image,one

I would have hanging on my wall.

 

Andrea

There's a quote form Einstein that I believe goes quite well with this image: "I lived in solitude in the country and noticed how the monotony of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind?....Thought about it while looking at it and reading some of the comments left before. Oh, and by the way, did I said I like the picture?.....Well, I do!

I like the simplicity of this image as well as the colors of nature which are so neutral right now. Very beautiful

So I have stopped by and looked at this photo a number of times. It is a wonderful image. I like the stark environment. I like the colors. So the reason that I have yet to comment is that I have been trying to decide if I'd like the composition better if a little was cropped off from the left. I think I decided your cropping is better. Sorry about the non-comment. In any case, it is a wonderful, wonderful image. Nicely done. Dan

Just discovered you portfolio... this is an excellent shot that makes the most of flat light and a subdued color pallete. Good design sense.

 

Cheers,

Aaron

Gordon in case you haven't heard there's a website that's been downloading images off PN without consent. pic.playcomet.com There's an ongoing thread about it in Casual Conversations. I found a dozen of mine there, taken without my knowledge and or consent.

Susan, thanks for the heads-up. I'll check out that thread. I found a bunch of mine on there, too. I guess that is a strong reminder to keep web images at web size to avoid any possible reproduction. At least they say who made the shot.

Thanks for the heads up. I checked and none of my images are on that site. I have however been aware for quite some time that a large number of my images are being hosted on dozens of Asian sites. One even has a soundtrack of " Don't worry be happy " accompanying a slide show of my pics. They all give me credit and there is not a thing I can really do anyway, so I go with the theme song and just do not worry about it. I always keep my images on PN low resolution and small size so they are not good for much other than stealing for web use. Sadly we live in a world where the current generation has no real respect for, or understanding of, the concept of intellectual property. When I google my name most of the 3000 plus hits link to stolen images or links back to PN or my native orchid site. God only knows how many places our images show up without our names or credited to someone else. If I ever have that situation brought to my attention , then I'll will start getting pissed.

Thanks for the comment and for looking around my pages. I will find the time to take a peek your portfolio shortly. Cheers Gord

"God only knows how many places our images show up without our names or credited to someone else. If I ever have that situation brought to my attention , then I'll will start getting pissed."

 

Exactly my thoughts on this.

 

Out of curiosity is there any particular type of image of yours that you've found used on other sites?

 

I ask because, since I have a unique name and it is easy to search for it using google, I do so often. I always find a good dozen (sometimes many more) sites using my images. A good 75-80% of the time it has been my one and only photograph of my dog! For a while there were half a dozen Vietnamese sites using it and a few Thai ones.

 

All the rest of the images used have been one-offs (used once here, not elsewhere etc. . .). I once found a Hungarian blog that was using almost a dozen of my images, so I put the text of the site through an online-translator. It was actually quite flattering. The site was apparently rotating mini-reviews of 'noticed' photographers.

 

By the way, welcome back. Now I have to go and find your native orchid site!

 

Hi, I got back Friday but have been running around solving crisis since I returned. Just logged on PN today.

 

I too have a very unique name. If you google my name tons of references to my native orchid photos show up on various orchid and botany sites. In fact when I got home two guys from Tasmania who have a site for Tasmanian orchids had emailed to ask it would be OK to link to my N. American orchid pages.

 

I have not really spent much time looking through the links that come up when I google my name there are over 3000 of them, most seem to use large numbers of images and many are in Asian languages that I have never translated. The most popular images, from what I've seen, are the drive-byes and motion studies.

 

I noticed just now when I googled my name that there are still references to my winning best of show in the Canadian Amateur Brewers Association brewing contest years ago.

 

Her is the address for my native orchid photos. This is part of a friend in Montreal's garden site. Most of these were shot years ago with a Casio P&S camera. Some are not too bad IMHO, however most are limited by the equipment I was using. I would be curious to here your thoughts as a fellow botany enthusiast.

 

http://www.canada-gardens.com/northamericanorchids/

Orchids of North America

Thanks for the link. I'm truly impressed you:

 

a. did all that with a P&S

b. found all of those orchids to photograph

 

I particularly like the Spiranthes cernua with the small spider on top!

Thanks. I must admit it was a big challenger at times trying to achieve focus and get decent macro shots with a P&S. The experiences involved in tracking down Ontario orchid species and photographing them created a big portion of the spark which reignited my photography interest, after what had been a long hiatus.

Depending on whether you're a clumper or splitter in terms of nomenclature, there are around 60 species of Orchids in Ontario, so I still have a good number to tract down:)

 

Fortunately there are a good number of Orchid species growing in my own woods as well as the surrounding area. After nearly 2 decades of living on this piece of land, I am still finding new species in my own yard. Last fall just before the snow began I found Goodyera oblongifolia not less than a metre from the side of a trail in my bush. I have seen G. oblongifolia probably hundreds of time over on the Bruce trail but this was the first time I had seen it on this side of the bay. When the snow melts I will see if there are any other plants nearby. and next summer I will hopefully be able to find one in bloom to photograph.

Hi Gordon. I was breezing by and had to write about this wonderful piece. I am inspired by the use of light. To me that is a good photographer's greatest tool.

There is a glow that is more than visual here. Perhaps because of the subject? It comes across the image as hope. It streams down from above which is captivating because the sky is so grey?

The tracks tell of life in what appears to be a sleeping landscape.

I would love to see the others in this series.

Thanks again for always inspiring me to look further, and see what isn't there. Most sincerely, Mary

I am very happy to hear from you. How have you been? It has been awhile as you say.

 

I agree photography is always about the light. I love the strange radiance that can occur as the sun begins to burn off a foggy morning. Objects seem to take on a glow as if lit from within. We rarely get those type of mornings in the winter, in fact we have not had any since that morning. Now that we are into March I hope to have another opportunity while we still have snow on the ground. Thanks for your kind words and for keeping in touch.

I still yearn for a less centered composition, but this photo draws me like a magnet. That means something important.

I keep coming back to this shot, and I still enjoy looking at it. The weather right now looks pretty much exactly like this, too.