Sorrow

Any comments, critiques, advice or ratings are welcome. Thank you.

Wonderful and well made, Linda. A fine, moody, moving image. (Odd, I know, but every time I see that you've taken a shot in Kamloops, I think of the "Grey Fox" with Richard Farnsworth. I've always wanted to go there.) Warm regards...

I quite like this shot, although it feels mistitled to me. Without the flying bird I might feel a sense of gloom or sorrow with these kinds of wintry colors. There's something about flight, though, that gives me a sense of freedom and hope of escape from the darkness and despair of the cold winter.

Joe, you have an amazing memory. Billy Minor is a folk hero around here, but I think most Kamloopsians have forgotten about the Grey Fox. If you want to see what this area looks like you should rent "An Unfinished Life" with Robert Redford. It was filmed in and around Kamloops. Thanks for commenting. All the best.

 

Kent, when I see crows or ravens I think of a verse my mother repeated when I was a child, "One crow sorrow, two crows joy, three crows a letter..." We have abundant bird life here, eagles, hawks, owls, geese, crows and ravens galore. This one is a raven, but I was thinking of "one crow sorrow". This landscape is the black charred remains of a beautiful forest, destroyed by fire. The trees that are left, all the gorgeous Ponderosa Pine, are now being destroyed by Pine Beetle, thanks to global warming. It always makes me very sad when I look at it. Thanks for commenting.

 

 

 

 

Very well done Linda, exposure, proportions and composition. Love the textures in the sky and the timing in placing the raven where it is in the image. Leaves me with a sad feeling that, post fire, he's the last thing alive there.

 

regards,

 

jim

Estupendo contraluz.con unas magnificas siluetas,y excelentes tonos,asi como una sensacional atmosfera captada.7/7.Anon.

 

Un cordial saludo -Tolo.

Peaceful scenery, but the visual mood was confusing... almost sad, almost mystical, almost scary. The text solved my dilemma. Sorrow.

 

Most successful capture. Well done!

I follow your explanation of the caption ... but agree with Kent nonetheless. I saw the thumbnail and even when I first saw the full sized image I felt happy: a new day beginning or a pleasant day ending in a pretty dusk ... a bird settling in for whatever his next task will be. It struck me as very peaceful and serene. Your caption made me look twice and I had to completely rethink my thinking. Then I read Kent's comment. :-) Hmmmmm.....

Perfectly presented dramatic mood Linda with impact.

The sky tonality enhance the impression. Congrats.

 

Linda, I saw and liked "An Unfinished Life" but didn't realize it was made in Kamloops. (If I did note the credit, I've forgotten.) But in "The Grey Fox," Kamloops is really a part of the film, almost a character, and is mentioned repeatedly. I like this shot better every time I look at it. Warm regards, Joe

Linda, I join Kent and Lou Ann here, the bird as seen here does not has a brand( like a raven or crow) it looks a bird flying in the starting light, behind the hill, clearing sky, and symbolising renewal and freedom after the long darker snowi winter.... it is your association of the scene ,with the "load" you bring from your childhood memories( interesting), but we are bringing ours and therefor have another association looking at it....very nice composition.

It's stark. The silhouetted raven is graceful but flying off, leaving frozen barrenness.

A wonderful scene. The light is fantastic.

 

Jim, thank you, glad to hear you like it. It must be sad for birds and animals to see so much of their world destroyed, and not being able to understand what happened.

 

Tolo, thanks for visiting, and thanks for the rating!!

 

 

Antoni, thank you. I have taken many photos of this post fire landscape. It looks much bleaker in the winter. In spring, summer, fall you can see new life is reclaiming the earth.

 

 

Lou Ann, I don't think that there is a right or wrong way to view a photograph. You see what you see. I am glad that it makes you feel happy, and you see peace and serenity. That says something about you. Thank you for your thoughts, I always appreciate hearing from you.

 

 

Karolos,thank you so much, I appreciate that.

 

 

Joe, there was quite a commotion when they were filming. We aren't used to celebrity sitings. Thanks.

 

 

Pnina, I'm glad you like this one and see it in a positive light. This post fire scenery is very interesting, and to my eyes, haunting. But, you are right, there is hope, signs of renewal that aren't so evident in the winter when it is all black and white.

 

Donna, thank you, I appreciate hearing from you. It is a very stark landscape,

all you can see is the black, charred skeletons of trees against the snow.

 

Marc, Thanks for commenting. You are very kind.

 

Warm regards to you all. Thank you again for your thoughts.

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Linda! This is such a great photo! I love the way the light is on the sky

and the silhouette of the bird... wonderful composition and mood. Love it!!

 

Great composition Linda ,I like it.

Very nice photo.

 

Good exposure throughout, too much contrast in the forground would have destoryed the mood. Thanks for sharing.

Very beautiful composition. I also feel the sorrow. I did not know those verses "One crow sorrow, two crows joy, three crows a letter...", but I know those of Edgar Allan Poe in the poem "The Raven" which is full of sorrow : "The raven said : "Never more".

Andrea, thanks for commenting.

 

Alina, thank you!

 

Clayton, thanks for commenting, glad you like it.

 

Henri, It's good to hear from you. This is a counting rhyme that I remember from my childhood. There are many different versions. This is the one I learned.

 

One crow sorrow,

 

Two crows joy,

 

Three crows a letter,

 

Four crows a boy,

 

Five crows silver,

 

Six crows gold,

 

Seven crows a story

 

never to be told.

 

It apparently came from Crow Augury. I found this explanination below on several web-sites without the author's name.

 

"The practice of Augury has been around for centuries. It is about predicting the future by counting the number of crows present at significant times, Sometimes the direction of their flight is significant, or the time of day at which they are seen. Complex rules have been drawn up by some augurist, while simple rhymes are used by others.

 

The basic rhyme, which goes something like "One for Sorrow, Two for Joy.." has been a popular children's chant off and on through the years. It has recently been made popular again by the band Counting Crows, which has put the rhyme to music.

 

Crow augury may have started off as Magpie augury. The oldest ryhmes, including at least one dating to the 1600's, deal with counting magpies rather than crows.

 

The magpie rhyme seems to have been left on European shores, though. In North America, most people who know the rhyme use it in reference to crows."

- anonymous

 

This is probably much more than you wanted to hear. Thanks for commenting, all the best.

 

 

 

 

Lovely rendition, Linda. Crisp tonal range, great shadow detail, and the bird, of course, the icing.

Thanks for commenting Emmanuel, I'm glad you like it. Warm regards.

OK..well it seems that the artistic values of the image have been "talked" over, so let me just add, my vote is rebirth, joy, etc. This is really beautiful and moody. Very nice work Linda! Regards...LJ

Linda, I really love the mood here especially with the lustrous feeling.

compliments !

Kept seeing this image and had to re-rate it.