This picture was taken in the late summer of this year in West Germany, on one of those last hot days. I like the contrast between the flowing water and the rocks that are bursting against it. I also like the many details in the rocks and the structures in the water which is shone by this warm light. For me the scene has something huge in itself, although you can judge the size from the leaves.
With this picture I am not so interested in a technical criticism but rather in whether this picture creates a resonance in you. So a criticism of the atmosphere and the mood. I am very interested in how this picture affects the individual viewer and look forward to your comments. Best regards Martin.
I find this to be a personal image and yes it does resonate with me. The light and water flow down from the the upper right corber. It is the source of āhopeā towards which we all strive for. This is the sort of image I currently am attracted to. Whether itās Sun rays descending or water flowing the idea is similar.
Iām used to look at images with no reference to the title, but in this case there is a mystical mood. A sound tonal contrast between lights and shadows give the image a poetical resonance.
I quite like this, Martin. The mix of light and darkness gives it an ethereal look, even mystical as Matteo said. The emotion within the image hits home rather well.
Itās great that I was able to convey and visualize the feeling I had. Exactly what you described was my intention.
I like the idea of the recurring and I see exactly that in this picture.
Thank you for your feedback, it helps me a lot on my way.
Best regards.
I thought about whether I should give the picture a title. Since I was aware that I would of course also change the way I looked at it, but I think it is important to give your pictures a direction and in this case it supports the picture and the vision I had. Itās great that it finds this resonance with you.
regards
You have made very powerful use of of light and shadow to direct the flow of the viewers eye in the image. And your processing of shadow detail is extremely well done. The image has a lot of immediate impact due to itās high contrast. Then as my eyes adjust to the darkness, they wander across the scene to appreciate the various textures in the rocks and water.
In terms of emotional impact, for me it primarily comes from the warm light, which is either early or late light due to its low angle. I probably interpret this a bit differently than your title of " Hope" implies. Because the dead leaves are prominent, I see this as late light, which symbolizes the end of a season. The light on these leaves could be the last embers of autumn, before the season (and the light) is extinguished. Thats the thing about personal images, they are open to subjective interpretation. I think the title maybe implies āHopeā in the sense of the light of a new day illuminating the scene. But the small visual cue of the dead leaves speaks a different story to me. Who knows, maybe Iām just a melancholy pessimist.
I know you are not looking for technical comments, but Iād suggest cloning away the leaf closest to the bottom frame edge, itās a minor distraction.
This is just the kind of small scene I love. I get a small feeling of hope from it, although the hope is outweighed by the very heavy, dark, and ominous left half of the frame. If you want to convey hope as the main emotion, perhaps cropping off a bit on the left would work. I know you didnāt want technical critique, but I did a couple changes that I thought would better convey hope (cropping from left, brightening and slightly warming the bright bits, no changes to dark bits). I hope you donāt mind. In any event, it is a lovely photo.
Martin, this is really a beautiful image! I like the adjustments proposed by Bonnie. Maybe the image could be flipped horizontally to have the flow from the upper left to the lower right, for me personnaly that is more pleasing.
Much to enjoy about the image. For me, the rocks and leaves are the most enchanting elements. Certainly the center, with its flow of energy and sensitive shadows and light are also very appealing. For me, the right side is distractingly bright and warm. The top right corner takes my eye there, and I want to enjoy the rest of your image. I ended up cropping and cooling the water, and like @Bonnie_Lampley dodging the falls and bottom pool a bit. Also cropped left side a bit. Funny thing, when I worked with the LRC falls, I noticed the tiny rainbow.
Thank you for your great interpretation. For me the big rock in the lower left part of the picture is very important and for me it implies steadfastness against the water. The hope of mastering this difficult task.
It is interesting and very helpful how other people perceive a picture and I am grateful that you take the time.
I probably never would have thought of that interpretation myself, the light in the image is so strong that I just assumed that āHopeā referred to the light. But that is one of the things I like about NPN. I know photography is very subjective and Iām always interested to hear other others interpret my images, because some people look at the same image very differently, and Iām curious to hear about their views.
