Sunset at the Torrance Barrens

I know, I know. Sunsets are a dime a dozen. Three for a buck if

they're really good but dang, they do draw you in if there's

interesting patterns & colours. In my experience they nearly always

disappoint but, for me at least, this one gives some satisfaction.

Taken on a recent field trip to the conservation area Torrance

Barrens with fellow PN member Greg McCracken. If you can tell me

what I could have done differently for a superior result, I'm all

ears. Your comments are highly valued, your ratings much less so.

Best, LM.

Well, I have not much experience with sunsets. Certainly not with their coming ups. I'm a nightbird so... But I like your shot very much. It has a great DOF and very beautiful colours. As well the sky is wunderful aswell its reflection in the water.The black coloured shore plants makes this shot extra impressive by the contrast it gives against the further soft colours. (I'm sorry for my bad English but I do hope you will understand what I meant to say)Best Regards, Ada. 6/6

Len, you are right, Tones of sunsets here( mine as well......)But I like the angle between sky and earth of your image, going from left to right of the frame.Pleasant colors as well. Pnina

Thank you both for taking the time to both view and comment on this shot. Even with the anticipation of disappointment, sunsets are hard to resist. Somehow the printed image just can't match what we see through the viewfinder at the time. But we keep on trying as they are one of the wonders of life. Best, LM.

Len,

The composition is interesting and well designed to keep the eyes' attention.

 

I'm some what craving for more colors when it comes to sunset and I think it can be adjusted in software. Since the vegetations are already silhouetted, there's no harm in lowering the LEVELs to increase colors and contrast. I also filtered it to take out some grains.

 

Here's an adjusted copy which I personally feel that it may enhance the gist of what you were intending to capture.

 

I can only guess because I was not there with you.

Arthur, You in cahoots with Greg McCracken? He loves his shots super saturated (my interpretation). I have to admit your version catches the eye, perhaps elevating this to the lofty category of 'three for a buck':) It appears there is lots of leaway here. I seem to remember it somewhere between my offering and yours. Of course, I've been known (ie: caught) to embellish a story or scene description. Thanks for taking the time & effort to work this one a bit. I do think about what's suggested & sometimes even accept it fully or at least in part. I have another, taken a little later, where the sky is a deeper blue & was disappointed that this one didn't exhibit the same saturation level. Best, LM.

In my opinion it merrits more than a 4.73 in aesthetic (I give 6). I believe I know why it has not obtain more. When you see the Arthur's suggestion, you think that numerous members would give it 6 or 7. But yet, often the sunset colours are not so saturated in real, and as for me I love the pastel colours of your own version. As for the composition, it is excellent. Simple and excellent.

Henri, Thanks for your thoughtful critique & generous rating. My personal preferece is for more natural looking scenics unaided by excessive saturation. I do keep an open mind about such things & have to admit that Arthur's rendition is great in it's direction though, perhaps a little too far in it's distance. PN ratings appear to favour the highly saturated offerings over the more natural, less visually stimulating ones. In the end all one can do is test the ideas that pour in & make a personal decision on which to accept and which to reject! Come again, anytime! Best, LM.

I like the original colors with maybe just a touch more color. The leafless stems intruding into the sky are a little distracting, I might clone them out. I like the wide angle, the sky, reflection, and silhouette of the foreground trees against the water work well to make this more than just another sunset... Nice photograph!

Becky, I agree, a little more saturation could be beneficial, depending on your tastes. As for cloning out the bare trees protruding into the sky area I must respectfully disagree. They were part of the landscape and if they distract perhaps it's my compositional skills that are suspect but I won't clone them out if I decide to print this one. Had it been an originally undetected beer bottle or fast food wraper in the foreground, I would be of the opposite opinion. Cloning does have it's place. The expanse of sky and it's reflections is what prompted me to take this one. In the viewfinder the scene looked like a masterpiece. Strange, how that look is modified through the printing or projection process:) Many thanks for your input. Best, LM.

I like that you would not clone the bare tree ;) Well said... Thank you for the critique of my photo, it is much appreciated!

Len, you've caught a special moment in this image. Congrat's. The Barrens are quite an extraordinary piece of Ontario scenery. They should be explored more by naturalists and astronomers alike. Cheers.

Malcolm, Thanks for popping in. As we were leaving, and after the rattlesnake encounter, we witnessed many people with binoculars, scopes, etc. who were placing sleeping bags and air mattresses on the rocks waiting for darkness so they could view the heavens in this 'dark sky' area. Don't know how successful they were that night as the clouds you see here were incoming & we were outgoing :). Best, LM.

Hi Len, This looks great! It really captures the feelig of a northern lake. If the dead spruce tops were missing, I wouldn't like it as much. It wouldn't have the characteristics that help me identify what type of forest surrounds the lake. I think this is a lovely slide and looked great on the proof. When it came to print a large format print of it, I would probably aim for a bit more saturation, but you know me. Knowing how well this would blow up, makes me wish I had a Bronica, a truckload of Fuji Velvia, and a Singh-Ray colour intensifing polarizer.

Greg, " a truckload of Velvia and an INTENSIFYING filter" ? Well, doesn't that speak volumes to your bias? :) Hog Heaven! Best, LM.

Len, great pic, they may be a dime a dozen but I still like em. But since you ask for comments, if I were to pick something to improve, it would be the colour and the location where you were standing. As someone else suggested, the colours could be a bit more saturated, perhaps shooting a stop or so darker would get the right effect (keep in mind though that I'm in a lousy position to judge as I'm viewing this on a crummy LCD monitor at work). I don't know about the area where you were shooting, but I think I would have tried to go further to the right of the image and tried to shoot more directly across the lake. My $0.02 (that's a canadian 2 cents too, more valuable than it was a couple years ago).

 

Cheers,

 

Chris

Chris, Welcome aboard! Your observations are valid. Of course, today we can easily adjust the saturation to our individual tastes in PS so that issue is resolved. The viewpoint or camera position is not so easily remedied. I was on a hill, so that a move to the right also meant a lower viewpoint resulting in a narrowing of the left section of water and it's reflections. By the time I reached the limit of my rightward movement the foreground land mass would have overlapped the distant shore & thus NO reflection would be available. It was the best compromise I could come up with at the time. I do appreciate your input though. Best, LM.

Ok, this shot has been up over a month ......... I know <1st hand> that with age comes difficulty finding the scanner - on/off - button .......... but try - please - we love you Elsie .

Ken, Quota? Suddenly we've got quota? Didn't know that! Must be similar to the hotly denied quota of speeding tickets that police hand out. I've been waiting 'till all my fall foliage shots were in but will post a summer shot in the meantime. Go see! Thanks for your concern and gentle prodding. Always good to hear from you. Best, LM.

If I'm not mistaken, Len, isn't Torrance Barrens a dark skies reserve? I would love to experience being able to see countless stars and our own milkyway with the naked eye. I hope you stayed after sunset to stargaze!

Michael, The Torrance Barrens is indeed designated as a dark sky reserve. The clouds you see here were incoming and would have covered the sky anyway but, after the encounter with the rattlesnake, laying on the ground looking up at the sky wouldn't have been very relaxing:) Just couldn't get into it. Thanks for stopping by. Best, LM.

I figured YOUR sunset would have plenty of sky in it!

 

Compositionally, I cannot think of one thing to suggest differently from what we see here. The placement of the sun to the left balances the wide open, opposite side of the image well. As for colors and perhaps even tones/contrast etc., I believe THAT decision is solely up to you. Personally if this were my image, I'd do a little more tweaking, especially with the tones to bring out a little more richness to this. Let me tell you why. Never ever has a scan turned out as nice as the original transparancy looked. Since you are shooting digital here with no scanning, only you can tell us how this compares to what you saw that day. Now, IF you were in this from a standpoint of making a living rather than as a hobby, you might take a bit of a different approach here. Arthurs version is a bit too saturated in my opinion (though still very good). But side by side, I believe his version would sell better than your original Len. Thats simply the way it is. From a photographers solely, or purist point of view, I believe what you have posted here works as well as can be expected. As an artist however, there is much more you could do with this if you so desired. In the end, it's a nice problem to have. And it all starts with having a very nice original which you obviously have right here!

Vincent, Thanks & yes, I try to practice what I preach. I gave the sky area precedence because that is where the interesting patterns were. I agree that a little more saturation is probably called for, especially in this PN environment where saturation seems to be King. I also agree that if I were trying to sell my stuff as you do that a LOT more saturation would be called for. Since I do this for a hobby only, I can afford to walk the trail I choose to and exercise artistic licence till I'm blue in the face. In a way you and other PN members are my 'clients' and to gain your approval I still have to modify my work to meet your standards (which, the wisdom of the masses usually being right, is quite often different from my own - thus, I learn & hopefully advance). I truly do appreciate the advice of everyone who has commented on this one and hopefully I'll retain a bit of their collective wisdom in future shoots and submissions. Your advice, as one who walks the walk for a living, is especially appreciated for the school-of-hard-knocks expertise you bring to this forum. I know that the realities of the retail world cause you to meet it's demands or cause you to sink. Those of us who do this soley for fun can afford a little more freedom. Best, LM.