phillips

There is something special about the time just before sunrise for me.

Your comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Maybe the best compliment that could be paid to the scene is by looking at the previous posts. They reflect a subtle mood of peacefulness that goes beyond the visual.  Congratulations

Congratulations- I get a real sense of the movement of the clouds.

Your comments and suggestion are appreciated. This is an HDR image

which I have tried to keep close to my memory of the scene. Thanks

for your time.

A very nice shot.  I think the composition and balance of the scene is perfect.  I'm especially interested in the scene because I'll be on the pass later this week.

Tony, Thanks for your comments, I think you might be correct on the reason for the big non-uniformity in the sky.  I'm slowly realizing I need to take more time and be more methodical when I come to a scene that I like.  This is all the more frustrating because for a long time I was shooting with a 4x5 view camera for architecture and landscape work, taking 20-30 minutes many times looking at the ground glass.

Thank you both for your comments-Florence is such a beautiful city for photography.

I particularly like the balance between the three elements of the photograph.  The only thing lacking is a haiku to go with the image

I agree with Stephen that the clouds add a lot to the shot.  I took essentially the same  scene with a somewhat wider angle lens with all the mountains visible, and it doesn't have the impact of your scene.  Very nice work.

Stephen, a really nice image with beautiful patterns. I don't feel  that the sky, with its cold tonality enhances the rest of the scene.  I wonder if the  some cropping and increased contrast on the slickrock would result in a more powerful  image.  I hope you made it back to your vehicle before the storm hit.

A reason for participating in Photonet is the opportunity to expand my vision.  This is an image I think is stunning.

Wonderful expressions, really nice shot.  I think the background people are a plus.  A light crop on the right hand side  might eliminate some of the detail there.

I've been to Bodie many times, but this was the first time I noticed

this picture. It seems to portray peoples hopes and then

disappointment. There was a saying "God forgot Bodie" some how it

seemed to fit.

A wonderful photograph-the flower (thistle ?) and background colors work very well with the subject.  I found the green area in the upper left to be a little distracting, maybe a little vignetting in the corners might be called for.

Thanks Tony for your comments.  I agree .  I've looked at this image many times and thought how it could be improved.  Your note on the reflection was something I really hadn't picked up on.  I have been fixated on the person's relationship to the rocks in the background.  Now if I could only find that person again on my next trip to Bandon.

Great color and tonal range.  I think the balance between the rocks and the sky is just right, and cropping the top would lead to a "bottom" heavy appearance

My wife and companions huddled under a canopy while the crazy

photographer waited in the rain for the person with the red umbrella

to get into the picture Critiques greatly appreciated.

Thanks Larry and Alf for your thoughtful comments.  The reason for the HDR is that this is my first attempt at looking at different effects using Photomatix.  The sky luminance was adjusted in Lightroom, and in retrospect I think it is overdone, but I was deliberately trying to "stretch" myself from my usual style.  The rationale for not cropping the lower portion of the shot was the desire to preserve dimensionality associated with the scene.