Mallard Lake 2

I took this shot while on a grade 7 camping trip to Newcastle Island,

which is just off Nanaimo, BC. Thanks for any comments.

Hi Paul, Nice shot.

I like the BW version better. I would have liked the color better, I think, if the sky had been more interesting. The BW seems to make up for that well.

Was in Vancouver Island a little while ago - such a beautiful place!

Thanks so much a n.  I also like this version better than the coloured version.  Where were you when on Vancouver Island?  Thanks for the comments, and happy shooting.

Looks like you've got all the bases covered with this one.  I like the jumbled foreground arrangement which nicely breaks up the water & reflected sky area and the  vertical composition which includes the tops of the dead trees.  Great detail in the sky as well.  Any special tricks used to achieve this effect?  Nice reward for your efforts.  Best, LM.

Hi Paul,

We spent sometime in Victoria, then drove to Ucluelet & Tofino near the Pacific Rim national (provincial?) park on the west coast of the Island. It was incredibly beautiful, but rained a good portion of my trip. I have just started to process & post some of the pics I took.  While the rain/weather made for poor pic taking, it was nevertheless great to hike on the Pacific Rim trail watching the waves crash on the rocks.

Thanks for your email - decided to simply write one combined response here: yup we live in the beautiful northwest (Washington) and enjoy all the photographic opportunities this place provides. I would love to go on photo-taking trips, but most of our vacations atleast till the end of the year revolve around family gatherings so it will be difficult to get away solo. That said, keep me posted about any photo trip possibilities and i'll let you know if I would be able to join. Thank you for the invitation! Most appreciated.

Keep posting!

Thanks Len and a n for your comments.  Len, I process the majority of my images in Lightroom2, and then do the B&W conversions in Silver Efex pro.  The sky, which was quite blown out in the original, was treated initially in Lightroom using the adjustment brush a number of times to bring back the detail there.  Then I used the "high structure" preset in Silver Efex to do the conversion.  I find that this preset is pretty aggressive, so I tend to back off the contrast and structure sliders quite a bit.  All the sharpening is done in Lightroom before I send the image to Siver Efex Pro.

A n,  I will definitely let you know when my friend and I are heading your way.  We figured we would go to Palouse for a weekend, so if that is possible for you it would be great to have you along.  Where about in Washington State do you live?  That area looks so dreamy in the photos I have seen on this site, and others.  Take care you two!

Paul