This is from last winter, a little scene in a stock pond in Tehama County. The day was mostly cloudy, but with the sun peeking out periodically. When the sun came out, the reflection off the water and how the light picked out the surface-tension features really caught my eye. I stood so the brightest reflection was behind that roundish rock and angled the camera to catch the surface features. I also liked the way the view gradually changed from being able to see beneath the water surface to a full reflection.
What technical feedback would you like if any? What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Does the composition work or have I tried to get too many ideas into the frame? I’ve had comments that there really are two photos here - the bottom and the top.
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
Single frame, a7, 105mm, f/16, 1/400s, ISO 500.
You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
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Bonnie,
This is awesome! I love this as is, but gotta say the bottom half on it’s own is a mind bender abstract. The rocks, ripples and bright reflection up top are cool, and bring a bit of reality to the image. Without the top I think this is transformed.
Can’t think of anything else to suggest. Just mesmerized by this.
Lon
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This is a charmer Bonnie. I love the subtleties, and the way you composed the scene is peferct. The location of the brighter reflection, with the rock and wood to break it up, is exactly right to my eye. I think this would be fantastic converted to a black and white as well.
The is wonderful as presented Bonnie. The light, the reflection, all the elements work together to make a fantastic abstraction.
Beautiful light and great job on the processing. I am with Lon on the crop. The bottom half as an abstract sends it over the top for me, although I still like it as presented.
I do agree with the line of thought that this could be two distinct and separate images, top and bottom, and the most interesting image for me is the top. I played with separating them and came up with this - hope you don’t mind. I find the ripples around the rock to be fascinating and I love the reflection.
Thank you, @Lon_Overacker, @John_Williams, @Eva_McDermott, @Harley_Goldman, and @Bill_Chambers for your comments.
I do like your crop, Bill. I have other shots that I framed up like this, but the ripples and light aren’t as nice. John, I did try it in b&w, but because the color is so subdued, the b&w wasn’t as effective at showing some of the underwater features, so I left it in color.
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