I was sitting by a quiet pond yesterday, when I noticed a few leaves fluttering down and drifting across the surface. Catching this one in the midst of a nice set of reflections captured the sense of summer changing to fall.
7D2, 100-400 @ 400 mm, 1/60 s, f/13, iso 800, tripod
This is a really nice scene, I love the reflected light on the stream and the patterns it is making in the water and all the different shades of green presented throughout the image. It reminds me of an impressionistic painting.
My only nit is the bright spot in the lower right corner. I would see if it is possible to crop that out. To me, that bright spot is too distracting and takes away from all the other great shades of green that you have in the image. I would also try to burn down the exposure on the leaf a bit. All and all though, a very compelling scene!
Mark, this is wonderful, it’s clean and simple, but with significant impact.
The ripples here are quite appealing, I can never get water ripples to look like this, you did a great job here !!!
I especially like the variety of muted green/yellow colors in the ripples, what a nice color mosaic this creates. Your processing of the light on the leaf looks good to me too. While this really nice as presented, my only suggestion would be crop a slight bit away from the top, to put the leaf slightly more off-center.
I really like the simplicity here, Mark. Apart from what Ed mentioned about putting the leaf slightly more off-center vertically, I am thinking of leveling the water ripple.
Wonderful painterly feel to this shot, Mark.
I really like the varying green/yellow tones in the water. I think this would really look amazing printed.
Can’t add anything more that hasn’t been suggested. Nicely done!
This reflection is magical, Mark. The patterns and colors are mesmerizing. I think it is well presented in terms of processing and composition. I agree with Luiz about the bright spot in the lower right - maybe a little color-painting to soften the brightness there. Otherwise, well done! I hope you took some photos of just the reflection, as I think a straight abstraction would make for a compelling interpretation of this scene, as well.
This has that surreal feel to it, like the leaf is floating in space - love it. The leaf’s position is a tad awkward - not quite far enough to the side and not in the middle. Maybe a square crop?
Mark,
What a fantastic reflection! Love the abstract patterns and the variation of tones and color. While agree the reflection would be a fabulous abtstract all by itself, I do like the addition of the leaf and it’s especially important that you got it in focus with sharp detail. Yeah, there are some crops in there, this is pretty fantastic as presented.
Being as super picky as I am, you might consider cloning out a few of the small floaters - but that’s pretty minor and picky.
Lon
Beautiful reflection, with its shapes and colors. I am with Sarah, wondering if you made one or two without the leaf? It would be an interesting contrast between the two images. Either way, quite nice!
Mark, the others have mentioned a few nits regarding the LRC and a possible crop to create a more off center subject. I think they are both good suggestions but they do not take away from this beautiful scene. I love the shades of green and the simplicity of this one. It does make the point that autumn is just around the corner.
What a beautiful and serene image, Mark. Wonderful color contrast between the leaf and the reflections… and the reflections are gorgeous. I would agree with comments about the lower right corner. I would experiment with either burning down or cropping.
The thumbnail does not do this lovely scene justice, Mark. The reflections on the water are truly mesmerizing and hold the viewer’s attention beautifully. I hope you were able to catch some images without the leaf as that would make a perfect abstract. Great eye to spot this one.
Wonderful image. I love the green/amber palette, so fitting your title. I like the idea of a crop off the top and a tish off the left (some edge color variation there). I also second (belatedly) Sarah’s thought, and your new post shows the potential. Here is a possible reinterpretation of this one, just quickly cropped in Windows.
