I find it interesting. It’s poetic in a way, and artistic. For some reason it reminds me of some of the work of the American painter Winslow Homer who often painted outdoor scenes. There was one where a man is in a canoe holding a submerged deer by its horns. The water he painted was like this. He often painted water darkly with muted colors.
Hi Preston,
Wonderful to see a post from you again. It is an uncomplicated image and yes it does hold my interest. There is some wonderful implied diagonal movement with the streaks in the water that take you through the frame; and yes they do look like comet tails. I am also enjoying the green reflected in the Merced River. I find this to be very relaxing and calming. Very nicely done; no suggestions from me.
Preston, A really wonderful scene here. I like the idea of the two comets too. With two of them it could tie into Mark Twain. Who was born on Haley’s Comet and passed away on Haley’s Comet as I recall.
It is simple at first glance, but one of those images that is enjoyable to stop and ponder for a moment or two. There is a lot of subtle beauty to explore. I especially like those lines flowing near the bottom.
This is gorgeous, Preston. I have been looking at this for about 5 minutes now. Almost never does an image make me want to stare at it for that long. Yes, it’s simple and minimalist but there is so much going. My favorite parts of the image are actually the lines below and above the two comet tails. The water is so soft in those two areas and I love how you can see through the water to the rocks below. I also love the reflected trees in the top portion of the image and the color of the water is sumptuous.
I’m also enjoying the swirl of water in the lower comet with just enough texture coming off of the submerged rock so that the water isn’t milk like. But it’s really those long streaks below and the short streaks above the comets that I’m enjoying the most.
Welcome back, Preston. Good to see you here again.
Preston, welcome back. It’s good to see a post from you. This is the kind view that puts me right there quietly enjoying the stream. You’ve got a good sense of movement and lots of interesting details. I do find myself drawn more to the flow lines and rocks in the bottom half. That has me wondering if some mid-tone dodging of the reflections at the top and the upper flow would draw a bit more attention to the top half. I felt compelled to try my suggestion… Dodged using a mid-tone mask between L1 and D2 (select all, subtract L1, subtract D2, dodge).
So great to see an image post and so glad to see you return! Welcome back!
Most definitely holds my interest. In fact this is quite calming and beautiful. The flow with the chosen shutter speed is just right. I’m really enjoying the sweeping lines (comet streaks I guess!) and yet there is beautiful texture in both the upper and lower wakes.
There is much more about this too. I’m really enjoying the river bottom of rock and the hints of green moss beneath; subtle, yet an important element to the overall scene. The reflection and flow up top is another wonder element. I do like Mark’s edits in that part of the image.
What a critique from Lon be without a nitpick. Almost not worth mentioning and certainly falls under my opinion and nothing else… To me, the small, rounded top of the rock up top - I wish was a little sharper. On the good side, there is an overall softness to the flowing water that that little tip of the rock fits right in. On the flip side, mentally I’m wishing for a little sharpness there. Of course at this size, it’s hard to tell. No biggie.
Looking forward to more and your thoughtful comments as well. Maybe next time we get together we can do some shooting!
Thanks for all of your comments and ‘welcome back’ notes. They are appreciated.
@Mark_Seaver : Thanks for the rework. I like it. I still use TK’s V4 panel, so I am unclear as to your procedure, here. It’s an interesting idea, so could you send me a PM? Thanks.
@Lon_Overacker : Thanks, Lon. I’ll take peek at that rock. Thanks for your comment.
-Preston
It is a wonderful photo and depiction of the calm flow of the Merced. I can just hear the subtle gurgling of the water passing over the FG rock. I also love how transparent the water is so that the underlying river bed rocks can be seen. Unlike Lon , I have no suggestions for improvement.
Thanks for the quietly joyful scene. I also enjoyed the river bottom showing a bit.
The frothiness of the lower comet seems visually a bit strong alongside its quieter, more defined friend. I was a little less charmed than others with the softness and graininess in the image. I ran it through Photo AI, and can offer an alternative photo, albeit not with the dreamy feeling of your creation.
Dick, honestly, I was afraid of over sharpening this one. Hindsight being 20-20, I could have tried some grain reduction.
With regard to AI: This is just my personal opinion, and is not a personal jab at you, but I believe AI will be a scourge on humanity’s ability to create using their God-given intellect and creative instincts. While AI may be of use solving certain problems, I believe art, and that includes photography, should remain a purely human endeavor.
-Preston
I missed this one before and glad I found it now, from your more recent post. I think this is wonderful and it definitely holds my attention! The lines of water movement overlaid on the view underwater is worth a lot of attention. At this size I can’t complain about noise or sharpness. Denoise these days does wonders with grain. I think the AI designation in things like Topaz Denoise AI is not something to be too worried about – it’s in the name to sell stuff. But there is a serious element to it – the software has studied (“been trained on”) noise in a huge bunch of varied images and the result used to effectively fine-tune the noise/grain removal without harming the image. It isn’t making up content.
A different issue is with AI “fill”, where it analyzes adjacent surroundings and comes up with a plausible substitute for an area. For me, that’s a gray area but I’ll use it (with full disclosure) to remove things I couldn’t remove or avoid in the field. As long as it is peripheral and doesn’t change the truth of the image, I can accept it. It all started with cloning.
Where I hit the choking point is two scenarios: When AI is used to composite in an artificial object that wasn’t part of the scene, or (just as bad) when something like cloning or “painting” is used to radically alter a scene. If somebody wants to do it, fine, but it is no longer photography and doesn’t belong here, even in Abstract Nature.
An exception to that is ICM, or when something like two or more actual photographs are merged with blending modes and masking, to create an interesting result but one that retains hints of its photographic origin. I think these results are founded in legitimate photography in the same way that Pictorialism used characteristics of light and lenses to render scenes in a way beyond what is ordinarily seen.
There will be more and more AI “art” but with some awareness we can sort out the stuff that is true to the photographic art and ignore the rest.
, I have no suggestions for improvement.