johntoennessen

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The rules for the No Words forum include something along the lines you mentioned.

 

Contributions to this forum should not be so specific a subject that it would be exclusive of members of this site. For example, do not start a thread with a title such as "Aunt Emily and her new dress holding an afghan hound in her arms".

 

Welcome to the No Words Forum! Please READ THESE RULES Before Posting.

 

The instructions for the NW are not hidden but maybe need more signposting, going by the amount of infringements.

 

As for the Landscape Forum Leslie Reed provides some guidance for the Wednesday Landscapes Thread she starts each week. :confused:

Located in Point Beach State Forest Two Rivers, WI.

I recently attempted to give the shot somewhat of a vintage 50's look But I think it ended up looking more like a golden hour wannabe.

Still I like it despite the loss of detail.

worth it or not, anyone here who has not been irked some time in the past 11 months while on quarantine must be living alone and not watching any television ,listening to radio or on the internet . Will that one person proudly raise his/her hand please?

Send me the Lotto numbers four minutes before the drawing, I'll be at the liquor store.

me too but unfortunately most lotteries have a 2 hour black-out prior to drawing the numbers

Taken on a dreary day with my trusty Nikon F and 21mm Soligar lens.

I did some searching and found this shot taken on Antelope Island. This was from inside the nature center looking out at the causeway. I used a curl effect plugin for PS. I do not have the original but I can tell you it was taken with my trusty ole Nikon F with a 21mm Soligar lens. I digitized it for PS work. This was taken the same day as the land of my dreams.

Ricochetrider

wow you took quite a bit of your time to write to me concerning this post and thank you for your opinions. I will be honest it would take quite a while to find the original of this and in fact do not recall it it was film or digitally shot. From my recollection this was taken while on the causeway to Antelope island which I am guessing is between 2 and 3 miles long. I stopped somewhere along the way and took this shot along with others because the sky and the clouds were so surreal to me. I have never seen the sky look like this. It was not a great shot by any means but when I cropped it to what you see it inspired the poem.

Now the poem, yes it is a bit long but understand my upbringing, I was raised and educated in a catholic school where we attended mass daily which was done in Latin and then there were those Gregorian chants that do not seem to end. my dna was changed by that.

Now the purpose was simply to express my feelings at the time and hope to inspire others like you. In that sense I feel I succeeded by the response on here. I never had intentions of wall hanging etc. Like you said the picture is more like a thumbnail than anything. As you can see I do not visit here often but that could change with me also. I will try to find the original of this shot and reluctantly post it here.

others who took to the time to read and reply Thank you for your input and attention.

in-between time I will be posting a new shot from Kohler-Andrae State Park. I camped there about a week ago.

 

John, first of all, I did make one other post prior to now If you'd like to read that, OK fine, I said it, and it still applies, IMO. But here's a bit more of a critique.

 

I'd like to see this original photo. As others have noted, the crop seems awkward and the color cast seems just a little too... something. Off-putting (@samstevens)? Then again it's a photo of the "land of your dreams", so. And you've clearly done some work on the photo to get it to here from original. But it'd be nice, from my perspective- and I think others agree, to see the original shot.

 

I've done a lot of cropping over the years, for sure. As I've learned more about photography tho, I usually stick to a set format or "size". 4:3 is typical, I like 3:2. A true or traditional pano crop would probably be 16:9. One of my film cameras shoots a 6cm X 6cm square. Since these are long established photographic formats, they don't tend to alienate our subconscious- IMO sticking to established means and mores gives things better & stronger longevity. So you might revisit the photo in its original form and reconsider your crop and treatment. One of the very best pieces of advice I ever got is to get the photo as close to perfect as possible, in camera. First & foremost. Then do a bit of post production work on it as needed. Honestly, this crop (and crops like this in general) tend to make me think, "here's a person who shot some stuff and cropped all the unnecessary elements out to get to this". Now days, I shoot more purposefully, with the advice to get the shot in camera the first time- in the front of my mind.

 

Now, on to the poem. I like poetry in general and of course poetry has been set to art, added to photos, has had musical accompaniment, etc etc. By my way of thinking there is a totally legitimate space for combining poetry with a photo. Your poem is nice, if not a wee bit long. We (the royal we, as in We People Of The World) are in hurry-up mode these days. I'm going to say that with most folks, you have roughly 10-15 seconds- at best. If peoples' eyes fuzz over within the first 3 to 5 seconds, you've lost them completely. I love the overall sentiment of your poem, but I had to force myself to slow down long enough to read every word. If it were way shorter, I'd be better off with it- and this is just me personally. But as presented, I'd say you have a poem accompanied by a photograph, not so much a photo with a poem- simply because, as presented, the poem is so much more than the photo.

 

Somewhere in there is a nice balance. I like where you've taken this, and I encourage you to do more. I also encourage you to consider how things present.

In this instance, your posted photo appears as little more than a thumbnail. Certainly, this was a grand scene. Maybe you have this printed and hung in your living room at 16 by 96 inches. If so, its impact is no doubt more impressive. Please also give more thought to how your overall presentation of the poem and the photo are going to mesh in real time. It's one thing to do some inner ruminating and dream up a landscape and nice sentiment for yourself. But if you plan to invite others along for the ride, think about their comfort and willingness to climb aboard, sit back, and enjoy the journey.

 

You know, honestly maybe this is a question of just how & where you see this being shown. At a poetry reading, with the photo behind you as you read aloud? Framed on your wall in your living room with the poem meticulously hand scribed upon the matting? In a gallery with other artists and more works of your own? Or in a much more private space where people who may see it have time to absorb it all?

 

This sort of thing, IMO, needs to be compelling at first glance, then has to draw a viewer in and hold them. It needs just the right amount of depth to keep people engaged- but it can't be scary, and it can't ask too much of anybody. Seek the balance. It's there somewhere, and I think you're on the right track.

please keep this going people

I found this in Door county ,WI. I think this guy was very creative.

one more posting for the day.

Is their past our future? Or our future their past?

 

Calumet Stone

 

memories fade

the years pass by

old men and parades

tarnished medals held high

stained plaques on monuments

and of stone

part of the landscape

weathered and stand alone

does anyone stop

and ponder their feat

the hero's action

in the day was so sweet

where are they now

as the years pass by

is the story gone

does anybody question why

 

In celebration of Independence day I am posting this.

 

On the road to Stephenson I saw this small country church off in the distance. The first thing that came to my mind was that this will be a black and white shot. It was ageless and I need to capture it. I had my wife pull off onto the side road and immediately

I notice that the side road vantage point obscured the view of the steeple so we drove up to the church to turn around. I just wonder if fate had us do that as approaching the church I notice a boulder with hand painted letters dedicating a small park to a fallen solder of the World War II. In a congregation of few one young man lost his life to war that would end all wars.

We returned to main road where I took this shot. and my inspiration below.

 

after all these years

and so many tears

young men still march off

without any fears

some return with badges of honor

some in boxes with a flag as their armor

how many more follow this path

how more more lives will be dashed

how many dawns bring another day

and yet the young men march on

the same old way

war is not the answer

nor is it fate

pray for peace

it's never too late

 

Thank you for your response Harry. Heaven is the land of many dreams. Many including myself hope to be there someday.

johntoennessen

 

A man with imagination.

 

Sort of rare.

Thank you Allen for your gracious comments

Here is a case where I wrote the poem first and took the photo later. The poem was originally posted on another forum under the subject "what irks me"

So my question to all of you is

What irks you?

 

oh windshield wiper, on the windshield of mine

you swipe a path and make me blind

on this cold and wet drive today

I beckoned your call to clear my way

to remove the snow, remove the rain

yet you leave a streak that is a pain

I switched you on but had no clue

that you would distort my view

when I went to replace you ,I had to decide

to select a wiper I must pick a side

your Left is shorter than your right

sold in two's that's my plight

when it comes time to use that spare part

you're dried out and fallen apart

that is why I posted this note today

this what irks me the most

 

 

This was taken back in 2004 while on the causeway to Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake. The clouds and the lighting were amazing to me. This photo as some do inspired me poetically. If this is not acceptable please advise me and I will not post this type again. Thanks for viewing

 

The Land of my Dreams

 

oh the land of my dreams

where everything is

as fine as it seems

 

where purpose does not

have to be justified

where people are people

who have no need

to be satisfied

 

where people can be

what they want to be

restricted by no one

simple, natural and free

 

where color is no issue

all tongues are one

communication is shared

with grace and fun

 

a land where there are

no wants or needs

nothing taken

there is no greed

 

all tomorrows are

met with the son

joyous for all

and all are for one

 

peace and harmony

fill this domain

no one points fingers

there is no blame or shame

 

no hunger

no thirst

no last

no first

no pain nor anger

nothing obscene

can be found in the

land of my dreams

 

where enemies are

nowhere to be found

friendships prevail

yet no one is bound

 

oh the land of my dreams

where everything is

as fine as it seems

This reminds me of what my mother told me a long time ago. "When you point your finger at someone else you have three fingers pointing back at yourself"

Another thing that I learned over time is ..

Most people are more critical of themselves than of others. With that being said just imagine how those nasty critics feel about them selves. They must be miserable.

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wow that is a very powerful message. It could also read "watch every sunset as though it was your first, each sunrise and sunset are new beginnings"

thank you for sharing your sunset

I am new to this forum. I have uploaded the compulsory 5 but have yet to understand how and when more posting will be available to me. Do I get a message?

Also I am posting this for the sake of seeing if I am allowed to post anything yet.

At one time in my life I had more time to devote to photography but as life goes on there are always other tasks and fires to fight.

My main activity for quite a few years now is camping and when I have the opportunity, I do take some shots for which I will post when the posting time comes. Before the digital age I used 35mm film with older Nikons such as the old F and the Nikkortmat ftn. So I may post scanned shots from that equipment as well. My main camera is a Canon SX10IS. It is an ok digital camera I chose because I did not want to be overloaded with equipment but the trade off is sacrificing quality for mobility. The less time I spend shooting the less I can justify the expense and at this time with the shift to mirrorless selection is more difficult. Time will tell what my next step will be but I am looking forward to this summer with anticipation capturing some nice landscapes. In between time I will be checking out this site for some ideas as to seeing with a different perspective.

I look forward to reading and sharing with all of you.

note: my profile pic is a shot I took VERY long ago of my self in a mirror. That old Rolleflex is long gone but I have fond memories of that camera.