This is from mid-March 2014 at about 7:30. These small groves, mainly Cypress, are scattered around the shallow lake. The morning light was just peeking over the nearby trees, and there was still a little light fog near the surface of the calm water. The delicate branches of the grove, combined with the milky look of the water caught my eye. The raw file was pretty foggy so I bumped the contrast up a bit.
E-5 Zuiko 50-200 @200 on tripod, ISO 100 1/6 f5.6 +1/3EV
Fine looking scene, Bill. I might crop down a ways to get rid of most of the background sky, and a crop also puts more emphasis on the milky water reflection. Good one .
I agree with Harley’s comment about cropping out the sky. I also feel that you need to make a stronger commitment to either the trees or the ice and it’s reflections. I particularly like the branches so I would go this way. But you could make a case for the ice. I also feel that the image feels compressed in from the sides. I think that’s because everything is vertical with little spacing. Widening the image with the crop allows the horizontal branches to play a bigger part in the comp and the image feels more balanced to me.
Bill,
What a difficult, but image worthy scene! The bit of light hitting those extended branches really adds to the overall image.
I agree with the comments to crop out the sky as in Igor’s example, although perhaps keeping a bit more of the reflection.
Making something out of a mass of chaotic detail is difficult, but I think you’ve pulled it off by compressing the scene with the longer focal length.
Lon
Thanks @Harley_Goldman @Igor_Doncov and @Lon_Overacker for your input on this. I wouldn’t object to a crop from the top, as I can see your points about the blank sky, often a nemesis on many of my swamp landscapes.
Igor, this is in south Louisiana (Acadiana) in the middle of March. That’s early morning ground fog which is dissipating, although interestingly enough it does have the appearance of thin ice in a way. The aspect of the crop you posted does look like a valid option to avoid seeming cramped at the sides, however I disagree with losing all that water, which to me is one of the more appealing components to the overall feel of the image.
Lon, after having shot countless swamp scenes over the years, I completely agree that a major challenge is getting a sense of order out of all the chaos, compounded by the inevitably difficult lighting in confined areas. I’ve tried it from canoes and on little flat boats with only marginal success, but this was a small confined area surrounded by water, so by comparison this was a walk in the park.
Taking your comments under consideration, attached below is another option. I did not crop from the top, but due to the fact that these young Cypress trees were so tall and slender, I simply changed the aspect by stretching the X value out. Would be curious to know what y’all think.
Bill, I’m coming in late on this one, but I think this re-post does a pretty good job of addressing the comments raised by everyone. But I’m sort of a stickler for eliminating white sky peeking through tree branches, and I think the subtle changes that Tony Kuyper made address this issue and make enhance the the shot even more. But I do love the soft warm light on the trees, and how it contrasts with the cool mist on the water, and to me that is what makes this image stand out.
