The Cold Light of Dawn

The last time I tried to photograph this particular scene I arrived a few

seconds after the sun had cleared the hills over my left shoulder, the

results were that the image just looked too warm and bright.

Consequently, this time I thought I''d arrive a bit earlier as see if I could

capture a more balanced light. The water level was high, so I had to

take the shot standing on the narrow road nearby. Trying to keep the

tripod stable on a sheet of ice whilst dodging traffic was a bit of a

challenge too. Your thoughts and comments are always appreciated

Thank You.

Stay safe, man. That is rule #1. I once took a shot of the Lansing waterfront from the middle of frozen Lake Lansing tucked under the hood of a 4x5 Burke and James. I really didn't realize how much of a chance I took until incredulous onlookers told me. Anyway, as to this image, I find it amazingly similar in style and content to your "Warming Up" image. The single strand of the dock mirrors the strand of light from "Warming Up" and the air of isolation, tranquility and peace is heightened by the distinct lack of a human presence in the shot, even though clearly a human lives here.

An emotionally cold feeling here with suggested home/hearth shelter in the structure yet the presentation of lights mirrored in the water is cold too.  The pier is delicate and inviting, and one can easily imagine standing on the balcony.  The trees in the background, however, look a bit smudged.  

Wonderful shot with great tonality.Thanks for sharing.

My best regards.

Kallol

Hello Alf,

Wonderful image, early morning so no or limited wind, great reflections. 

I am however not very convinced about the purple tone.  I would try to decrease the purple a bit. 

Well Done,
Ben

Perfectly exposed & composed and the result is a lovely moody spectacle!

Best regards Alf!

PDE

Wonderful.

alf,  looking at this serene scene, it's hard to visualize you dodging traffic, or for that matter there even being any traffic. i agree image does have a cold feeling to it, perhaps its the fresh snow on the mountains. looks like somewhere would like to spend a bit of time with perhaps a good book or two. lovely work!

Hi Alf,

Wonderful, serene image.  This would make a wonderful retreat home or any home for that matter.  Yes, the image does look cold; and Alf, I'm not bothered by the purple.  I'm sure you know this, but you could add degrees of warmth by adding a warming filter in the degree of your choice.  I tried this image with an 82B warming filter set a 12 in Photoshop.  It definitely changes the mood of the image, so you be the judge as to whether you want any added warmth. Actually, the lights of the cabin add enough for me.  Nice image, Alf.  I continually learn from you.  Thanks.  Larry

Alf,

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

Peace and serenity indeed!

Nice image, but I think the magenta/purple are a bit over saturated.

Es una imagen maravillosa. Felicitaciones.

Alf, I like the contrast of the warm lights, stone and wood, against the coolness of the snow and water. Whether the magenta/blues are too much is probably a personal matter, but the coolness certainly adds to the solitude of the season. 

I love the contrast of the warmer tones of the building and lights set against the cooler blue/lavender - it really gives the sense of the cold damp air that one would feel in this spot. Lovely work! Very serene. Thank you for sharing. :)

The picture is beautiful, well composed as usual. The violate/bluish-purple light gives an impression of extreme cold.

Regards, Tibi

I really like the purple cast to the water and clouds, contrasted with the warmth of the house.  Perfectly exposed and composed.

Hi Alf,

You have derived all that the lens settings can provide and the results are

SPECTACULAR !

Thank goodness for a tripod, and your good fortune not to have any problems with the ice or on going traffic.

Best Regards,  Mike

EMMANUEL

Yes, your are 100% right, saying safe should be paramount! And I did take the precaution of wearing a reflective vest, that I normally wear for construction site visits. The "traffic" consisted of early morning deliveries by Bakers and Post Office and a few workers and Coulcil labourers, so there wasn't that much trffic as such, but the sheets of ice across the road and the relatively narrow road did have me a bit worried. But I guess we all take a few risks to get the shot we want.

I like your description, of the image here, as it transcribes exactly what I like to convey in a lot of my landscape works, and that is the small evidence of the  presence of man within a great big world. It also explains why you find a common theme within the two.

Many Thanks for your interest and observations, much appreciated!

Best Regards

Alf

DONNA

It was freezing! So maybe I was pushed in the cold direction when processing this one. My memory of it was standing on a sheet of ice, trying to stop the legs of the tripod skidding long enough to take the shot. The trees are a bit "smudged" but I think they lack definition due to the low light rather than a limitation on dof. As you can see the tree that is outlined against the sky is sharp. But yeah imagine having breakfast on that balcony, what a way to start the day!

Sincere thanks for your observations and feedback.

Best Regards

Alf

KALLOL

Many thanks for stopping by, I'm very pleased you liked it.

Best Regards

Alf

BEN

Thank you so much for stopping by and for providing excellent feedback!

You are right about the purple tones, They were of course present when I took the shot, but in retrospect I think I have over accentuated thier presence. At the same time though, they do serve to give an impression of extreme cold.

Best Regards

Alf

PIERRE

Ahhh Moody spectacles are my speciality : - )

I'm  Very pleased you liked it Pierre!

Best Regards

Alf

TONY

Thank you!

ROGER

Well.......I suppose the word "Traffic" gives an illusion of bumper to bumper vehicles on a busy highway, so forgive my misdirection. The scene was, a narrow country road, barely wide enough that two vehicles of normal size can pass safely, the scary part was the sheet of ice that I was standing on, and the thought of what might happen if one of these vehicles hit the brakes as they approached my position. I was wearing my reflective construction vest, that I use when carrying out safety audits and site inspections.

It is a wonderful locaton though, and I could imagine spending a lot of time myself writing a book, rather than reading one, but in the peace and tranquility, inspiration would never be too far away.

Sincere Thanks Roger.

Alf

LARRY

"Retreat" is a good word, it describes a haven, a place of safety and it relates very well to the mood I intended to convey. The warmth you describe is very much in evidence a few minutes later as the sun started to rise, but the mood when I arrived at the scene was a most definate cold one. A solid sheet of ice covered the road I was standing on, and my only wonder is why the lake itself didn't freeze. I will try the image with warmer colours though Larry, it would be interesting to see the reactions of viewers.

Sincere Thanks for your interest and positive feedback, much appreciated.

Best Regards

Alf

PATSY

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

Best Regards

Alf

RAGHUVEER

Sincere thanks for your observation and invaluable feedback, very much appreciated! You are quite correct the magenta/purple is oversaturated to some degree. On retrospect I would have toned it down slightly, but I also find myself thinking it perhaps is accurate of how the image made me "feel" rather than an exact copy of how it looked.

Best Wishes

Alf

JOSE

Sincero agradecimiento por su interes y palabras amables.

Saludos Cordiales

Alf

TONY

Many thanks for your interest and positive feedback, much appreciated!

After posting this I thought that it was a bit over saturated in terms of the magenta/purples tones, but then I still the contrasts as you describe them.  On balance I would tone them down slightly though.

Best Regards

Alf

TRISHA

Many thanks for your observations and positive feedback. I'm glad the cold dampness of the place was conveyed so accurately! It is a beautiful little corner of the Lake District though and "serene" is a good word to describe it.

Best Regards

Alf

TIBI

Many Thanks for stopping by and providing your invaluable feedback.

I did want to convey the element of extreme cold, but perhaps I got carried away : - )

I'm very pleased you liked it though.

Best Regards

Alf

STEPHEN

Sincere thanks for your observations and invaluable imput., much appreciated.  This is one that I will make some adjustments to. The purple cast does allow a feeling of extreme cold, but perhaps a bit too strong for some.

Best Regards

Alf

MIKE

I think it was only the tripod that kept me upright too : -) But the yellow reflective contrction vest I wore game me great visibilty so  oncoming vehicles were able to avoid me, as long as they didn't skid on the ice of course : - )

Although I have now taken quite a few images successfully with "wide open" aperture as you encourage. I am still not totally convinced that these settings can be used on every occasion. And I do wonder what focus point should be engaged when taking the shot in order maximise dof, particularly when using a wide open aperture?

Many Thanks for stopping by Mike, much appreciated!

Best Regards

Alf

alf! you can fill the kop with your fan club, me included!

Greetings from cold Belarus!

I have just returned back to Canada from totally frozen Europe. It was up to -32! I see that you are lucky there as we are here in Toronto (it is + 6). I am trying to catch up with your beautifull works of art. You know, I am fond of all of them.This one is just amazing ! Light , colour, mood! Your effort is rewarded! Great picture for your Book! Warm regards, Tamara

No goals at Anfield, but that seems typical of our poor home performance, a bit more fine tuning required I think! I'm glad you liked this one, thought it might appeal to your colourful persausions : - ) 

Take Care mate!

Alf

TAMARA

Brrrrr - 32 now thats cold! I think the European temperatures are heading this way, tomorrow it is predicted to be - 15, and more snow on the way too. Personally I quite like the cold weather, as long as it isn't accompanied by that icy wind. I wonder if you managed to get any images of "Frozen Europe"? I will check out your portfolio. Yes, this could be a contender for the book, I really must make a start, your words continue to haunt me, and I know you are right. 

Sincere Thanks for your thoughtful observations and invaluable feedback, much appreciated!

Warm Regards

Alf

All in all I think this is a very beautiful composition Alf. Although where I live, I don't always see such beautiful colours in a sunset, while preparing supper last evening,  I couldn't get over the spectacular colours of the sunset. Varying degrees of peach and apricot with hints of mauve to deep purple at times.  However, even trying to get a capture off our back deck is not very attractive, just rooftops and not the most picturesque (just subdivision houses).

The reason I mention this is that I don't think one can predict just what 'hues' one will experience where they live or are taking photos. I think this is one of the 'beautiful surprises of 'nature' that if we are fortunate, and try to be in the 'right place at the right time' - amazing hues are often our reward. I cannot see you posting a Photograph with colours that are not 'true' to what you viewed. I find this to be a lovely image. The Mauvy tones and light you captured certainly conveys a 'coldness' yet the textures of the Wood and Stone Boathouse on the right speak to me of a 'warm destination'. I find this 'contrast' actually works very well in this image.

More so, I imagine the folks who own the boathouse,  if they are able to stay in the 'upper level' must witness some amazing colours in the early morning hours and at sunset. I'm just glad you took a chance and ended up sharing a very beautiful 'capture' with us all.

I love the reflections as well. Lovely work Alf, with kindest regards, Gail

The beauty of our world for me lies within its rich diversity. People will often comment "Oh No not another sunset photograph" but for me, every sunset, and every dawn is unique, and the amazing thing is that the surroundings can become totally transformed by the prevailing light conditions. I mention this because you described the scene from your back deck. My advice is to photograph it and post it on here. I remember photographing the old docks in Birkenhead not too far from where I live, and I was amazed at the way the light transformed the dirty old industrial waterfront into something of beauty. Let the light do the magic Gail, and be there to record it with your camera.

As for this one, you are right I would never deliberately misrepresent the scene as it was, but I must confess to having perhaps over emphasised what existed  to the degree that some don't find it realistic. But I don't take any offence from these observations, quite the contrary I find it very positive and I make a note to improve that particular aspect next time with a reminder to try to keep the complexities of what I felt about the scene and what I saw as seperate entities.  : - )

Of course the results are a matter of taste and many subscribe to the thoughts that you have expressed so well, but if I was going to process this again, I'd maybe hold back some on the "vibrancy" slider.

I have been at this particular location at dawn and in the summer witnessed the occupants standing on the upper balcony drinking coffee and watching the sun rise over the distant mountains.........ahhh what bliss!

Sincere thanks for your understanding and support, and I'm very pleased you liked this.

Warm Regards

Alf

very organised.  so colourful.  best, jamie

Can't add too much to what was already said except to repeat that the colors of this sunrise are amazing. I would add that I like the nice reflection of the boathouse on that still water.

I still enjoy shooting sunrises and sunsets but sometimes it is hard to offer something new. This certainly offers something new. A wonderfully photographed scene.

Great work Alf.

Joe