Foxtrot

Love the horizontal layers and the tree in this image. Well done.

Great! I had been waiting quite a while for this to finally show up in your portfolio -- ever since I had seen it in a "No Words" posting. I was thinking of sending you an email to urge you to post it.

 

I absolutely love the orange/grey/black colour scheme. Along with the vignette, there is a certain warmth and elegance to the over presentation and yet the scene is so startlingly desolate. That juxtaposition is carried throughout the other elements of the image. For example, the footprints leading into the scene make for a strong compositional element but they also add a 'habitated' tone to an abandoned landscape.

 

Really strong image Gordon. This is one I would happily hang as a print for long term study and reflection.

Early morning fog rolling in off of the lake during a brief Jan. thaw.

Thanks for viewing and offering any feedback.

Thanks for the comment. The bands in the lake ice were a part of the appeal of this for me as well.

Thanks for the comment your analysis is always appreciated. I had a lot of shots from this same hike on a foggy morning and still have a few others that hold promise that I''m working on. I struggled to get the snow to come out the way I want. The orange is from all the tannins in this small lake bleeding up through the ice.

 

"there is a certain warmth and elegance to the over presentation"

 

Ian, I have to admit to being uncertain of what the term ' over presentation' means in this sentence.

 

I am thrilled that you like this so much. I think we both share a certain affinity for these quite solitary scenes out in the woods.

This is a work of fine art! Superb layered composition, with wonderful contrasts. Like Ian, I love the touch of vignetting in this too, focuses the eye. Well done, my friend! Cheers! Chris

I love the solitariness. The white ain't white (thank God). The more I look, the more I see subtle shades of blues and yellows and oranges. It's as if in the bleakness, my eye has to boost to find the embedded color. I like the tracks, which anchor foreground to distance.

Sorry -- typo -- overALL presentation.

 

Oh, and I had just assumed it was sand mixed with the snow. For some reason, I like the knowing that it is the water leaching its tannin-colour up into/through the ice.

Thanks for the clarification. I took some other shots the same day of a small creek that runs out of my bog and into this lake and the water looks like steeped Tea.

This is really beautiful Gordon! The foreground is so well-defined but everything else is soft. The far side of the lake blends in with the banded stain in the ice--we don't need no stinkin' horizon.

Subtle and lovely -- an enchanted and enchanting scene.

Wonderful shot and really well presented. I feel I am at the edge here, looking at the last tree standing. Really well done.

You probably broke all the rules. Good for you! It's brilliant, Gordon.

 

And I thought it was cold here today. Ha!

This is a ham of a tree. Standing in the spotlight, all attention on him in the midst of his lesser brethren; the shrubs and brush. He is caught up in the misty corners in the background of his mind. The tracks are from someone who was attracted at first impression but was deterred by his lofty ideals of self-importance as they got closer.

 

Hey, gimmie a break, don't laugh to much or rather, laugh as much as you want. I just had a couple shots of Petron Tequilla.

 

Nice shot Gordon, really beautiful.

 

Kirk

 

Chris;

 

Thanks for the kind words. The way this broke down into distinct layers also caught my eye.

 

Jeff;

 

This is indeed a solitary place in the winter. there were a couple of squabbling ravens and myself and that was it. The snow has been challenging my limited PS talents but I am getting the hang of it.

 

Dave;

 

There is a horizon in there it just a little murky. I love fog and it is pretty hard to come by in January.

 

Joe;

 

Glad you found this enchanting I have always liked that word.

 

Shayne;

 

Nice to hear from you. This is on the edge sort of... well it's on the edge of a tiny lake:) I do know what you mean though, that disappearing into nothingness feel is why I love the fog.

 

Alberta;

 

I can still recall the rules on good days, but for the most part I just go with what looks right to my eye and hang the rules. This was actually a warm day several degrees above freezing. Not so today, the high was - 16 C. even the dogs were looking a bit cold and they live for these winter days.

 

 

Kirk;

 

I'm going to go with " laugh as much as you want" I did get a kick out of your story. Enjoy the Tequila, there are few thing finer than a shot of good tequila.

BTW the tracks left by someone who was put off by my snooty little larch tree, was Mr. Red Fox, the four legged variety that is. They always put one foot in front of the other in a straight line like that, when they are trotting.

 

Gordon, this is a great capture. I'm still stunned that there is a lake in there somewhere, but I love the tones it makes to contrast with the other parts of the landscape. I have been staring at it for awhile now, and I still see parts to interest me. Regards, liz

The simplicity is often the best way to convey sensations. Winter, solitude, open spaces merge into relaxed image. Congratulations. Vicente.

Liz;

 

Behind the small tree and before the band of grey lies a small frozen lake. The fog obscures much of the detail which is part of the charm of fog for me.

 

Vincente;

 

I agree with you that sometime more can be said with less.

I find this image quite unique and rare. Great perspective and to me, a lot of symbolism. I am amazed by the monotone, yet richness of nuances. Why Foxtrot and where is this taken?

Solitary but not sad, isolated but not alone.

 

The tree has its little friends and the coldness has its warmth in the midground brown streaks.

 

Aside from the feelings it gives me, it is simply beautiful to look at.

 

Great texture in the snow and I like the way you worked with a centered subject but asymmetrical supporting elements to create a very thoughtful composition.

Gordon, I love it. The footprints are the coup de grace. But...forgive my presumptuousness, but I would love to see the tree a little off centered and less foreground. I know! I know! Presumptuous. Even so, this is a "breath stealer."

Thanks for your kind comment. The title comes from the fact that the footprints in the snow are those of a fox heading out onto the ice. This was taken on a snowshoe walk back into the woods behind my house. You are looking at the shore of a small lake. You can just make out the far shore through the fog as a darker grey strip behind the lake.

 

I am curious about the symbolism you find in this image and would love to hear your thought on the subject.

 

Regards

Gord

 

 

It has a beautiful mood. If it will move a bit to the L Side the foot prints will be " walking" into the frame....;-)),otherwise a delicate, and despite the winter mood a warm image.

I like your choice of words to pair, solitary - sad, isolated - alone. I can see that to some people the one would follow the other but I agree that they do not always do so. In fact I am often happiest when solitary and likewise often most lonely when in a crowd.

Thanks for your comment. Please do not ever feel yourself to be presumptuous for having ideas on my work. I embrace all suggestions, that is why I continue to post images at PN.

 

Lately I have found myself both favouring a square format for cropping and centring my subject during the shoot.

I have notice this but not fully thought threw my motivations. When I am working on a photo I tend to move around the crop firstly with the notion of what feels right, in other words what makes the image feel balanced and in sync with my original feelings when I pressed the shutter. It is secondarily that I begin to consider the rules of proper composition, rule of thirds etc. In this case the image is to my eye divided into three separated bands of subject and tone. The snow, the lake and the sky. The width of the lake band is set and that is not changeable. I had the sky and snow to play with a bit. I generally dislike symmetry so I did not want even bands of snow and sky with the lake sandwiched in between. I lowered the camera down to capture the foreground elements of the fox tracks and the small bushes and this reduced the sky to something close to a third of the frame. I wanted the fox stepping into the frame off centre while trying to keep a balance between the small tree and the bushes. In the end these considerations left the tree very close to the middle. The only way to alter that and still get what I wanted would be to move away from the square crop. Since I like the square crop this is what I have ended up with.Your comment has given me cause to make a mental note to revisit this one later on, when I have gotten over this square crop notion and see how it holds up then.