iancoxleigh

Wow, simply amazing! The colours here are so fantastic. I don't think there is a thing that I'd change.

 

Plus, I certainly wouldn't wish the fog away. The mist has been so wonderfully captured here. I am impressed that you have such definition to see the background through the fog and yet its impact hasn't been lessened.

 

 

 

Nice! A very elegant and simple composition that hits upon all the seasonal themes.

 

My only concern might be to try and find a stronger separation between the objects -- especially the narcissus -- and the background.

Lovely use of the foggy conditions. The juxtaposition of the small tree and the huge ones is very compelling. The colours are rich and yet not overdone. Very nice all around. Except, . . . I can't help but wish for a bit more room at the bottom. Why have you cropped this so close?

I loved this silvery grass which is growing in a band which wasleft fallow between two fields of wheat. I went out of my way to findand photograph this type of grass when I was in the Palouse regionbecause I love its texture and the contrast with the green wheat.

All comments are welcome

A study of form from a dreary day along the Oregon Coast. I quite like

this; but, I'm prepared to be the only one.

Lovely light and colour here. The basics of the composition are nice too -- the curve of the shore leading behind the foreground grasses is very pleasant.

 

But, it does feel a bit cluttered or tightly framed. My eye has difficulty coming to rest of anything. I don't know if maybe a touch more room overall would have helped in that regard? Maybe a longer shutter speed that blurred the water movement would have at least lessened that textural component?

 

But, this is still a love and relaxing image of the Michigan shoreline. Very nice.

All comments welcome.

Very pleasing, natural composition. I also like the somewhat tinted (almost aged) appearance created by the strong yellow cast.

I love the tonalities you have brought out here. The gradient in the sky is pleasing and the brightest area of the horizon being placed behind the monoliths is effective in bringing my eye back into the frame. The toning is nice too it gives an air of antiquity to the image that fits with the subject in my mind.

Perhaps what is most striking though is the composition. It is certainly hard to find a new composition with this subject matter. Even this boulder with the mittens beyond has been shot frequently before. Notably, yours is certainly a very unique composition: its originality is very compelling. But, in the end, I'm not sure it works well aesthetically. I find the full 50% of the frame dedicated to the boulder to be a bit much and the left/right divide in the frame feels awkward – almost as if there were two distinct images here rather than one unified composition. I am also not sure about the way the deep shadows and totally black areas further divide the frame.

I wonder if there was more sky to balance the rock whether it might be better? Or, maybe a little crop from the left edge to change the overall balance between the foreground and background? But, then again, maybe this unique view has merit given the amount of tension here. I don't particularly like the tension. But, maybe it is effective and that might be enough.

Please view larger size/better resolution to get some sense of the

details. I don't know if this will be generally popular (in fact, I

doubt it); but, I like like it.

 

All comments are welcome.

Thanks again everyone. I really am blown away at how much response this photo has received.

It has been sitting in my 'holds' folder for several months now and I was somewhat uncertain of its merits. I personally prefer several of the other Palouse WA shots I have posted previously more than this one. But, clearly this has resonated with many people.

Pnina, thanks for the thoughts on why you prefer the original. I can see how the original has more of a sense of depth and distance in it. To my eyes it looks more "natural". However, this is already a surreal landscape and I prefer the revisions I made -- even if they push a bit at that naturalness.

My original RAW file is quite flat in contrast and I had already pushed this quite a bit. I was hesitant to go too much further; so, since I like the results, I should especially thank Bulent and Charles for prompting me to make the changes.

Mark, I can see what you mean about a bit of a blue cast. This is especially evident in the long shadowed mid-ground. But, if I move the overall colour balance, the background area start to look pea-soupy. If simply warm just the shadows, I feel that I am starting to lose the appearance of contrast between the shadows and the highlights. If I make a minor enough adjustment that it doesn't effect my sense of the contrast or the other colour balances, I don't feel it is a significant enough improvement to warrant making the change. So, I am keeping it as is.

David, this is indeed in Washington State:

You can see much of the terrain even from google maps: http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=46.845399,-117.278709&spn=0.216506,0.528717&t=h&z=12

Click to show the satellite and terrain views.

This is quite stunning. I love the low contrast here -- the plethora of mid-tones is quite engaging and harmonious. The blue toning brings out the chill. Best of all is the angle and composition -- definitely one I've never seen of this falls.

 

 

David, really lovely. I wish could just dissolve into this.

 

 

Thanks all.

 

The background is 100% natural. It is simply composed of out-of-focus conifers that happened to be in the shade. Take the posted image into PS and pull up the blacks and you will see that the texture is still there -- it is just dark here.

Here is a version with more mid-ground contrast (plus a little extra top and bottom too – in order blend it naturally).

 

 

Thanks all!

 

Belunt, Charles, I can see what you guys are saying about the middle part. I will try a version with slightly more contrast in that mid-ground area. Expect re-post below tomorrow or Friday.

 

I will add that it is definitely not smog or other industrial pollution. But, it might have been wind-blown dust (it was quite windy) from the numerous unplanted fields or, more likely, it might have been low lying fog starting to form. There was a fair bit of mist and fog in the lower areas when I drove back to town that night.

 

Kah Kit, I don't find the magenta over the top. The soil was quite reddish and the light here is very golden I find the resulting colour quite acceptable. But, I tend to like magenta casts anyways, so maybe I'm not a good judge.

 

I'll play around with the contrast changes and then put this on NPN next week and see if anyone else mentions the magenta.

 

Everyone else, thanks again. Ryan, I wish I could come and see the new growth. It is quite a mix of grey and brown around here still.

All comments welcome.

All comments welcome.

All comments welcome.

Wow! What a show of light and colour. I'm partial to night-photography anyways and this is as good as it gets.

The sense of distance that this composition allows is quite compelling. Put a person in bright red mid-frame and this could easily be used for tourism adverts. Mind you, it is working on me as it is! I've got to get to the arctic.

Wow! The wave patterns here fantastic. The sky and sea are so full of energy and power. Stunning.

Frode, Fred, thanks.

 

I too like that sole light in the lower right. I feel that it -- combined with the implied motion of the blurred water -- help keep this from being too stiff.

 

 

Wonderful light and a perfect choice of shutter speed!

While over on your website, I just read about your massive fall. I just wanted to wish you a swift and full recovery.