The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This is an early morning scene at one of our favourite camping spots. High country rivers feed very cold water into the the lake resulting in frequent fogs and early morning mists before the sun rises over the surrounding hills.
We enjoy the solitude and peacefulness here, and quiet fishing for the (very) elusive trout and salmon present.
Specific Feedback
Hopefully this scene creates a feeling of peacefulness, something the world needs more of just now. However all comments are welcome.
It feels like the kind of morning where speaking above a whisper would seem rude, where even the gentlest splash of an oar would feel like an interruption. The mist hanging halfway up the hills, the smooth pewter water, the dark stones gathering quietly along the shore: every element of the frame seems to be holding its breath, and the viewer naturally falls into the same rhythm.
The black and white treatment was exactly the right call. Color would have been a distraction here, because the story is really one of tones and atmosphere, not of hue. The full range from the velvety dark stones in the foreground to the pale luminous mist in the middle gives the image both weight and weightlessness at the same time, and the layering is beautiful. The pebbled shore feels solid and grounded, the water reads as a soft silver field, the mist dissolves the world, and the distant hills emerge as gentle ghosts. The eye walks through those layers slowly, almost reverently, which feels exactly right for the mood you describe.
The composition is quietly clever. The diagonal sweep of the stones leads the eye gently into the frame from the bottom and across the water toward those soft hill shapes, and the asymmetric placement of the two hill forms keeps the upper half from feeling static. The square format suits the scene beautifully, lending it that contemplative, almost photographic poem quality that rectangular crops sometimes resist. There is also a lovely sense of scale at play, the small intimate stones in the foreground giving way to the great patient mountains beyond, all without ever feeling theatrical.
The peacefulness you were hoping to convey absolutely comes through. This is the kind of image that lowers the shoulders by half an inch the moment one looks at it, and you are right that the world could use a few more such moments at the moment. Thank you for sharing it.
Thanks for looking and for your comments and suggestion @Don_Peters and @Preston_Birdwell.
I’m not sure what you mean regarding the CCW rotation. It appears to me that, if anything, the rotation should be a bit CW. When I try some CCW rotation the water in the lake appears to be flowing uphill (the head of the lake is to the left).
However, I have to add that I have had a cataract removed from one eye a wee while ago and until the other eye can be done I am shortsighted in one eye and longsighted in the other. It currently makes perspectives rather interesting, not to mentioning walking down stairs quite challenging . Now, when I look at that photo with one eye shut, then at it with the other shut, I can see a slight rotation occuring. I hadn’t noticed that until your helpful comments here.
Now I am not sure which eye to use
Cheers
Phil G
Phil, it’s understandable that you were confused by my comment. I said CCW when I meant CW. Here’s what I’d done, using the bottom of the island on the right as a guide for levelling. But maybe I’m tilted.
Don, thanks for that. I’m much less confused now and also on a level keel now I know which eye to use.
Your correction is spot-on. Thanks for your help.
Now I just need to change my optometrist (and figure out how to upload a corrected image to the top of the post).
Wow, if you’re not a writer or a poet for a living then what you do for a living must be of the most exemplary of standards. You are a true wordsmith, Sebastien. I feel immersed in each of the images you comment on as if I’m actually there. All of my senses come to life. I just want to thank you for that. It’s truly a pleasure to read what you write.
David, this comment landed like a small unexpected gift in my inbox, and I have read it three times now while trying not to grin too obviously at my screen. Thank you, genuinely,
Sadly, no, poetry does not put bread on the table in my household, at least not at any rate the bakers would respect. By day I teach computer programming, which is a different kind of writing involving rather stricter audiences. Compilers, it turns out, are a great deal less generous than human readers. They do not care about cadence or metaphor and they refuse to be moved by a well placed comma. The students are a touch warmer, but even they prefer code that compiles to prose that sings.
Hi Phil,
It must be a real treat to wake up to views like this on the lake. I can see why it is one of your favorite camping spots; it certainly would be one of mine. The image has a nice range of tones and the fog adds a bit of mystery to the scene as it partially obscures the land mass in the BG. I do like the bit of CW rotation in the rework. Very nicely done. @sebastien-maloron : I will have to echo the thoughts of @David_Haynes about your thoughtful response to the image.
Thanks @Ed_Lowe and @Michael_Lowe for your comments. Yes, the slight rotation made all the difference for this image. I have been trying to thoroughly examine my images before posting them so it is a bit frustrating to then find that I have missed something obvious (well, obvisous once it is pointed out to me anyway ).
I love the stillness and meditative tonality of this image. The most recent rotation addressed my only nit. Perhaps Don referred to the CCW it had, which meant it needed a CW rotation. Those two sides of the coin can be confusing, and it’s the verb that clarifies: It has a CCW rotation and needs a CW rotation to correct it. What on earth will we do when the next generation just asks “what”?" when we mention clockwise.
For me, it was the faintly darker line where fog met the water surface. That helped me see what needed to be level.
Hi Marylynne,
It is that quiet stillness that draws us to this area from time to time as foggy/misty mornings are the norm here. They infuse peace and joy for the rest of the day, and definitely create the catalyst for a satisfying day of photography. With those feelings in mind when I proccessed the image I didn’t even notice that the lake was tilted . Maybe it is just a unique lake, or perhaps it is the way I held my camera . Another detail missed (sigh).
Cheers
Phil
Wow! Sebastien,
I’m impressed, really, I am. Your eloquent critique reminds me of a J. Peterman, https://jpeterman.com, clothier store description. I like it!
. I appreciate your effort very much. Thankyou.
. Now, when I look at that photo with one eye shut, then at it with the other shut, I can see a slight rotation occuring. I hadn’t noticed that until your helpful comments here.
).
. Maybe it is just a unique lake, or perhaps it is the way I held my camera 
. Another detail missed (sigh).