"Face in the Sky" - Candiac

(No manipulation) except for some darkening and lightening - that used to be called 'dodge and burn'.

I love that two cloud types were caught both in the sky and the reflections of the water.  In the same way, the surface of the water has two distinctly different textures/patterns du to movements and disturbances.  As always, brilliant and beautiful.

Amazing capture Tony!!!  I saw the face right off, even in the thumbnail.   AJ

So the sky is smiling on you too.  Excellent toning work, Tony.

Hi Tony,

  I like what Wayne said about the sky is smiling on you, I think he nailed it.  Beautiful image with wonderful colors & composition.  Take care, Patsy

Spooky!  But well captured... Mike

Tony,  Who in the heavens could this be? Looks a little like Abe Lincoln, but what would his ghost be doing hovering over Canada?  For heavens sake.  Great capture.  Larry

Spooky enough, perhaps just " Le canadien errant" L. Cohen, coming to haunt Candiac.  Nice portrait!

I have been away from photo.net for a while and came back to see this face. It is fascinating and appealing.

Perfect...as a crystal image!!!

Wow! Lots of great comments for which I am very appreciative.  

If I can be brutally honest on my own image and knowing that I did not manipulate it, it is beginning to feel creepy. The face keeps drawing me there to the point where I hardly see anything else. Perhaps I should crop most of the water and the reflection and let the face be even more dominant.

Could it be Louis Riel?

Riel's last words were to say good-bye to Dr. Jukes and thank him for his kindness, and just before the white cap was pulled over his face he said, "Remerciez, Madame Forget." meaning "thank, Ms. Forget".

The cap was pulled down, and while he was praying the trap was pulled. Death was not instantaneous. Louis Riel's pulse ceased four minutes after the trap-door fell and during that time the rope around his neck slowly strangled and choked him to death.

Louis David Riel  22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political and spiritual leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies.  He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald.  Riel sought to preserve Métis rights and culture as their homelands in the Northwest came progressively under the Canadian sphere of influence.

He is regarded by many today as a Canadian folk hero.

Just a few thoughts on this image with a promise to visit yours.  

"The Metis consider every part of the world around them as a living, sentient spiritual being."  (http://people.opposingviews.com/religious-beliefs-metis-4623.html)

It is no wonder that there is a face in the sky.

Incredibly amazing colours and clarity.  Superbly shot.

Best face in the sky I've seen. Post processing enhances the effect. I mistakenly posted a photo of my own earlier, thinking this was another No Words thread. Please excuse the error, or moderator remove. Thanks

my dads is dead it looks a bit like him not scary ha. alice.

I commented on this image when Tony first posted it in the Critique forum. All I will add here is that Tony's background information regarding the image is most significant, if not crucial, to its appreciation. His capture of "The Spirit in the Sky" is not just a photographic adventure; it is a spiritual one.

While I think there is nothing more than coincidence involved here (and I don't think that way on everything), this shot demonstrates one of the aspects of photography I most enjoy - the possibility of capturing an image that may never occur quite the same way again. Most of us have taken shots of colorful clouds at sunrise/set, but few, if any, would have captured a formation that so obviously depicts a face.

In the critique discussion, Tony offers the idea that perhaps he should have cropped more from the picture so the 'face' is even more prominent, but I like it the way it's presented, with the reflection adding another interesting element to the shot.

I like the face, but I have to say I think the post processing a bit too aggressive on the low lying clouds and the lower 1/2 of the picture, for my taste - it takes it all just a little too far away from a realistic depiction of nature, which is what is the point of this shot (i.e the natural appearance of a "face"). I've seen much worse though, but I do think if the contrast and clarity were backed off just a little, it would look more natural. Cropping is fine.

Robin, perhaps Tony wasn't after "a realistic picture of nature." To me, the main purpose of the image was to pay tribute to the spirituality of the Métis people and to Louis David Riel.

If the purpose was to pay tribute to spirituality (which I don't necessarily think it was) then a candy-apple look seems to undermine that. It would be like polishing the skin of the apple instead of somehow getting to the core. To me this is a pretty picture of a cloud formed to look like a face. That has little or nothing to do with spirituality, which is deeper and more awesome. The color palette and the sense of its being a "beautiful" landscape doesn't convey spirituality to me. A less prettified approach might get to spirituality for me, and I don't care whether the prettiness was natural or not.

I think the "purpose" was to capture the face seen in the clouds. If there was a sense of spirituality, that got read into the photo at a later point. That's effect, not purpose, and there's nothing wrong with an unintended effect getting into a photo. It happens all the time. But that's different than going out with the purpose to explore or find spirituality.

I'd agree with the suggestions to consider a re-edit. The midground green treeline and excessively detailed lower cumulus clouds compete with that wonderful formation in the higher wispy cirrus clouds. I'm not sure about the overall color saturation, or the reflections in the water. Those could be re-evaluated after toning down the treeline and cumulus clouds. That would help reduce the competition with that cirrus cloud formation that does indeed resemble a face. It's a strong enough graphic element to stand on its own.

Fred, I get what you're saying. But I also think your point about spirituality is somewhat overgeneralized. If you read Tony's remarks about Louis David Riel, I think you may see my point.

Michael, I had read Tony's comment. I don't see any connection between this photo and Louis David Riehl. I understand that Tony did.

Got it, Fred.

Tony...

Nothing to add to the POW conversation, just wanted to throw in a congratulations. With your dedication to both your photographic pursuit and participation here on PNet, this is well deserved.

Mike