t37traveler

Beautiful reflection! Great eye and very creative image. I would hang this on my wall. Well done!!!

Love the color palette; the cyan tint to the background really complements the purples and golds. Falling leaves are the perfect splash of gold that add interest and really "make" the image.  Nice capture!

I agree Tony - it is calming, I think perhaps because the water is glassy smooth and the colors are muted. I think I need to be more daring in my use of contrast with these soft, muted images. I barely touched anything in the post processing of this... thanks for your insights, as always they are greatly appreciated!

Joao and Benjamin - Thank you for your comments. I will definitely do a BW version (or 2 or 3) of this. And yes, this place is full of memories; it is the last remain section of the Carrie Furnace outside of Pittsburg, PA. Google for the story of that place.  Sorry for the late comment re: your suggestions/comments; I am off on a sailboat for the summer with very intermittent wifi connectivity.

Architecture? Industrial architecture? Industrial Landscape? Don't know

where to post this for comment...no category seems appropriate. Comment

and suggestions are appreciated. This is an old iron furnace. The light ray

is real. Then scale of the place is simply amazing. Any comments or

suggestions to improve the photo are greatly appreciated.

Thank you Pierre, Gregory and Verena for your comments.  The machines in this shop are all operated by large drive belts that run from machine to ceiling where the large fly wheels are mounted. Each machine operator can engage or disengage a machine from the drive system as needed via a large hand lever.  The amazing thing is that when fully operational, the gasoline powered engine is almost noiseless.  The wood tones were pretty monotone.

I have no idea what category this fits into. I'd file it in "antiquities"if there

were one. Single exposure in ambient light. Comments/suggestions?

Words of wisdom and options are always appreciated. Thank you.

Hi Tony-  Just saw this i your portfolio....L-O-V-E it!  Very effective post processing; colors and light rays are wonderful. This image just makes me want to smile when I look at it...it has a very happy, calm karma.  : )

Like the down low perspective on this...gives it a very abstract feel. Nice textures and color palette. 

Love the milkweed pod. Wonderful lighting and soft background. If it were my photo, I'd crop the dead leaf on the left edge out of the photo. It's a strong, dark element that pulls my eye when I'd really rather spend time looking at the wonderful details of the burst pod. 

Very touching photo that tells a story. Love the expression on the horse and the boys You captured a moment...beautifully!

Thank you Mike and Andres for your kind comments. I'm glad you like the man in the photo. To me he is essential to the success of the image  - the mechanical beast needs the contrast of the human element. This is an impressive engine for sure...  only 14 were built, and #611 is the only one still in existence.  She is a 4-8-4 J class built in Roanoke, VA for the Norfolk and Southern Railroad. This photo was taken at the NC Transportation Museum in Spencer, NC where 611 underwent a year long $3.5 million restoration. They a had a closed photo shoot day before she headed back to Roanoke. She's running excursions in VA as part of "Steam in the 21st Century."

Hi Tony - Thank you for the comments. I have found that going for part of the whole is often more effective and more interesting than the whole - especially when dealing with limited shooting times (broad daylight and harsh shadows) and vantage points (background distractions and limited access).

This image is a study in elegant simplicity! Love the simple color palette, the strong diagonals and textures. The little rectangle of a window is like a cherry on top...just the perfect touch that turns a large, empty space into an essential composition element. Well seen and well done!

Wonderful DOF. Love the soft colors and your "breaking the rule" and placing the focal point of the image on the center line. It works beautifully  Superb image!

Re: Halo effects- it not so much sharpening in Photoshop that causes the halos, as it is shooting in or reformatting to JPG and then not being ultraconservative in the processing. I have had JPG images fresh from the camera and completely unprocessed that have roping due to native extreme contrast in the image.  Using too much clarity or extreme changes to luminance in Lightroom will cause (or worsen) halos/"roping" especially where very dark and very light areas meet.  Increasing contrast can also make the halos/roping worse. The cure: shoot RAW, always use a light touch with the processing, and enlarge to 400% or higher to check for halos and roping.

To me this image has the feel of a very old photograph in which I would not expect a lot of sharpness. I don't know if it was processed to have the look of old BW film or if it was shot from a great distance or through a window. In any event, I find it  to be an interesting, well-composed  documentary type of image that could be found in a 1950s coffee table book.

Comments/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Colored outside the

lines a bit with the processing to achieve an old feeling.

Hi Larry- Thanks for the comments. I met this gal at the North Carolina Zoological Park in Asheboro, NC. The animals there are not caged, but are in large open areas. She was the only one in the pride that was awake. There were a lot of trees, so the light was quite dappled as you can see from the light and shadow patterns on her fur as well a the grass. 

Thank you Sweid and Ruud.

Lovely waterfall shot - soft  light, soft colors and soft water - a pleasure to look at - very calming 

Rich with texture and mood, - brooding, vibrant,  foreboding, and fascinating! Wonderful light and well done as usual!

Nice use of a part to represent the whole and tell a story...or maybe make up your own story about why the bike is laying by a tree on a sidewalk. Very interesting image that keeps the viewer engaged!