Fountains and Lions

All comments welcome!

Nice work ...the water shows a certain softness which is appealing. The Lion is nicely framed. Looks like London to me ?

Ronan thanks. You are right - it is London.

Colin,it is especially good capture of the water's freeze and angle, and the lion.It is nice as well the glimps of people behind them.

The square format works here, even in general I like the rectangle better. Pnina

Thanks Pnina. Yes I usually like a rectangular format. This was cropped from a vertical shot.

Hi Colin I like this one very much, good shot. But had some fun playing in ps with this one, in the B&W story I ended up with something else. Don't know if the result is adding something though cause your result is fine as it is. Just let me know and I will of course remove it.

Hans, that is interesting. The bit of this I was least keen on was the cyan colour of the water (from the tiles at the bottom of the fountain). I quite like the other colours. Your version has removed the blue which was something I played with too. hmm....

Excellent image. I really like what you did with the composition.

Good! Water and light with a roar. This works nice as a square format.

Very nice shot, really like the composition. (Only would try to wait for the boy not to grow out of the lion's head... :-) Jiri

Rachel, Jiri, thanks! Jiri - I like the boy playing on the lion as he adds scale to the shot. I have other shots without any figures in and I am not so pleased with them. :-) regards Colin

very nice image!!!!!!!

Original shot!!

Great composition, the people in the background make it seem like a real place. I spent 4 1/2 years in England back in the seventys. Sondra

the effect on water is superb.

nevertheless, i think we have too much of the fountain, and i would have cropped left.

still a very nice one, anyway.

Sondra, thanks, I appreciate your stopping by and I hope your memories of England are good ones!

 

behel, I tried cropping as you suggest but I preferred it this way as I thought the masses of light and dark balanced better. How much would you crop?

The power of the water matches the power of the lion. I prefer Hans' colour. It enhances the strength of both whereas the blue-turcoise softens the image. I would remove the area without/less water but I prefer to stick to square format

I really like this one. There is a nice soft feel to the water and I like the golden tones. I seem to like square crops too. Great work!

I'm torn on this one. I like the blue water and the rust colored fountain, but I find the color of the people behind the spray distracting. I wonder how a combination of effects would work - take Hans' version, but let the water color come through somewhat, leaving the people in monotone?

Thanks manolis, Ken and Kim. There seems to be a bit of a majority vote appearing (very topical!). for changing some of the colours. I'll have a go at it tomorrow.

colin, please note i'm really not sure about the validity of what i suggest.

in your shot, i have difficulties knowing what i have to focus on.

also, the big shadowy basement of the fountain is an obstacle to my eyes.

plus, i think all the comments on the people being an annoyance (and definitely, i think they're not) could be "reversed" if you would decide to use them, and to focus on them strong.

hence, the cropping.

the group of people is rejected to the left, placing them in a stronger position than when they were centered.

now we still have a nice water effect, but we can focus easier on the relationships between the people behind.

we have a strong triangle that goes from the man standing in the group to the girl below him, then to the boy up there, and back to the man in the group.

see how this relationship is nicely framed by the angle of the fountain, as you gently follow down the cascade from the man up there to the girl down.

after what, the position of her head definitly makes you think that she could be looking at the boy.

that we have to look through the water curtain to see this is very strong, tmo.

now there is something more to those people than being just a group of annoying tourists.

take it as it is, colin, just a few thoughts, as absurd as they may be.

In principle, I like your idea of uprgading a detail to a main subject. But in this case we would need, I think, more space between the fountain and the lion. Also, the undefinable blue form above their heads should be cloned out (very difficult for my skill, given the complexity of the water). This is less distracting in Hans' version.

Looks like I'm late to the party... let's see... Hans version, I think( how predictable!), although it makes the people harder to see. I like the people in this shot, for the scale, yes, but also for other reasons, like the humour of the majestic lion being crawled over by a bunch of snotty nosed kids! The sculpter must be turning in his grave...

Very well composed and with a perfect time of exposure.

Thanks behel, Manolis, Stephen and Henri. There was a strong element of chance in this shot as I took it using a ten second self timer with the wind blowing the water from the fountain in different directions. Stephen, I too like the humour of the boy climbing on the lion. The sculpture is the original 'Monarch of the Glen' man - Edwin Landseer.