The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I attended a medical conference in Los Angeles in October 2008. I made a fast screaming side trip to King’s Canyon and Yosemite. On my way back to LA I went over the pass in Yosemite and drove through Tuolumne Meadows. I noticed a small stream just off the road and decided to go snooping. I was delighted to find this little garden of ice flowers which turned out to be one of my favorite images of the trip.
Specific Feedback
Not in the same league as Mark’s ice images but still one I like. Folks have suggested various crops emphasizing the LLC but I’m still partial to the full frame.
Technical Details
Sony A700
Minolta 200mm macro
ISO 200, 1/125 @ f11
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Bill, I remember this photo and it’s still excellent. The warm/cold contrast between the ice and the stones below works well. You’ve got some great detailed structures in the ice especially with all of those feathery bits in the lower left. Interesting how the two linear sections segment the pattern.
VERY nice. That this sort of relationship can exist between liquid and solid—at just this moment—is truly an example of the miraculousness of our planet. And…personally I don’t think you should crop it one bit!
This makes me - as a complete novice - wonder if the “flowers” form in a way similar to snow crystals, as in some ways their symmetry resembles them. I think I’d join the “enlarge the lower-left segment” camp, but that’s just my taste. I love the colors in this excellent shot.
(On a side note, wasn’t it possible before to see both the shot and one’s reply at the same time? With the format I have here, I can’t seem to be able to do this).
On windows browsers like firefox you can right click in the image and select open in new tab which lets you move easily between the image and the message editor. Not quite as convenient as seeing both at the same time but I find it helpful. I’m guessing you could do the same thing on a mac but I don’t know for sure…
HTH
Although I too am not an ice expert, I spent enough of my “thermal science” career learning from real experts to suggest, yes, the process is similar in that we are seeing the first stages of the predictable crystal form. For that to happen, the water must be extremely close to the freezing point, and also very still, in this case probably caused by the lines that formed in the water and ice. I’d also guess there was some sort of particulate that allowed so many individual “flower” to form. I have never seen this kind of formation in the wild but I’ll keep my eyes open for it!
Wow, this is so cool! I wouldn’t crop it at all. The way the straighter lines of ice break up the frame into sections is interesting. I could see flipping it vertically, though, so what is now the lower left quadrant would look like it’s being held in a basket of the other ice.
