Warming Up

The first good frost since November and I managed to get some

relatively still conditions at the Lake District, but there was still a slight

breeze that prevented me getting the perfect reflection of the illuminated

tree, but maybe the ripples add some texture. Your thoughts and

comments are always most welcome. Thank You.

Personally, I like the effect the ripple has on the reflections. I like pretty much everything.The sunlight on the tree tops is a little less harsh than in the foreground, a nice contrast.

Hi Alf,

Superb results.

I do not have to emphasize the lens settings here, as they are spot on.

Best Regards,  Mike

Wonderfully crisp with soft light at the same time!

Beautiful light and composition. The human touch is perfect and I like the ripples, it does add some needed texture.

Well titled, nice work Alf.

Alf, It took me a little while to see the man in the image, When i did its amazing how much he actually dominates the image. Very nice indeed.

Perfectly composed and moody lit spectacle! I like it!

Best regards Alf!

PDE

Independent of the photogenic scenery, the patch of sunlight is given a great emphasis in this picture. In combination with the darker parts and the shades you achieved to create a quite unique, quasi romantic look. I like this one - compliments Alf!

Into the darkness comes a great light.  Beautifully captured and composed image, kudos.  Thank you also for your recent comment.  I was fortunate to make myself go out after the really first significant snowfall of the season. The clouds added a magnificent display and the black and white version seemed to really capture the image in a more impactful way.  LOve your work it is both beautiful and inspiring.  Take good care Alf, rek.

Really beautiful work with impressive lighting, Alf!

With best regards,

Ruud.

Alf,

  Beautiful scene with wonderful lighting & reflection.  Thanks for sharing.  Take care, Patsy

I like the composition and ligth of this shot.

Perfect

Gianluigi

An excellent shot Alf!  This is well composed, has great light, and the rippled water adds depth to the image. Well don guy!

All the best,
Neil

Alf, this has really beautiful light and warm/cool tones. I particularly like the golden strip of land against the dark blues of the water. Also the soft light on the background trees is very nice. 

Alf,

Faced with this leafless landscape with its seasonal monotones you have been able to bring out the hidden beauty and managed to create an exceptional image. It's all about the light, seeing the potential, and capturing its beauty.

Jim

Fantastic play of light and shadows. Truly beautiful image, Alf! Very well done indeed. Kind regards.

Not much more that I can add re technical details etc. Alf, but just have to say that is is a rather lovely image. The contrasts between dark and light, both in all aspects. Your reflections weren't as you'd hoped but I think these are quite beautiful.

Lovely image for a day that must have been very enjoyable. It was -22 on our back deck this morning. Poor Abbey did not go out to play for long! She doesn't get her walk on days with the Wind Chill, so she has been out of luck for quite a few days these past 2 weeks!

Warm regards, and hopes for more lovely days like this,

Gail

The light in this image is magical, it casts a golden glow on selected part of the image which creates its appeal.  The little spots of light in the background are vital to the mood you captured.  While most of your images are about magnificent scenery, this one is more subtle, it speaks of warmth, serenity and peacefulness of the soul.  Great work Alf.  Regards  always - michel

Great light and colours for this wonderful scene. The reflection is impressive.

you were at the right time of the day at the spot - the light is perfect. Actually I like the ripples, they add life and authenticity. The man is a key element, adding a sense of scale and "doping" the landscape (like silicon is "doped" to get semiconductor effect). Only - admittedly minor - aspect that disturbs me a bit is that the composition is a bit heavy on the right half of the photo - the dark and rather sparse left can't quite compete - right now I don't have any bright idea other than a different crop (while keeping the nicely lit sand bank!).

cheers, Wolfgang

Well balanced under your very good composition.  Love the light and the contract.  Best regards,

MIKE M

Many Thanks for your interest and well considered feedback, very much appreciated.  I was hoping for a flat calm moment, but it wasn't forthcoming, the small ripples were a nice comensation though.

Best Regards

Alf

MIKE P

I find it relatively easy to use lens at thier widest aperture in circumstances where there is no close foreground and a fast shutter speed is required, when those circumstances are reversed it becomes a whole lot more complicated.

 Sincere Thanks for your interest and feedback Mike

Alf

VLAD

Many thanks for your interest and thoughtful observations, very much appreciated.  The sharp / soft effect is I think courtesy of the light and the f4.2 aperture I'm very pleased you liked it.

Best Regards

Alf

STEVE

Thanks for looking in Steve, I value your opinions and comments very much. I wasn't sure about the human element at first, but then thought maybe he added scale and some life and movement to the scene.

Cheers!

Alf

RICHARD J E

Sincere thanks for your interest and invaluable feedback, much appreciated. I know what you mean about about the man in the image, once you are aware of his presence he kind of draws the interest, but I think it results in the image avoiding a one dimensional aspect that concentrates solely on the tree.

Best Regards

Alf

PIERRE

Many thanks for your interest and kind comments, much appreciated! This was the scene that presented itself to me almost immediately that I arrived, I tried to get the camera level in time to get the man in closer proximity to the tree, but this seems to have worked ok too.

Best Regards

Alf

EL

Many Thanks for your thoughts and invaluable feedback, much appreciated!  Out of shot, to my extreme left is the mountain top over which the sun had just risen from, it hadn't quite moved around to a position where it would fully illuminate the pine trees in the background, and so the shadow area's were indeed quite dark alowing the very contrasty effect.  I'm really pleased you liked it El

Best Regards

Alf  

RICHARD K

Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments and kind words. We are yet to get any snow worth mentioning and indeed this day was the first time I had encountered a frosty morning since November, but there is time yet : - ) In the meantime I shall content myself with looking at your snow scenes.

Cheers Richard

Alf

RUUD

Many thanks for your interest and kind words, very much appreciated!

Best Regards

Alf

PATSY

Thank you so much, for stopping by to look and comment, I'm really pleased you liked it.

Best Regards

Alf

GIANLUIGI

Thank you for your interest and observations, very much appreciated.

Best Regards

Alf

NEIL

Sincere thanks for your thoughts and observations Neil, very much appreciated. I was of course hoping for that magical flat calm moment, but alas, it didn't come, in fact the wind become more blustery as the day went on. So I'm very glad I took the shot when I did, I was contemplating waiting.

Best Regards

Alf

TONY

Many Thanks for your interest and positive feedback, much appreciated. The wall behind the tree has caught the same kind of golden light as the tree itself, and as you have rightly observed the frost still remains in the cooler tones of the image where the sun hasn't touched, the background trees just getting the first touches of light partly diffused by the ridge of the mountain to the left (out of shot)

Cheers Tony!

Alf

ANABELA

Many Thanks for your interest and thoughtful feedback, much appreciated! Sometimes you just get lucky with the light : - )

Best Regards

Alf

GAIL

Sincere thanks for your thoughtful feedback and kind words, much appreciated.

I sometimes think I may have become obsessional about photographing calm reflective water, maybe to the point of being blind to the other qualities and textures that can be equally as effectivee in the right light and circumstances.

It was indeed a very enjoyable day Gail, just being there was a joy, and the photographs were a bonus. It was about -2 at 6.00 am when I set off from home that morning, and I think the lowest tempratures I've experienced in the UK was last year when it reached - 15.  I can only imagine what - 22 is like! I really love the winter and the cold crisp days, we haven't had many at all this year (so far) But I think Grace would empathise with Abbey, she's such a wimp, she's very reluctant to go out in the rain! : - ) Keep warm & safe Gail

Warm Regards

Alf

MICHEL

Many Thanks for your well considered feedback and thoughts, much appreciated. It wasn't the image I expected when I visited the location, but as I walked a few yards form the car the illuminated tree stood out like a beacon, I took the shot whilst I waited for the water to become calm (it never did) and the backdrop didn't really occur ot me until I processed the image in Nikon Capture NX and used the "D Lighting" feature which revealed more of those background spots of light you mentioned. I'm very pleased you liked it Michel.

Best Regards

Alf

GUNNAR

Thank you so much, for your interest and thoughtful feedback, much appreciated. Not the mirror image I sought, but after some contemplation it wasn't a bad compensation shot.

Best Wishes

Alf

WOLFGANG

Right time and right place is probably more than 70% contributary factor to when it comes to successful landscapes, the other 30% is the ability to capture it. Interestingly enough I engaged in conversation with another photographer "Dave Coates" (Thank you Dave for all your advice and help) who was at this location along with his good lady wife, who was also most helpful and informative. The wealth of knowledge that these people had relating to the area and the light at any particular time of day, and time of year was phenomenal !  They could tell what month the light would fall on a particular area of a mountain at any given time of the year, and thier geographical knowledge was most enviable! So although I confess to being lucky on this ocassion, the aquisition of knowledge can also determine ones success in terms of "right time and place"

Good point about the sparse area to the left, I suppose I could have revealed a little bit more detail when processing the RAW file, but would that detract the attention from the intended recipient, ........well probably not. So yeah fair point Wolfgang.

Sincere Thanks for your interest and invaluable feedback.

Cheers!

Alf

WANGHAN

Many Thanks for your interest and kind words. I was rather fortunate with the light on this ocassion, it compensates to some degree the other 100 times when I haven't been : - )

Best Regards

Alf

WOW!! Such a beautiful view!! I love it

Alf, A well composed and exposed landscape.

The inclusion of the man was a brilliant stroke adding scale and depth to the photo.  The texture and color of the water is excellent and the reflection is in no way hindered by the ripples.

There is some minor issue with balance with the strong right overpowering the darker left side but this is minor IMO and does little if anything to detract from the photo itself. Actually in a way the dark does a nice job creating excellent contrast and sort of framing the triangular sunlit spit of land.

Because of that contrast this may be another photo that may have some value as a b&w with a red filter or a sepia tone.

As always excellent work Alf.

Joe

Amazing light and colors , beautiful composition .................. Best regards.