World War II Memorial (05)

I sat on this one for awhile, contemplating if I ought to post it. I'm still a bit undecided as to its merits vs. detractors. What are your thoughts?

Any comments or ratings are appreciated!! :-)

A glimpse at the thumbnail told me that this one was special, Lou Ann, and it is. First of all, you have that magic formula of artificial lights coming on before deep dusk, and then you have the fact that those lights are displayed as a row of vertical "pillars," as it were. Add in the reflections in the water, the trees, and the sky in the distance, and I think that you have a truly special photo.

 

I hope that you will keep shooting at this time of day, when the lights are starting to come on. I am going to have to make a serious effort to do that myself.

 

War memorials are special to begin with, and you have captured this one in a special and reverential mood. I really like it.

 

--Lannie

Glad you decided to post this one... it's excellent for all the reasons Landrum stated. Good shot... Mike

 

A bit off the horizontal line but a real beauty of a shot. The lighting and the time of day really make the shot. Nice.

Thanks, guys. Shawn - how is it off the horizontal - do you mean that it's tilted? I always have trouble seeing it when there's a diagonal (the thing under the pillars is on a decline....) I used the wreaths to check to see if the shot was straight....

This is strictly an opinion. I would suggest playing with the crop of this picture. Specifically the two lamps on the left and the building in the backgroud. This is probably just a matter of taste, but to me they are distracting. I tighter crop that eliminates them risks making the picture less interesting, but could bring even more focus onto the memorial, which is what this picture is about. Regardless, it is a very nicely presented final result. Compliments.

Jim - thanks for your visit and your gracious comment. I agree absolutely about the lights. I worked with them a bit. Thought about cloning them out ... but then there's their reflections to deal with as well. Then I tried the suggested crop - but I like to keep my crop ratio to 2x3, and didn't like what cropping the lights out did to the trees at the top. I'll keep playing with it. The building is a different story. That's actually a federal building - part of the "landscape" of that part of DC ... I tend to think that taking it out would give the pic a more "rural" look ... and "rural" it's not. In fact, I DID clone out the traffic light that was brightly shining green in the middle of the right edge of the image. There's actually a very busy road between that building and this memorial area.....

Another nice shot Lou Ann. The subject draws me in and takes me around the entire photo. The reflection helps to create depth I think. Well done.

I will admit that I was mistaken on my comment about the horizontal, because I now see that the image is receding into the distance from right to left which would make the horizontal line go up from right to left. My error and you have my humble apologies! Roses and Candy will be sent once you email me your address.

No worries, Shawn - although I am certainly not going to turn down the roses or candy. :-)

I can't believe you were indecisive on posting this one - the lighting is outstanding! It's nicely balanced and very pleasing to view. Good job!

Thanks, Kim & Ed. :-) Yeah, indecisive because I spent so much time playing with different iterations of it ... I probably looked at it too much in too many different ways. (sigh...) Thanks for your visit!

you catched the reflection very well Lou...nice reflection..good colours and composition..good lighting..warm regards ..NEZIF

Beautiful reflection shot, nicely composed.

Even the thumbnail version caught my eye on this shot. This is all aglow, and the clarity is remarkable. I wouldn't change a thing about it. I haven't been to D.C. since this was built.....I'd love to take my dad there to see it, but I'm not sure he would be able to make such a long trip. I'll send him this picture, which I'm sure he'll enjoy. Thanks for submitting this, Lou Ann.

Hi Lou Ann,

 

Nice composition, reflection, and colors. ^_^