Flyfishing the Hiwassee

Excellent composition dearJohn...and thank you so much for raitng...best regards...

Very good composition.Colors,reflaction and light very impressive.

thanks for viewing and commenting!

Splendid location,you caught so well this reflection here,regards Radu.

Very nice, too bad the limb hanging down on the left isn't in focus.

My thanks and best regards to all who have commented! As for the out of focus limb...I first considered cropping , but i felt the limb (with it's reflection) added so much to the framing/composition...that I decided to leave it. Honestly, a better photographer might not have had this problem...but it was me, doing my best at the time. Thanks for the constructive criticism...as I can use all I can get!

What I like about this picture is that you truly show how relaxing it is to go and fish... I have never gone fishing but that looks fun.

 

I like the the color of the water, the light coming it near the rocks. Good job.

I think you make a point that the rest of us missed. The pure enjoyment of fishing. This is a popular stream for trout fishing and scenary is spectacular. This shot was taken in early spring...before the onslaught of tourists pour in. I was driving by and happened to see the fisherman through the trees. I recall thinking that in this case...I would have gladly swapped places with this gentleman. While I was tramping through the woods, untangling vines from around my tripod...and swatting bugs...this quy was enjoying as relaxing an afternoon as I could imagine. He reminded me of how I need to slow down my life...and just enjoy it!

 

Good to hear from you...and thanks!

Have never fished in my life but the tranquility of this scene which charms me. And in that the out-of-focus limb plays a small but perhaps vital role. Its impudent wayward path across the canvas from bottom to top is visually pleasing, in no way offends. It sort of breaks-up the monotony of the duller, more uniform, green on this side; and if you look at this limb, the boughs visible on the other side, and their reflection in the water, they seem to form a congenial natural frame for the section of the scene with the brighter areas. These boughs form an agreeable visual path leading to the fisherman. I love this image...

out of this world colors...they reminds me of a day when I was shooting some photos in a mountain forest (on film ) and after i put them on paper i was amazed by the green yellow color of the trees,impossible to get with any filters or software..great composition and a fine photo sir.

You capture a beautiful image along with great colors, great work!

Rajat - thank you for a thoughtful critique. I agree with your comments...which were better said than I could have said. Glad you liked it!

 

Gabriel - when nature gives you these type of incredible colors, as you said...impossible to duplicate with the human hand. Of course...a photograph never substitutes for actually seeing such scenes in person, but I was pleased with how this one turned out. Thanks you for your kind words!

 

Felix - Thank you for visiting and glad you enjoyed the picture!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great colors!

You capture a beautiful image along with great colors, great work!

 

This is pulchritudinous. Probably the most elegant and beautiful stream photograph I've ever see. Congrats!

pulchritudinous. i had to look the word up in the dictionary (you have to realize that i'm a country boy from Tennessee ;)...but once i found out the meaning i was flattered and relieved! what the photo doesn't tell is that the fisherman was startled senseless when he turned to find me aiming a camera at him. i'm sure he was lost in this own world at the time...and who could blame him! This was taken near Reliance, Tennessee on the Hiwassee River...in case anyone wants to Google it. thanks for you comments...glad you liked the pic!

Nice shot!

thank you Dr.Didi !!!

This Picture is Beautiful. The composition is wonderful as well. Thank you for your comments and help. Kaila

John... I was perusing your recent work and came upon this one. First, I can't believe I've missed it up to now and secondly, even though I don't know any of those big ol' words, this is downright excellent. The serenity just exudes from this scene... well done.

 

A Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year to you and your family.... Mike

 

 

Hi Michael! It's been kind of incredible how large the market has been for me with this photo. Never realized there were so many fly fishermen in the area! This is truly a beautiful area. Ever visited the Hiwassee River? If not...you'll have to visit sometime soon. This isn't far from the Ocoee River where the kayaking events were held during the Atlanata Olympics. You've probably heard, but there was a massive landslide that completely destroyed the landing area where the rafters launched at the head of the stream. Hwy 64 is the only reasonable route into Chattanooga for the many people who work there. Cleanup not expected until spring. Merry Christmas Michael....and I left ya a note in your portfolio. John

John, I love this one. It brings back the many days of peaceful contentment I enjoyed fishing this river. The cool green light was captured perfectly.

My thoughts on the out-of-focus limb; first, when shooting a nature scene with so many complex elements, you almost always have to make compromises. Shooting in shade like this, you are forced to use a fairly wide aperture, limiting your DOF. One solution is to focus slightly in front of your subject. This would leave the fisherman still in the clear focus area, while sharpening objects in the fore ground. Raising your f-stop by using a slower shutter speed would not work, because you wouldn't freeze the water motion. You could do it with a higher iso, but you would lose some of the richness of color and detail.

All that said, the lens and iris of your eye are bound by the same limitations. If you look at this scene without a camera,you could notice that the in and out of focus areas would look pretty much like your picture. Also, compensating for this would require noticing it in your viewfinder before the shot! I often don't see things like this until the photo is on my computer screen, despite my best efforts.

I think you did the right thing by not cropping this one.

I would like to point out that the unsharp mask applied to the limb looks unnatural. This is because it does not appear to the eye as the real scene would, as referred to in my previous comment. It makes the limb appear too clear.

 

 

Hmm, I do carry on, don't I?

Charles, I'm finally getting back to you, but it's a little past three in the morning...so I hope I actually make sense. I appreciate the in-depth analysis, so don't ever hesitate to offer it. In fact, that's what is sorely needed on this site...more people taking the time to dig a little deeper and not be hesitatant to offer constructive criticism. As to the limb, I think you said something about sometimes not seeing things that could potentially be problematic with a shot until actually seing the shot on your computer screen. Same here. But, I've found that quite often that can work to the positive. More often I find elements in a photograph that I didn't see looking through the viewfinder. The limb...I saw, and assumed it might be a problem, but this was one of those situations in which there was simply no other position to take the shot from without losing something I wanted to include. I probably assumed I'd eventually crop the limb from the pic, but...as I mentioned above, the limb ended up serving as a natural framing element. And, sometimes I think most of us have a tendency to try to offer pictures that are just a little bit too pristine...in that quest for "the perfect picture". As to your use of unsharp mask on the limb...I've only looked at it on my laptop screen, so I can't really judge whether I like the change or not. (painting my office and can't use a bigger monitor for a couple of days)...but it didn't look like a bad change to me, though you seem to have retracted how you felt about it. Will take a look as soon as I can. Looking forward to having a long talk! It's been too long my old friend!

This caught my eye while gazing through your porfollio. Very spendid!

Thank you Michael ! You've been on my "interesting persons" list for some time now, but hadn't visited lately. Today I found your set of fly fishing photos that I truly find to be quite remarkable. Hope you don't mind...but I find myself being a bit envious (in a good way) :) Good to have you visit...

John