Frosty Friends

I've had this one sitting on my desk top for the past few weeks, I liked it

myself, but wasn't at all sure if it would have general appeal, of course

the best way to find out is to ask, so what do you think? Your thoughts

and observations are always appreciated. Thank You.

Hello Alf,

I like the center very much and wonder what it might look like if cropped on top and bottom  for a symmetrical arty look, highlighting the whiteness with the dancing trees like in the center of an oyster instead of a pearl.  It's a lovely shot with delicacy, but the top steals attention to no real avail because it pulls from something truly charming.  This is nitpicking:  you are presenting a treasure!

Very nice details on enlargement.Here I think the middle white portion is a bit bright & a bit striking the view!What do you think?

My best regards.

Kallol

Hello Alf,

Thank you for posting this, it is indeed sometimes difficult to predict the reactions on an image. 

Well I like this one, I see you have made a crop, maybe I would have put the horizon higher or lower.But that is maybe personal taste.

Well Done,
Ben

Alf with your abilities to both critique images and produce something that is both technically and aesthetically pleasing, it is increasing difficult to offer suggestions for your images. Firstly this is a gorgeous scene and I am quite comfortable with the image that I would not be changing it with different crops. I am aware that others have mentioned this and it really comes down to personal choice with no rights or wrongs.

I do concur with Kallol that the white area is a bit too bright. The Nikon matrix metering, if you used it,  adjusts to all of that shadow and there is a tendency to let in more light which can be 'fatal' for any light areas like the snow. I don't think there was any fatality with the loss of highlights (could be wrong).

In any event I did a quick adjustment with CS5 Shadow/highlight. I neutralized the shadow sliders and played with the highlight sliders only and was able to almost tame the snow areas. Going further to darken the white in the middle was beginning to have some negative effects. I slipped into u-point with a control point to brighten the foliage on the tree to the left.

As always, i make no claims for mine - just 'food for thought'.

All the best on a very good image,

 

 

Magical shot...has all the ingredients. With or without Tony's adjustments it's a winner....!

I tend to trust the photographer's original vision over alternatives made by others and like this one very much. Although not made with "traditional" placement of the dividing line, this works for me. I like the contrast of the dark and light areas and the way the light falls on the trees. I certainly feel the cold, Alf.

This is a great image. I like the composition with the multiple vertical bands of colors and tones.  The trees on the shore seem to have a personality of their own, like people waiting for a distant ship to arrive (well yes i have a fertile imagination...).  I like your slightly panoramic crop, it gives this image a sense of space and the illusion that it may be going on into infinity.  My only comment is with the purplish cast, at first i thought this was an undesirable color shift particularly in the top and bottom part of the image, and i tried to correct it, but then when i look back at both images, i find that the purple color does add a sense of fantasy in this image. I'm attaching my correction to show you but frankly i think i prefer your version. Regards - michel

Alf,

  Beautiful image with wonderful composition, colors & reflection.  Thanks for sharing.  Take care, Patsy

Wonderful image! The colors are spectacular against the white frost and the reflection beautifully depicts the serenity of the scene.

Best regards, Alf

Lester

Alf, it's as though the trees are dancing and ready for their curtain call. I quite like the white in the center and the placement of the trees. As usual the detail is perfect. It seems to me that it is tilting every so slightly to the right, but the may be the curve of the light area creating that illusion.

Alf... I've come by several times to comment on this, gotten conflicted and just haven't been able to verbalize a definitive statement. But I'm gonna give it a try this time. Initially I didn't like the centered "horizon"' but the more I look at it I'm now convinced you have it right. I, too, noticed the magenta cast and Michel did a good job making it look more real, but again I feel what you have fits the atmosphere and ambiance of the scene. The forward row of trees give great depth and the reflections add some mystery. An excellent capture when you can provoke this amount of discussion. Thanks for sharing... Mike

Hi Alf,

A nice scene capture.

The Sigma lens settings that you employed did a good job to develop the clarity and range of color tones in this image. It all starts with a good image.

I often suggest that people invest in the cost effective Sigma or Tamron lens prior to making a much steeper investment in the high end lens. Often, a first timer that sells the house and car to purchase the big glass, becomes disappointed by their results. Most lens produced today , in the right hands, can yield very good results.

Best Regards,  Mike

DONNA

Many Thanks for your most interesting observations and suggestions, very much appreciated. The image is already cropped marginally to produce an equilateral 50 / 50 divide, so I would be reluctant to crop further as the quality starts to be eroded. But I like the idea, as the "dancing trees"  you mentioned are the elements that attracted me to take the shot in the first place.

Best Regards

Alf

KALLOL

Many Thanks for your interest and invalkuable feedback, much appreciated. Yes I tend to agree the center is bright, possibly as a result of me trying to highlight the frosted area's. I will bear that in mind, if I ever decide to print.

Best Regards

Alf

BEN

Sincere thanks for your thoughts and imput, very much appreciated. Typically landscapes would dictate a more thirds orientated composition, but with reflections shots that have a strong central optical magnetism I think the 50/50 works better. But of course you are right, it's very much a matter of personal taste.

Cheers Ben

Alf

TONY

Well, I think you found colours that I diidnt know existed in this image previously  : - )

I do agree with your analogy of personal taste regarding crops, as you rightly say, there simply are no rights or wrongs. I would also agree with both yourself and Kallol, the bright center is perhaps detrimental to the rest of the image. This I think is purely down to my processing, rather than Nikons matrix system (though I do know exactly what you mean) I was concentrating rather too much on conveying the sense of cold and frost and perhaps losing sight of the overall balance. Your version has great merit in the reversal of highlights and I would go as far to say looks more like the original file than mine.

Sincere thanks for taking the time to provide the alternative and your very much valued views.

Best Regards

Alf

KEITH

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

Best Regards

Alf

MARK

Sincere thanks for your thoughts and observations, very much appreciated. It's always interesting, to get different versions and view points, and whilst I don't always agree with them, there are ocassions when I think "damm why didn't I think of that"   You are quite right about the dividing line, it doesn't conform the traditional landscape format, but I always think where there is an emphasis on the central field of view, the 50 / 50 split becomes a good alternative. I'm really glad the "cold" feel was communicated to you, this is what was intended.

Best Regards

Alf

MICHEL

I like that analogy of "people waiting for a distant ship to arrive" We both have fertile imaginations and I believe the worlds a richer place for this. You are quite right about the purpleish cast, I thought there was something going wrong with my camera, because every shot I took of the scene, seemed to have that tint. Then I asked a friend about it and he said his images of the same view had just the same colour cast, but he added that he thought it was a Nikon thing. On my second or third attempt to process this I did make more or less the same correction as you have in your version, and thought it looked more realistic, but it had somehow lost some of its character.

My sincere thanks for your expert rendition and invaluable feedback, very much appreciated!

Best Regards

Alf

PATSY

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

Best regards

Alf

LESTER

Thank you so much for your views and positive feedback. I liked the relections too, they appeared almost like an artists spontaneous brush strokes to me.  I'm very pleased you liked it Lester.

Best Regards

Alf

TONY

Ahh you have seen exactly what I did, a vision of the trees holding hands waiting to take a bow, or should that be "bough" : - )  Yes you are right there is a very slight curve, but it is the far bank shape, rather than the centre being off balance. But maybe I should address it anyway and make the small adjustent as the true centre is only a perception in this case.

Sincere Thanks Tony!

Alf

MIKE M

Ahhh I got you all tongue tied eh! : - )

Well I would agree with your review in it's entirety. Michel is a master of colour, and his version is infinately more realsitic, but it's not unlike  a previous version that I discarded. The colour cast isn't something I added, but of course I did boost the existing colour in lightroom not through saturation but using the "Vibrancy" control. And yes, it is very gratifying to get such diverse and original comments. Many thanks for persevering and coming back to comment Mike, much appreciated!

Best Regards

Alf

MIKE P

The Tamron lens I used is very sharp and precise even at long focal lengths. I think where I start to see a marked difference though in it's perfomance against my Nikon lenses, is in low light situations, where it doesn't seem to record the same amount of fine detail as the Nikons. For the most part though it is a very useful piece of kit.

Thanks for your interest and observations Mike.

Kind Regards

Alf

 

 

 

 

 

 

I find this to be a very attractive and interesting capture Alf. The trees lining the shoreline have some very different and attractive shapes, then my eyes go to the green foilage that lines that border the forest beyond, and I find the detail very attractive in this area. The many downed trees, varying colours in the forest floor are very attractive. The reflection of these trees is also very attractive, as is the reflection of the trees and snow closer to shore.

Congrats on the 'discussion' that this image rendered...always proves to be a 'good read'.

Kindest regards, Gail

Stunning shot Alf. The composition in this is wonderful, love the colours. Hope you are getting some of your work published, it deserves to be.  

Hi Alf, You know I like reflective shots and this one is a subtle beauty. The white BG makes the trees standout nicely. A well seen shot. Take care.

BR,

Holger

Interesting. I like this photo very much. Best wishes.

GAIL

Sincere thanks for your interest and invaluable feedback, very much appreciated!

I like the shapes of those trees too, they are like forest creatures that have decided to join hands and dance on the banks of the lake in some strange ritual. The forest beyong represent the audience that watch the performance, and the reflections are the brush strokes of an impressionist artist eager to record the event on canvas.  Well I do have a somewhat fertile imagination : - )

Ahhh yes, the discussion, It's always good to get a wide cross section of views, and hats off to PN once more, this site has an abundance of very talented people like yourself Gail, who are selfless enough to take the time to offer advice, support and critique.

Best Regards

Alf 

BIRTE

Nothing published as yet Birte, but I do intend to write an illustrated book, in the not too distant future, I'd like to think I could get that published, but time will tell. I will be looking for advice, and I think you are one of the best qualified people to offer it.

Sinccere thanks for your words of encouragement and support.

Best Regards

Alf

HOLGER

I think we have very similar tastes, for reflections, lighthouses, and nautical scenes to name but a few.  This was one that I kept kicking about on my desktop for weeks, not at all sure if I should post it, but I'm glad I did now, as it appears that some people like yourself see the same qualities in the scene that I did.

Many Thanks Holger & Best Regards

Alf

EVGENI

Thank you so much, for your interest and kind words, I'm very pleased you liked this one.

Best Regards

Alf

You got the composition and exposure spot on here.the snow covered field brings a new element ,nice reflections and better bg for the trees,Nicely  seen and executed,my best regards

Beautiful and your usual, wonderful composition.

I think I like the more subdued white version just a bit more.

Very nice work.

Breathtaking nature photo. Awesomely done, Alf! Kind regards.

you've outdone yourself.  such a winner.  best, jamie

HARRY

Many Thanks for your interest and positive feedback. I thought the frost covered fields made for a well contrasted backdrop too, and the reflections looked kind of painterly.

Cheers Harry!

Alf

STEVE

Thanks for stopping by and for your very encouraging comments! Yeah I tend to agree, the whites of the more subdued version are a bit easier on the eye.

Best Regards

Alf

ANABELA

Good to hear from you, I hope you are keeping well. I'm really pleased you liked this one, I liked it myself but wan't at all sure what response it would get. 

Many Thanks & Kind Regards

Alf

JAMIE

Very pleased you liked this one, I do love reflections myself, but last year was hard work finding any with all the windy weather.

Cheers!

Alf

 

Wonderful shot, Alf...lovely serenity depicted with colors and light and reflection...my best