GRASMERE

January frost and dawn at Grasmere in the Lake District. The sun was

about to break over the distant facing hills. It made the shot difficult to

expose, with deep shadow and bright areas, the result was that the

foreground looks quite bright, but I quite liked how it interplayed with the

reeds. Maybe too bright ? Your thoughts and comments are always

appreciated. Thank You.

No, not too bright.  The watery pool colored golden wheat and fiery reeds near the structure and sun repeating over the trees foils the frost covering the grass.  The water acts as a cooling agent that is also warmed up.  The light offers  sparkle to the elements. The green and yellows and browns also play pleasingly.  I love the needly reeds -- pin sharp with the gentle breeze-kissed water.  It's gorgeous  

I would have to agree...  Not too bright.  I love the cold distant hill juxtaposed with the warm amber reeds and reflection of the sky.  Beautiful work again Alf.  Cheers...

-Dave 

Alf, another masterful done, the subtle light makes golden warm tone for such a beautiful mood  & nice atmosphere, and I also like your magical play of DOF, exposure & focus for great layers, crisp details, great balance in exquisite composition too...just perfect!       Best regards  7!

I like the soft feel.

Alf, I'm trying to imagine alternatives, with clouds obscuring the brightness of the sun or the photo taken at the other end of the day.  Personally, for this particular composition I think there is too much contrast and the non-essential elements (especially the sky) are too bright and therefore attract more visual attention than they warrant.  I really like your overall composition (up and down, left and right), and I think a different light would do this composition better justice.  As is, only the foreground reeds could be said to benefit, but the water to the right and the sky have not, IMO, benefitted.

A beautiful result with very nice lighting, Alf!

 

Hi Alf,

  Beautiful peaceful scene with the perfect lighting & composition.  Take care, Patsy

I understand your obstacles Alf, but I really like this image. I wish I had more expertise to give you some 'alternatives' but from what I see, it is really quite beautiful. I love the name of the place also.

I love the combination of overall color hues in your photo, Alf. The different golden & silvery/grey tones go marvelously well together... Although the (mirrored) glare on the water, at the bottom right may indeed be a tad too bright perhaps, I quite like the graphic effect of the dark contrasting reeds against it... I very much like the composition too -- perhaps wonder if a bit of added space (on top) would benefit the composition even further..? Not quite sure...   Funny, I was actually somehow reminded of another photo (& favorite of mine) of yours: " Drifters " :-) ... Best regards to you, Marjolein

DONNA

Thank you for your thoughts and observations, its really important for me get a feel for the first and lasting impressions of others and you deliver on each occasision with great descriptive explanations, and it is very much appreciated.

Best Regards

 

Alf

 

DAVE

Many Thanks for your interest and thoughtful comments, much appreciated. I have photographed this scene many times, but I thought this was different in terms of the light, the others would have been so much easier to process, but I'm not sure if they would have the same impact

Cheers Dave!

 

Alf

 

RICHARD

 

Sincere Thanks for your interest and encouraging words.  The light was perhaps too bright, but I did like that interplay with the foreground reeds, not the easiest photo to process, but it was a challenge.

Best Regards

 

Alf

 

MEIR

Many Thanks, and yes I see what you mean, there is an element of softness to the misty backdrop that has a certain appeal.

Best Regards

 

Alf

 

STEPHEN

Sincere Thanks for your thoughtful comments and feedback, much appreciated.  I think your conclusion of a "taken at the other end of the day" is 100% accurate, as the light direction would then be perfect, but as you know, all too frequently we have to try and deal with whats available at the time. I would also go along with your analysis that the foreground reeds were the only area of brightness to benefit, and really that why this was destined for the recycle bin. But something stopped me, and I can't for the life of me provide you with a sound logical answer as to why it was rescued, other than I kind of liked it despite its obvious flaws.

Best Regards

 

Alf

 

RUUD

 

Many Thanks for your visit and kind comments!

Best Regards

 

Alf

 

PATSY

Thank you for stopping by, and leaving your comments I'm very pleased you liked it.

 

Best Regards

 

Alf

 

GAIL

Its a great name isn't it!  And the "mere" or lake is really beautiful too. This is one of those shots that as a photographer, you just know it has faults, but as a viewer it still retains appeal.  I really appreciate your thoughts regarding this one Gail.

Sincere Thanks & Best Regards

 

Alf

 

MARJOLEIN

Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments and detailed observations.  The area of brightness is indeed too bright, but for some reason it retains a certain charm, and yes, the interplay with the reeds looked attarctive, which is why it was eventually rescued. Although I now wonder what would have happened if we would have had a few dry weekends, .....I suppose it was an image I "saved for a rainy day" : - )  The original did have a bit more space at the top, but as you can imagine the brightness was there also and I cropped it to avoid having two bright areas........hmm maybe I should have cropped a bit more?  "Drifters"  ahh yeah, same time of day, same area, but different lake.  I think there is a colour version of "Drifters" too, albeit with the different title "Lifting Mist"

Cheers Marjolein!

Alf  

 

 

 

 

 

 

As always, your landscapes draw me in, as escapes from the stresses of my "ordinary life" into places where the most stress occurs in deciding where to look first.  This image is no exception.  I can see myself sitting on the shoreline, just taking it all in.  The hints of color, against the bright white sky and the its reflection on the water, are remarkable.

All my best,

michael

 

 

 

 

 

I like the touch of gold! I think it makes the picture, that would be otherwise gloomy and moody - totally different one!) As for the right corner - it can be left the way it is because it is a reflection of a white sky, that adds to the symmetry of the picture. I admire the way you work with the light! Warm regards, Tamara

If my photographs ever invoke the same "feelings"  to a viewer, that I had when I took the shot, then I consider it a job well done. Therefore it is most gratifying to read that you could feel the relative peace of the scene. The area is spectacular and the peace and solitude at dawn is a wonderful thing to experience.  Sincere thanks for your thoughtful observations and kind words!

 

Best Regards

 

Alf

 

TAMARA

I agree with your analysis, the bright water and golden touches add an element of warmth to a cold winters day. It is a photograph I liked, but because I kow that there are technical faults, it troubled me. But maybe all photo's don't need to be technically perfect to be attractive. 

Sincere Thanks & Warm Regards

 

Alf

An exceptional and at the same time a very difficult shot! I like the components here, with the play of the cottage, trees, water and reflection to creating such a beauty. fg lines are very eye-pleasing for this scene, specially you arranged them in left half to balance the composition. In a classic landscape shot, eye is used to see some details in bright sky, and i think though it might be considered a flaw, but in this special condition with high dynamism, this bright featureless sky and its reflection has injected mood and atmosphere, and added to the beauty ( even a slight glow might even be a good addition to the brightness, as you see in the fg ). A nice shot! Bravo.

Hamid.

Hi Alf, I have been contemplating this image for a while before commenting.

My initial reaction was that it was too bright and that the highlights should have been brought under control in post. The line of thinking is that there may have been reflections of compositional value or some better tonal elements in the foreground than the blow highlights.

However in reflecting a bit that thinking was an error. Sometimes I struggle so hard with the technical aspect (don't lose pixels Joe!) that I forget that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Sometimes it is important not to control the dynamic range of a given scene. This image works well being bright and with some blown out highlights. It communicates to me the glare of the late day sun. It may not be something that everyone is going to like but I think the exposure, based on the composition, time of day and what I think you were trying to communicate here, works.

I would say that the bright foreground does tend to trap my attention a bit where I am sure that the structure and reflections are more interesting but again it is the whole not that parts for me

Nice image Alf...it caused me to think.

Joe

Thank you so much for your interest and thoughtful observations, very much appreciated.  I liked the play of light on the foreground reeds, but I had reservations about posting the image because of the obvious flaws. However despite this I still retained a liking for the shot and eventually thought it best to get a wider view of opinion than my own. It is very gratifying to read though, that your thoughts are very similar to my own. 

Sincere Thanks & Best Regards 

 

Alf 

 

JOE 

I know exactly what you mean. You look at the image and your depth of experience and knowledge as a photographer dictates that there are highlights that are blown and this element is not something normally considered acceptable. Whilst that train of thought remains active another one tells you that you are liking what you are seeing. That the general aesthetics are pleasing to the eye. There is a kind of battle going on between the "photographers" eye" and the other parts of the brain that perceives images as comfortable, interesting and likeable.  My theory is that we as photographers gather knowledge by learning and applying rules. No whilst these "rules"  guide us well in our quest for a better photograph, we tend to accept them without question and then later apply them fairly rigorously to everything we see. Then at times as you describe below, something makes you stop and reconsider these values again. I am guilty of doing the same thing, but what I endeavour to do now, is to attempt to look at any given image without the prejudice of technical knowledge. I don't think its possible to achieve this view with 100% naivety, but I suspect if I am at least aware of the possible consequences of a view jaundiced by knowledge, then I can at least try and counter balance it by means of positive discrimination.  I hope that made some sense : - )  I think you summed it up perfectly with the phrase "The whole is greater than the sum of parts"   

Sincere Thanks for a most interesting and thoughtful critique Joe.

 

Best Regards 

 

Alf 

I haven't read all the comments in great detail, but I gather there are multiple opinions regarding the highlights.  While I have "drunk the Kool-Aid" and avoid blown highlights like my wife's meat loaf, I also recognize and find this image very "normal".  This is what I would be seeing if standing there with you and for that reason I like it.  Thanks for stretching our horizons a tad ;-)....  Mike 

What I liked and that which caught my attention immediately was the non-colorful section vs the bordering golden color. I really liked that contrast. I don't know if you did multiple bracketed images to try and tame the white sky and the equivalent reflection. Just my 2 cents on a lovely image.

 

PS I will contact you re the two nikon wide-angles we have discussed in the past. 

It can be a bit tedious trying to wade through a lot of comments, and sometimes I feel its worth the risk of repetition to ignore former comments altogether, as by doing so you are free of any undue influence. But yes, you are right there are different opinions, the general consensus being that the image has obvious flaws, and it also has some redeeming qualities. I too avoid the blow highlights like the plague, but you make a very valid point, if we are avoiding this brightness, are we in fact avoiding some semblance of reality?  We are I fear, conditioned to rules of our own making.

Sincere Thanks & Best Regards

 

Alf

 

TONY

As I recall, I didn't bracket any shots as such, but I did try a few different exposure levels manually.  This was one of the brightest, there were others much darker where I metered the light for the sky, but they seemed dull by comparison, and although blending did cross my mind, I started processing this one, and kind of got hooked on it. When I finished, it stayed on my desk top for weeks, untill it was relegated to the rejects file.  In the end I thought "ask the audience"  and the feedback as usual has been great.

Regarding the lenses, I would be only too pleased to provide any information I can Tony.

 

Many Thanks & Best Regards

 

Alf

 

xx maybe a bit brighter than my post.

Alf, I think the white of the sky and it's reflection in the water are exactly has right feel for the time of day looking toward the light. I quite like the foreground with the dark reeds against the white of the water, it adds a certain sharpness and contrast to the to softer more subdued trees and building of the landscape. The nice range of tones and limited color palette add a lot to the atmosphere and  help convey the time of day. 

so very Wordsworthian, Alf... i studied the romantics with a descendent of Wordsworth whose family tends the Grasmere estate; Jonathan's seminars quietly provoked passion and engagement and pleasantness; i sat closely next to him to absorb his character that was so much like his ancestor's poetry ... this picture renders the beauty and tranquility that was the poet's inspiration. you bring back all the lovely feelings associated with living romantically in the prolific profound Wordsworthian sense of sympathy for the common man. a very poetic rendition you give us here, Alf. many thanks; it's beautiful ;-} dp

A useful suggestion and a good crop. I like the B & W. I have other shots of this much the size of the suggested crop that I think would look good in the B & W also.

Many Thanks & Kind Regards

 

Alf

 

TONY

The same thing attracted me to the photograph, that play of light between the reeds, despite knowing it was technically wrong. Many thanks for your thoughts and comments, very much appreciated!

Best Regards

 

Alf

 

DONNA P

As you know, the beauty of the landscape and terrain of the Lake District has been inspirational to some literary giants, including Wordsworth, Tennyson and Beatrix Potter, but to name a few.  And I can fully appreciate why. The scenery is breathtaking, and weather is changeable and each season brings different colours and moods that capture the very soul of the unsuspecting visitor. So much so, that I feel the need to return as often as possible. My latest trip last Saturday was to Buttermere, and found me at the shores of the lake at 3.30am  Having left my house a midnight, determined not to miss the dawn light.  Alls I can say, it was worth losing sleep for.  I'm so very pleased that this one struck a chord with you Donna, and that it invoked those lovely feelings once again.

Sincere Thanks & Warm Regards

 

Alf

 

Hi Alf, Simply put, a great photograph of a great place. From the FG reeds to the shed and the grass alongside the shed, this image just exudes atmosphere. Really nice. Take care.

BR,

Holger