Special Fall Light - Parc St.Catherine - Quebec

This opportunity came after a fairly young woman who was a coworker died after a long illness. I found a path down to the river's edge and up until that point, it was sunny and then the skies darkened and darkened, a rainbow appeared and a beam of light shone on that narrow strip of land in the middle of the river. I have walked in this park many times over the years and never did I see this before or after. Was someone speaking to me?

Looking for feedback?

Hello Tony:

I guess you are right. This unique ray of light produced a striking, unique effect. Even when a bit oversaturated, it matters not, in the very least. Technical details do not count when capturing (and sharing) such a magnificent moment. All concessions are worth it. In my humble opinion, it is the message, the moment, the momentous manifestation of an event that matters. The fact that you captured this isolated, lighted patch of trees in the distance, and that you shared it with PN fellows, is just magnificent. Striking, powerful. Well done.

DG

Daniel - I appreciate what you have written and I am glad you liked it. I actually wanted to saturate it because I found the rainbow colors needed a boost but I resisted.

This is a beautiful image well seen and captured. The story behind it's making just adds so much to the emotions behind it. 

The light is unique and very appealing.  The fact that the rainbow is barely visible and "struggling to be" is an apt metaphor.  I think this is exceptionally well-done.

This is an unforgettable image, I just can't find anything else to say. 

Respect, for having witnessed such a rare moment.

Mark, Stephen and Latil - many thanks for your strong support of this image. These days for every 5 images i submit for evaluation, 4 will be done for critique only while one will go for rating. This one did go for rating yesterday  and i was a bit surprised that after 5 ratings it was stuck at a 3.5 average. I know that we can't give a high confidence in the rating but I believe that there are enough people out there who will rate honestly and the 'good' images do eventually 'rise up'. 

So while I was thinking that this might be a 5 point something image the initial reaction by the raters was surprising. So without any comments from viewers, I deleted it and reloaded it for critique only. I was hoping that people who rated it (especially the threes) would tell me what they did not like about it but thus far none of them have written anything. Perhaps i will drop them an e-mail asking for their opinion in private.

At this point, one starts to question the aesthetics and the technical aspect of the image.

All the very best,

Tony,

  Wow...powerful scene with a beautiful story behind it.  You are probably one of the few people that even saw this powerful scene.  Take care, Patsy

Tony, it's my observation and opinion that photos that get highly rated are usually those in the middle of the spectrum, especially if they have bright and saturated colors.  Photos that may be more subtle or require a bit more observation, or those that lie out of the mainstream, seldom get rated very highly, regardless of their photographic merit.

Patsy - thanks -  I don't know if I was only one to see this but there was no one around me that I could see.

Stephen - Thanks - you are probably correct re the rating. This scene and dramatic sky perhaps lasted for ten minutes at most. Here is one taken from exactly the same position but with a different lens and perhaps only ten minutes later.

poignant!

Tony, thanks for sharing this unique moment and the story.  Sorry for the loss of your friend.   

Ratings?   Like you I have been subjected to the little people that rate 2,3, & 4 when a photo is first posted.  Never a comment from them,  my theory is that if a good photo is rated low, it makes them look better by comparison. I have emailed several and let them know I have marked them as "favorites" and will rate everything they post as they have rated me, unless they include a comment on how and why they rated as they did.  All males, I am sure they have no testicles!  

Aloha, my friend!

Thanks. Have a great day.

Thanks for your sympathy. Dominick, it sounds like war and there are usually casualties on both sides. The root of the problem is that people won't tell you why they are rating low.  People establish dummy accounts to rate low and while others make sure they don't put any of their images up for rating.

Any e-mailing I do behind the scene is to try and get at the reason for the low rate and sometimes it has been very helpful. I found out about digital diffraction this way. I found out that someone thought I was boosting saturation on my images and they did not understand the effect of using a polarizer. On another I found that on my flower images they don't want to see any blemishes and it must be pristine.

Another identified partial branches on the side of images as a distraction.  On one occasion if there is a hint or identification that HDR was used, it is an automatic '3' because it was a 'push button solution'. On many of these 'inside' comments I have made adjustments e.g. I no longer identify when I use HDR. 

Some comments I can discount while others allow me to grow as a photographer.

So my friend, I understand your frustration but war is not the solution IMHO - if possible, find the reason why an image is rated low and then decide whether as an artist you want to make adjustments.  Photo.net could help by establishing a threshold below which the individual is forced to provide a comment. But I have given up on that! The current system of critiques and ratings encourages and rewards (statistically) those that pass only positive comments.  Even offering suggestions can be detrimental and I know that for sure.

Blessings, peace and continued inspired photography,

Just wanted to show how dull and dreary the scene was when I arrived as i grabbed this shot. And then things started to change. 

Light makes all the difference!

A very beautiful image with a touching story. Of course, your question was rhetorical, right? A similar thing happened to me on the day one of my cats (Tom-Tom) died. There was a sudden change in the sky and it grew very dark. All of a sudden there was a double rainbow. I have not seen one since and have never seen one before that day. I think God was letting me know that he (Tom-Tom) was in His care. It is comforting when we are given moments like that in our sorrow. All the best (and thank you for sharing).

Tony, thanks for your insight, surely a more peaceful approach than mine.  Mostly I feel like I'm hanging out with a group of friends who will tell me what I need to do to improve.  And it's helped my photography a lot.  But I just don't understand the group that rated your first posting of this photo so low, and without comment.   But then again, my style is to rate a 6 or 7 and nothing if I can't honestly give it that.  

Trisha - thanks for sharing and it was a rhetorical question. All the very best!

I prefer peace over war unless it is self-defence. I am not too worried about my ratings on this image before I deleted it. Every once in a while  I experience that sort of thing.  I have proof of that where I had an Alaska Glacier Bay sunrise that did very poorly. I took a photo taken by my then 4 year old Granddaughter where the young man was clearly out of focus but the sofa behind him was in focus and it actually did better than my Alaska sunrise image which I thought was better  focused with some wonderful colors. This is a true story but we must smile (*_*).

Have a look at the top rated images here at PN and mostly you will note that some very good images do rise up so that we can better enjoy and be inspired by them.

I found my granddaughters image and I only include it to highlight my frustration in the distant past.  http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=13260113 And I wont be the only one. 

Now, this is small potatoes in the game of life and death.

Tony,this soft rainbow you caught here looks so good,as Stephen well said this is struggling to be indeed and this makes in contrast with dark bg to be so nice,also that spot of light on golden trees is awesome,I think for you was a so full of emotion moment to see,my compliments.

about rating is a problem that from long time I dont like it so as it is,is not a problem to receive low mark but those who give them must say an opinion for this,I think that would be very good if for mark lower than 5 (4,3,2,1) to be obligatory a comment,especially that there are members without any photos uploaded but with a fix idea to demolish.

so have no idea how to do just to go further with our ideas about how to share experience and learn each other for our delight and pleasure.

cool one

Tony, a touching experience and even more wonderful is your captured of a moment I believe with meaning. Perhaps the darkness is what we feel as someone, be it human or pet passes on, the rainbow means hope for there is another tomorrow and the bright light shown on the trees is the joy those who passed on are feeling.  This capture is truly speacial and within it, beauty.  Thanks for sharing this.   Sherry

Just want to comment on the those who pass out low ratings and never have anything to say about why they rated so low. Seem like latley there is a bunch of them and they seem to be first in line to rate photos low as if they live on PN 24/7.  I am greatful for those good PN friends who are honest and adult with their ratings, I agree with Radu those who rate lower than five should give a reason for the low rating. To fight with these low raters only adds to their pleasure of low ratings. They seem childish to me.

Ramani and Sherry - I am glad you stopped by. Sherry thanks for your constructive thoughts on the image and the rating system.

Tony. This is just absolutely beautiful. The "tall sky" Really makes the composition.

Fantastic moment, Beautifully captured.

My sympathies about your friend, but you have been given a permanent remembrance.

All my best,   Bill