A Leaf in the Stream

This looks like it's drenched in mercury. The more I look, the odder and more interesting it gets. (Usually odd and interesting go hand in hand for me). A different treatment of fall.

Gord, it looks like an engraving! the form, texture, light and shadows, and the B/W rendition is impressive. The BG leaves, especially the lower part, are soft, a bit blurry, like a far away "history" of being green and vivid...and are posing in their flatness a kind of a bedding to the accentuated dying leave.

Interesting as well is that the main interest, the leaf, is on the upper part of the frame, was it your initial aim?

 

This it a very unique rendition Gord!

Jeff;

 

That liquid mercury was what I was going for glad it came through.

 

Pnina;

 

The composition is quite close to full frame so yes the placement of the leaf, although not standard, was intentional. This is one of several shots taken of a small seasonal stream that flows in my forest. I was experimenting with motion blur as I often do. Instead of the classic approach to a running stream with slow shutter I set up the tripod in the stream and used a macro lens to get in close. The "a bit blurry " you refer to, is the effect of the moving water over the leaves sitting on the bottom. The water running around the leaf on the surface also created some blur. My aim was to try to capture motion and stillness in the same frame. I used a polarising filter to control the amount of reflection and allow a view on either side of the water surface.

That is wild looking, like its stuck in some kind of toxic goo. I know its water because you say so but the impression is not that of water. Excellent shot of leaves that in B&W don't really look like leaves.

 

Kirk

Shot with a slow shutter speed and using a polarising filter to try to

juxtapose motion and stillness as well as the view below and above the

water surface. I would appreciate any of your thoughts and comments.

Thanks

I would have thought this impossible to do with a camera. Now I know better. Cheers -

An intriguing technique and wonderful result. Some of the leaves look fossilized in tar, others look almost crisply preserved as though in a jar. The water's surface tension adds motion, definition, and yet another texture. A very fine image. Bravo! Regards, Joe

 

 

If i would ever capture something like this, i would throw my camera in to the lake, cause i wouldnt need it anymore... and i wasnt even jokeing. Perfect picture in every sense.

Best regards Tero.

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....

 

 

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....

 

 

Wow.

Gord: I came back for another look and realized you'd posted this for rating. I have no idea how to numerically rate an image of such rare quality, so I'll just max it out. 7/7. Regards, Joe

I have this camera and this lens, but LOL I don't think I could ever get a shot like this out of it. You're simply a master. I need to go look at your other posts! The tonal values in this shot are just beyond belief for digital. Comes as close to a silver print as anything I've seen. My imagination runs away with me on these kinds of shots, and I could swear I see a frog in there. :o) (and thanks for that GREAT comment on Fall Migration - very much appreciated).

I think Jeff summed it up...that "mercury" look is simply terrific. I like how you managed to keep the reflections on the leaf out of the water while still showing those under the water. That metal effect is really nice.

Well, this is something no one's going to replicate by accident! I agree about the mercury look, but it also looks a lot like water and I like that (I'm not a great fan of the slow-shutter flow effect.)

 

To my eye, one of the most interesting elements is the way the ripples extend, echo and make fluid the highlighted lines of the leaf. I also like the subtle, dappled patterns of leaf at the bottom (of the stream and of the image.)

 

It's a very complex and nuanced composition, bordering on a subdued busyness, and made some somewhat less accessible in portrait format which prevents its being seen in its entirety on the web. It could be simplified (without, I think, doing too much damage to its essence by cropping if you chose to do so. To be fully appreciated in its present form would require a large print, a glass of wine and an evening without distractions (which--individually, and much more, collectively) seem rather out of reach.

 

 

 

 

I vote for the latter: glass of wine, large print SIGNED by the artist....

Interesting...what did it look like in color. The texture of the leaf falling in the water seems almost metalic.

Thanks for the explanation, I don't rate anymore, I just like it very much!

WOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOWWOW - I like it....Terrifically immensely.

 

Pete

Thanks to everyone for some many careful and studied responses. I find this very helpful at all times but even more so when trying something new. To know that some part of what I put into this image is coming through to you all lets me know I may be onto something. I also love having the chance to read responses that would not have occurred to me this all goes towards broadening my knowledge and I am grateful to you all for that opportunity.

 

Regards Gord

Gordon, you always surprise and amaze me with your ideas, and with the depth of thought you put into making each picture. You've consciously factored in so many elements that are each crucial to this being what it is. Your mastery is breathtaking and inspiring, and I am learning so much from looking at and reading about how you **make** pictures. Regards, David

Thanks for the kind words. This one was a bit of a milestone for me, an inkling that I may be getting back toward what I used to feel possible when I worked in a darkroom. I still find today, after all these years, that photography continues to surprise me as well. I think that this is one of the great joys of this pastime. You can study and learn and experiment endlessly and tomorrow will dawn with a whole new set of ideas and possibilities!! I cannot imagine anything grander than limitless horizons.

An engraving that conveys sense of movement, too. Exccelent rendering, precious like a jewel.

Gordon...I have to say your work stays pretty constant in it's success at being very artistic. Many of your photographs look like paintings...detailed works of art. I like this one for your attention to form and the careful and dedicated work that went into it. I would honestly print this on a large scale canvas and hang it in my ultra modern living room.

Thanks for your comment. I'm glad you like this and I agree that in B&W this does end up with the look of an engraving.

Thanks for stopping by. I am glad that some of the effort I put in to these images shows up in the results. I am honoured that you would hang this. I think your work is wonderful and most definitely I can see in your work all the effort and attention to detail that you always apply. BTW I love your apple as cosmic black hole it is brilliant!!

Personally I've always thought about some pictures being so appealing because they tell a known story in a different way, sometimes even giving new meaning to them, sort of multidimensional, if you will; that being said, this "mercury" like, liquid transparency is that. Congratulations on a wonderful job!