Loner

Hi Steve, thanks for the feedback. The camera settings are in the 'Details' section of the info tabs at the top of the page.

 

Simon

Simon , this is a real masterpiece. The details are so sharp and lighting is to die for. Composition, lighting and processing are all so very well done!

This photo is simply breathtaking. Its so beautiful and Im quite sure the feeling of being able to witness such beauty amidst the cold there is rewarding.

I wonder if a vertical composition, where the bare tree and the distant mountain in the frame would have been better.

Nevertheless, a cracking picture and great job.

The light is fantastic. A really wonderful landscape. The saturated colors make the image more dramatic and the light more attractive. well done.

This photo is alive, the curves, lines and gushing water all suggest movement. It has the same sense of motion as a Van Gogh painting. Well done, luv it!

Perfect title. I feel the tree IS the shot. It would be a bit bland without it despite the great sky. A very good composition. Despite the other elements the eye goes straight to the subject: the tree

What a wonderful shot. I love how the stream pulls you in to the frame.

This is the story of a tree, creek at the foothill of a far away snowy mountaintop. Every element in the composition is in its right place together with a photographer. The foreground rocks are standing there awesomely and with its wet and coarse grained texture seems very profound and lively. The photo (scenery) is magnificent as well as other from portfolio.

Nice capture, title corresponds to the image very well. I like the gloomy, dark feeling of this image very much.

Image composition and choice of focal length and shutter speed to blur the water results in a picture that really does a great job of pulling the viewer's eye all the way through the picture from the foreground to the middle ground and on to the mountain in the background.

 

I can only see the low res image on a monitor but personally (and I know it is subjective) I would have lightened/dodged the rock in the right foreground area to reveal more detail and the coloring of the rock. I think it would add to the foreground interest without detracting from the flowing water.

This is a beautiful image. I love the light on this shot. The placement of the tree on a force point is perfect. I love the symetry of the sky and water, the way they both seem to come from background toward you. The leading lines of the S curve of the stream that rhymes with the shape of the cloud in the sky. I love the warm tones that are compleminted with the cool blues from the sky. For perfect world improvements I might suggest maybe adding a touch of cool colors (blue) to the shadows in the streams. Other then that the only thing I notice is that bright white spot on the lower rock in the bottom right corner. My eye keeps going to that area since it is one of the brightest spots in the image. But that is getting really picky, this is a stunning image.

It is a classic and well chosen nice landscape composition,

 

However I think the (color) processing and/ or the effect of the grad filter are way over the top. The colors are exaggerated and not close to anything I see in real nature. Actually they look very digital to me.

 

Since quite a while (a few years) I see many photos like this, of coasts, and other landscapes, often made with special warming polarizers, I was impressed first, but like with every effect, the eyes get tired of it quickly.

 

As a kind of graphic are maybe, but as a photo I do prefer a more credible rendition. Sorry for not being more positive.

Nature as Art - Something I am continually aware of but not always able to capture as well as this. I see it ,but it doesn't always get into the camera. Still I keep it on my personal hard drive !

 

Wondefully powerful colours and a sense of place . Thanks.

Dennis

As I mentionned the day when I first saw this picture, I can see, to a certain extent, what Bernie Ess is saying. And yet, it's just a small thing to me - and really the only reason I could find to rate this image as "very good" rather than "excellent". It is excellent in so many ways - and mostly the light and composition - that the rest is just post-production preferences. This photo is incredible in terms of depth, and filled with very beautiful elements, shutter speed is right for the water, etc. It's all there and it's all great. The color saturation was not terrible enough to spoil much of my enjoyment. It's just a matter of going down a bit with a cursor, the picture is already there, ready, waiting. :-)

I'll have to congratulate the Elves for picking this picture, and mostly congratulate the photographer - not only for this picture, but for many more in your portfolio. So far, I'd say you are clearly one of my three favorite landscape photographers on this site. Wonderful work.

I couldn't agree with the vast majority of the people who posted comments on your photo. I really have to admit that this is a truly nice COMPOSITION of light, scene, sense of angle, shutter speed for capturing the water. Besides that, I love the moments when a nature brings out a chance to catch a cloudy and sunny weather at the same time.

Great job, Simon!!! Carry on!

 

I love the details and colors of those foreground rocks. Simply Fabulous!

I'd follow Marc and Bernie Ess. In this photo I feel there's just a bit too much of everything: a bit too much of dramatic perspective, of saturation, of use or grad filter and/or digital post processing. May be even a bit too much objects of interest: the flowing water, the lonely tree, the imposing foreground rocks, the snowy peak in the background, and the eyes keep on wondering about what's the main key of the photo. I'd agree with Bernie that this kind of photo call for a strong, immediate but short lasting interest.

However, once the photographer has chosen this 'aggressive' approach (and this a hardly debatable matter of personal taste and choices), the photo is faultlessy executed and clearly reaches its scope.

What is remarkble to me about this image it's incredible contrast. There are as many dark areas as there are light areas and the intensity of each varies tremendeously. However...no white is white enough to be blown out and no dark spot is quite pure black. It's hard to believe a place like this exists. The image is immediatelly captivating, but, as a fan of a more simple compisition it comes across to me as a bit "busy".

Your landscape work is among the best I have ever seen, for sure. For example, "Outflow" is one of my favourites and, to be honest, way better than "Loner". I guess, the elves wanted stuff for discussion...

 

 

Giulio said it for me, there is too much of everything here and yes, it looks too busy for me, and kind of synthetic. The sky/rock transition RHS looks unnatural, I guess as a corollary of an USM for local contrast (or dodging with the brush ?).

Thanks for the comments, everyone.

Firstly I hold up my hands and say yes, I think I have over-saturated it. In my defence I would say that the upload tends to favour some colours more than others so some images can look very flat and dull when they appear on P.Net. It is often a case of trial and error with several upload attempts before it looks acceptable. With hindsight this one has gone too far but to be honest, I didn't expect it to get more than a few quick glances in the melee of the forum gallery! I am not so sure about the 'busy' composition however.

 

The amount of detail which is merely annoying and superfluous at 800x 500 suddenly bursts into life at 4368 x 2912 (also on the A3+ print I made) to become exhilarating and fascinating. I think this will make a large print (the bigger the better!) that I will find visually very satisfying.

This raises several issues for me about posting on websites such as P.Net:

 

1. Should we give in to the temptation to make images more spectacular in order that they are noticed by people who are scanning a huge number of photographs in a very short time? If nobody looks at the image, the whole thing has been a waste of time (I think we would have to have a tacit agreement that every user does this at the same time so no one is favoured!).

2. Do we only post graphic images which translate well into small sizes?

Much of the delight which photogaphy provides me with stems from seeing details I wasn't aware of at the time. A scene like this is a classic example; I have spent a long, long time marvelling at what my camera has picked out in this. To simplify the composition would in my opinion lose so much.

I will undoubtedly return to this location in the future, and I hope there will be time to explore the compositional possibilities more comprehensively, but on this occasion, given the very transient nature of this beautiful light, what else could I do but try and capture as much of this magnificent vista as I could?

 

Simon

Comes as no surprise to find this one of yours as POTW.

 

Superb Simon.

 

Andy...

Totally stunning shot! the composition is great, great colour, tone and beautiful nature!

Superb picture Simon. Excellent composition and content.

 

As for being over saturated, this is obviously a personal preference. I love this kind of picture and the vibrant colours contained in it.

 

Keep up the good work, this is top notch.

My intention was not to criticize the elves for their choice. At my skill level I couldn't have taken this picture. However, as much as I admire the skill that went into "Loner" it was that skill that overwhelmed the feeling of the place to me.

Elves, you are right, I didn't offer a proper critique.

"Would have chosen "Red Stripe, Last Light on Glen Coe: over "Loner" as a picture to critique. "Loner" is a nice picture, clean and crisp, but the movement, composition, light in Red Stripe is far more interesting and worth examining." Stonedance

First let me admit that I am so much a beginner... Having said that I personally feel that this submission is beautiful and rich. It has a realness tinged with beauty that reminds me of a painting...