I seldom post grand landscapes but I usually take them together with the intimates. I usually start with them during an outing and work my way to smaller scenes. I shot big scenes on both the overcast days and a day that had really good light conditions. I expected and initially thought the scene with the good light was better but this image slowly won over my heart. I just like the feel I sometimes get with high tone images. High tone and infinity - what a winning combination! There is a sense of peace here that is emphasized by the repeating wet squares and the glistening water. This should have a thicker white border but I don’t feel like changing it now. Some may perceive a bit of sadness to this image due to the blue colors but I don’t feel that way - yet.
GFX50R, 32-64mm, CPL
What do you think?
PS. The new title has nothing to do with philosophy nor is it a profound question. It’s a reference to the song ‘Alfie’.
This image does have a soft gentle feel to the overall peacefulness, Ben. For me, the high tone emphasizes the feel. Looks like a very peaceful place to be.
Wow Igor. What a great image. So many levels to it. The low perspective, repeating patterns and the mountain range with its reflection all look so balanced inspite of the multiple components. Etherial with the high tone. Where was this taken??
Oh, this is wonderful. I don’t get a feeling of sadness at all; maybe a bit of melancholy because of the subdued light and colors. The composition is super. The diminishing size of the mud patterns draws my eye upward to the mountain and its reflection. Really great.
I got your reference to What’s It All About, Alfie. Now it’s running through my head.
I like the high key effect of the image. Although more of a grand landscape, the simplicity of the image and repetition of the foreground geometry has the character of an intimate.
So this is the location that also created your mud crack image. It looks like a great place to shoot, with lots of creative possibilities. I agree with you, high key and infinity work really well together here. I get a feeling of peacefulness and calm from your presentation. But I don’t get a feeling of sadness, the lightness of the image keeps me from feeling sad, even though the colors are very muted. What I also like about this grand landscape is how visually powerful the mountain is, even though it only takes up very a small percentage of the image. I think keeping the sky low contrast enhances the power of the mountain as well. Really nice work Igor.
Very nice work, Igor. The composition is spot on for me. I love the symmetry, and how it is subtly broken by the distant mountains. The high-key look works very well for this image. I thought that the image had a bit of a greenish cast to it, so I brought it into PS. I added a Color Balance adjustment layer with a slight shift to magenta: 2 in the shadows, and 4 in the midtones and highlights sliders. Maybe not what you were going for, so do with it what you will.
Thank you Craig. I posted it next to the original so that the difference was apparent. I do see what you’re referring to. I prefer the original color cast, however.
I think a high-key approach was the right choice as the colors, for whatever reason, aren’t particularly attractive. Maybe it was the time of day? What drew me to this was the patterns in the foreground and the textures in the sky, neither of which require color to be attractive. So why not black and white, I thought, and just skip the color.
Thank you Tony. I like the gentle colors very much but I like your b&w version also very much as well. For me it’s apples and oranges. Each has it’s own beauty, a different beauty than the other. Thank you for making me aware of this potential. It’s a striking image. For some reason it reminds me of the one Adams did of Mono Lake. The one with a dry stick in the foreground.
Igor, this is a really great image, I love it! It is some kind of hybrid of intimate and great landscape. You start looking at the interesting pattern in the foreground, then it is amazing how the mountain takes over and almost dominates, even if of small size close to the horizon.
Everything is so well put together, the view, colors and high key, composition, structure etc. Looking at the images you post are a great inspiration! I hope that you will add more info/images at your webpage.
I like your original Igor and it color cast but the B&W version is also very compelling. the pastel sky and earth tones in the foreground are very soothing.
