This is a little intimate scene from a small pond near Nottingham, PA. I forget the specs other than a Pentax 67, Pentax 180 macro and Velvia. There was no snow just some cold temps which encased the oak leaves and the reeds in it’s icy grip.
As always I appreciate you taking a look and leaving a thought.
Ed, I like the mix of ice shapes above and the leaves and branches frozen into the lower layers of ice. The textures in the ice layer look good also. I think that some (probably some more…) burning in of that bright cattail leaf coupled with some dodging of the two oak leaves toward the right would help emphasize the leaves. The contrast with the top sheets of ice works well.
For me the image jumps up at me with a crop from the bottom toward square format, eliminating that “stray” unconnected chunk of ice. A similar affect occurs with a proportional crop from the bottom and right to hold my eye toward the center rather than following the cattail out of frame. You have some very nice elements here, and it’s great fun to move around the image and watch the way cropping causes them to rise and fall in prominence.
Lovely little scene. Agree that the bright stem could be darkened a bit, and the leaves beneath the surface brightened a bit. Love the texture of the ice and the edges of the ice.
Thanks to everyone @Mark_Seaver, @Hank_Pennington and @Bonnie_Lampley for taking a moment to leave a thought. Here is a repost with your suggestions of a crop, tone down the reed and lighten the oak leaves.
Ed, the repost provides an inviting chilly feeling, that speaks well of winter.
Still lovely.
You nailed it, Ed!
This jumps off the page, while the previous version was simply “interesting.”
Thanks @Mark_Seaver, @Bonnie_Lampley and @Hank_Pennington. Your suggestions for some small tweaks made for a better image.
No nits here , Ed. This is my kind of shot. Love the contrast between the faded autumnal colors and the bright white snow.
