The base of Mt Bachelor’s Spark Lake is sprinkled with ponds. These ponds come to life shortly after the thaw. It’s important to photograph them early in their summer cycle because they soon become overgrown and a chaotic mess. Many people like to shoot lily pads with a polarizer full on so that the space between them is virtually black. I like the opposite and use the reflections as part of the composition.
I agree that it was a great choice to include the reflection of the clouds. In addition to adding an interesting element to the scene it also provides a focal point to help anchor the eye. The panoramic format was also a great choice for this image. Excellent work!
This is beautiful. A really nice work Igor.
Love the composition, the panorama format, and the way the cloud is so dominant, whit out being overwhelming .
to improve…? perhaps the shadow (?) in the lower right corner is distracting and the tiny bit of grass touching the bottom edge in the lower left corner - these 2 distractions take away from the ‘floating’ sense that this image has
i like the color tones and the thin shadows and the dof and the upside down-ness (or downside up-ness of the photo)
I agree with Ben, this image does convey a strong sense of “floating”, and these elements intrude a bit on that . Maybe a small crop from the left and bottom while maintaining a 16:9 ratio would minimize their impact. You need to keep some negative space at the bottom to "separate " the cloud, so I wouldn’t do much of a crop…
This image does benefit significantly from the sky color and cloud. I also think a lot of “black water” lilypad images are shot on overcast days because the photographers want lower contrast to showcase lotus flowers, raindrops on the lily pads, etc. I think you were successful with this approach though. With that said I find the color of the water to be more appealing in the top half than in the bottom, probably due to a difference in water depth. It might be worth playing with the water in the bottom half to make it slightly bluer and more saturated.
I really like the way the lily pads look like they’re flying like birds above the clouds! I also like the few reeds scattered around. It’s kind of tipping between realism and impressionistic/abstract. Nicely seen.
Wonderful!!! I love the peaceful depth here and the cloud is amazing! I feel as if I’m standing next to the pond leaning over for a better look. You have taken a plane and made it 3D in the way it tilts.
I agree about removing the bits in the LL corner. In the LR area there are two “streaks” devoid of the “texture” on the water surface. I’d consider putting that texture back in if it’s not against your ethics.
Thank you for your comments…The shadows have been taken care of. I believe that they were from some stalks growing just outside of the image and therefore were part of the natural scene. But in this case they really did intrude into the image.
I’m also including for your observation the original image taken from which the posted image was derived. I actually was torn between the two and wasn’t completely sure I had made the right decision by going with the crop. All images are at the top now. What do you think of the alternative image?
I like your original image the best. The way you saw and photographed it. There’s more room for everything to move in. It looks more artistic to my eye.
