Ice Cold In Bala

That is a stunning image Alf.  I love the contrast and the colors.  The lines in the snow also create an interesting texture in the foreground.  Nice sky and interesting background with the light of the city (?) illuminating the sky.  The central composition is unusual but interesting. Somehow though i wonder if a more conventional composition with the tree located in the left third would have been more exciting.  But i'm sure you considered this and opted for this composition for a reason. Excellent work. Regards  always - michel

Many thanks for your very positive feedback  This was very much a bit of an experiment. It was pitch black and the temprature was - 10c We were going to do some long exposures and star trails, but in all honesty it was too cold to hang about for thirty minutes, so I cranked the ISO up to 3200 adjusted the camera to manual focus, focused on infinity, adjusted  the aperture to it's widest and gave it 30 seconds for the exposure. The result was nothing like what your looking at, it comes out very red looking but then I changed the WB in lightroom to Tungsten. The lights you can see to the right was car headlights, and the misty layer is hovering just above the icy lake behind the tree, the stars kind of look like snow, so I thought it was quite a seasonal looking image. The central composition was mainly due to the fact I couldn't see much of any thing and aimed it at the tree in the vague hope that it would come out ok : - )

Cheers Michel

Alf

Hi Alf. I just love this composition, I am very much a learner in landscape photography but my instincts would have been to centre the tree on this one because of the interesting light effects going on in the right hand corner. Also the tracks in the snow seem to be leading your eye to the tree and beyond. Great work as usual! Regards Sarah.

10/10 for being out there instead of being warm in front of a computer. I like the glow from the distant dwellings, hope that there was a welcomimg pub.

Best wishes to you and yours for Chtistmas and 2011, Terry

Impressive! Very good composition and light. Best wishes. Evgeni

yes, so cold and snowy that my beloved games were postponed this weekend...

beautiful image as we have come to expect from you.

have a wonderful new year (on whichever side of merseyside you aree (the red or the blue).

all the best, dror.

Hi Alf, This is so well done that I can feel the cold. Thanks for sharing your settings.. Merry Christmas to you and your family, Warm regards, Deanna

Wonderful image, the stars against the deep blue sky are fantastic, like this simple yet effective composition, all the best!

And from Italy: 'douze points' for having the guts being out there at minus ten and presenting such a result. Chapeau Alf!

I use the opportunity to thank you for all your kind remarks and positive feedback that you have been giving me throughout the year. Best wishes for the holidays and for prosperity throughout the coming year. El

Alf,

  Wow.....breathtaking image with beautiful colors & lighting.  Happy Holidays!!! Patsy

EXCELLENT!!!

Merry Christmas

Alf ,

The color tonality is simply amazing. This is a fantastic night shot in winter. The foreground texture and the backdrop with stars are simply outstanding. The central composition came out to be attractive and experimental. But as you said, the situation didn’t provide any alternative. The presence of the car headlights has definitely enhanced the beauty of the composition. Best regards.

Excellent work Alf,my god you are a hardy bunch,very good result from an experimental shot,you got the composition ,although unusual,right here plus all the extra elements like the car headlights,running clouds and the stars,this is actually very good for iso 3200,a very enjoyable image and thanks for giving all the details,merry Xmas and a happy new year.

SARAH

Sincere thanks for your interest and positive observations. This is something you might want to tty for yourself, but finding a relatively "light pollution free" area is the hardest bit.

Cheers Sarah have a Great Christmas!

Best Wishes

Alf

TERRY

Many thanks for stopping by, much appreciated. I know it sounds quite brave being out in artci conditions taking photographs, but better than the fate that was waiting at home with the misses and the dreaded X factor!

: - ) The pub sounded a much better alternative, but alas, I was driving!

Cheers Terry have a fantastic Christmas with your family!

Alf

EVGENI

Many Thanks for your interest and positive feedback, much appreciated,

Best Wishes and Kind Regards

Alf

DROR

Good to hear from you, I hope you are keeping well! This weather has a lot to answer for, cancelled flights, bocked motorways, and yes even our sport is suffering! The red font might give you a clue as to where my Mersey loyalties lay : - ) Sincere Thanks for your positive feed back and continued support .

Have a Great Christmas!

Alf

DEANNA

Sincere thanks for your visit and encouraging words, I'm really pleased the essence of the cold was communicated to you, as that was my aim.

Seasonal best Wishes to you and your family Deanna.

Alf

OVIDIU

Many Thanks for your visit and positive feedback. The central composition does seem to work, probably because there is little to see beyond the tree in the traditional way of a daylight landscape.

Best Wishes to you and your family

Alf

EL

Yay! I scored higher than the UK in the eurovision song contest! : - )

Sincere thanks for your visit and continued support, it really is appreciated.

Un Buon Natale e un sereno Anno Nuavo a tutti voi e della vostra famiglia.

Its just as well your English language is soooo much better than my Italian, come to think of it I think your English language is better than my English too!

Warm Regards

Alf

PATSY

Sincere Thanks for your visit and positive comments, much appreciated.

Happy Holidays to you and yoru family!

Alf

ALBERTO

Many Thanks for your vivit and kind words.

Have a great Christmas with your family!

Alf

SUMON

You are most generous in your analogy, the car headlights were originally an unwanted element of the image, I tried to avoid them but every time I took a shot, another car emerged from the distance, but as it turned out it does add a certain amount of interest to the image. Many thanks for stopping by and offering your positive thoughts and comments, much appreciated!

Best Regards

Alf

HARRY

Sincere thanks for your visit and encouraging comments. We wasn't really being that brave in the cold weather, it was more of an avoidance tactic to miss the X factor and the other delightful Saturday Night  gems of so called entertainment that awaits us when we arrive home : - )

The light sensitivity of the D700 I have found to be quite remarkable, and the minimal amounts of noise at these settings even more so. You might want to give the settings a try when you next get a clear sky and minimal light pollution, your probably more likely to encounter the right conditions on your travels than I am in the UK.

Very Best Chritmas Wishes to you and your family Harry

Alf  

 

This is spectacular in every way, Alf. The lit area on the right of the tree breaks the icy cold feeling that you have successfully created. The sky is perfect. Overall, 10/10. Well done, my friend. Regards, Lawrence.

You have done an excellent job in capturing the beauty and magic of winter. The lights coming through the fog, the sky and stars, the frosty tree are magnificent.

So many wonderful critiques...I'm afraid I've not much to add Alf...just that it is most impressive...wonderful  work despite the cold, and processing..congrats....

LAWRENCE

Many thanks for your visit and positive feedback, very much appreciated! Sometimes these experiments work : - )

Best Regards

Alf

LINDA

Sincere Thanks for your visit and encouraging words, I'm really pleased you liked it.  The UK is facing the coldest winter I have even known, it's down to - 20c in some parts and theres no sign of it letting up yet, it does have it's compensations for the photographer though.  : - )

All The Best Linda!

Alf

GAIL

Many thanks for your visit and continued support and encouragement, it is appreciated and  never taken for granted. I will be in touch soon, but in the meantime,

I wish you and yours a Very Merry Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year

Alf

 

 

the tones are so stunning that they alone guarantee an excellent photo. very impressive.

Very interesting result you got here, with experimenting hard and softwares together! I had no idea how you created this, before i read your note after first comment, and after that, very impressive training for me! I mean, great results from wide open apperture, high iso rate and decision making to set up on that very cold climate. I also impressed of what you did on white balance to convay the cool status of the moment and what you did with white and blue! Just amazing! Bravo.

Hamid.

Great colors and light. Freezing cold it seems, but in line with the season. One can almost hear the frost cracking under your feet as you go out to take this shot!

Keep warm and happy! Regards, Tibi

ZSOLT

Many thanks for your visit and and for sharing your thoughts, maybe a bit more time and a bit less light pollution, would have achieved even better results.

Regards

Alf

HAMID

Sincere thanks for your interest and positive feedback. I found the details of this type of photography from reading the details of a photo by the great Marc Adamus. Of course his rendering was far superiior. This method of photography is best though with no light pollution, and if at all possible, best taken with a daylight shot and a night shot as above, but without moving the camera, just changing the settings. As yet I haven't found a suitable location in the UK to achieve this, but I'm still looking!

Kind Regards

Alf

TIBI

Many Thanks for your visit and observations, much appreciated. The UK has seen record low pemperatures recently, causing mayhem to airports and industry, but on a positive note, some great photo oppotunities.

Best Wishes

Alf

great winter landscape, really nice

This was more of an experimental exposure using high ISO and compensating for the warm results with a "tungsten"  apllication to WB  in lightroom. I'm very pleased you liked it. Thank you

Regards

Alf

Alf: This is a really great shot. Thank you very much for sharing your technique. I understand your comment about placing the tree in the center and the "rule of thirds". However, in this case I believe that the way the tree is lit and how it matches the snow in the ground and the converging patwhays, makes this a wonderful photograph. Congratulations on this and many other pictures in your porftolios.