Here's another "keeper" from the fishing trip just past. Essentially the same scene as the panoramic below, but at the other end of a day. I don't know about this one. All those...colors just fluster me. I just can't quite get used to photographing all those colors. There are at least half a dozen distinct colors just in the water.
In case anyone's heard me say that I'm really not a landscape (seascape? Lakescape?) photographer, I should mention that both of these are really just personal snapshots. I've been going to this place all my life, and the line of that opposing shore is as familiar to me as my own name.
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Mike
aw, c'mon Mike, you can dissect a lens down to the last filter thread and something like colors fluster you? How illuminating. Maybe one reason you just can't decide on this photo is because the subject matter is so near and dear to you. Like trying to be impartial about your own child's face. For what it's worth, at this small size, what i particularly like is the monochrome look with that salmon sunlight reflecting on everything from the water to the undersides of those molten lead clouds. I also like how the dock and the kayacks on the grass lead our eye straight across the lake to those distant hills. It's an unusual look in a familiar setting. Subtly rewarding. Very much you, in fact. dya~
Posted by: dyathink | Sunday, 17 August 2008 at 02:25 AM
Mike, the colors just are. That's it.
Snapshots are more important than "photographs." It's the nature of things.
Posted by: John Hicks | Sunday, 17 August 2008 at 02:39 AM
That is an impressive view, the light in distance, lighted clouds, reflections in water. Sometimes it is difficult to see the beauty of familiar things, did you have that problem here?
Posted by: Juha Haataja | Sunday, 17 August 2008 at 03:35 AM
I really wish the pictures on this site were bigger.
I know TypePad is way too limited in this respect (shameful for a paid service). How about putting pictures on a hosting service like Flickr or Pbase or whatever?
Posted by: Eolake Stobblehouse | Sunday, 17 August 2008 at 06:36 AM
Mike,
I had always enjoyed B&W because I didn't have to worry about colors being spot-on. I'm tint-blind, and to me a rainbow consists of about 3 colors. I've found that Photoshop Elements gets the colors right with the Auto-adjust far more often than I do (according to the people who can see them) so I've resigned myself to that and noise reduction as my only post-processing.
The lake looks relaxing! Hope it helped!
Roger
Posted by: Roger Engle | Sunday, 17 August 2008 at 09:48 AM
Mike,
You definitely have a keeper here. The subtlety of the colors and the richness of this photograph are fantastic. Maybe even more than that it takes me to the cottage in Northern Michigan. You can tell from the picture that this is a familiar place, maybe it's the dock. Either way, very nice. Thanks for sharing.
Mark
Posted by: Markus Johnson | Sunday, 17 August 2008 at 11:10 AM
Hmmmmm. This scene has a "Michigan" feel to it.
Posted by: Hmmm. | Sunday, 17 August 2008 at 11:31 AM
"Sometimes it is difficult to see the beauty of familiar things, did you have that problem here?"
Oh no--whenever there is nice light, someone will spread the word--"Come look at the light on the lake!" and everybody will come pouring out of the house to look and admire. This time it was my stepfather, John, who saw this light first and passed the word.
Mike J.
Posted by: Mike J. | Sunday, 17 August 2008 at 11:34 AM
"I really wish the pictures on this site were bigger."
It's especially problematic with panoramas. They get very small in the spaces normally reserved for pictures (anywhere, not just here). Really the only way to see them properly is prints on the wall.
Mike J.
Posted by: Mike J. | Sunday, 17 August 2008 at 11:36 AM
There are two different stories here, besides time of day. The first shot speaks of quiet serenity; it's restful. I also like the framing lent by the trees that fully encompass the sides, funneling you into the photo. With this lighting, the pier becomes a graphic element and completely readable. The picture in this post is far more dramatic and ominous. The chop on the water and the leaden skies speak of impending storms. And, due to the coloring and lighting, the pier loses its prominence. In this picture, the trees don't visually seal off the photo edges. While both are pretty cool snaps, if I were going to hang one over my desk to remind me of where I'd rather be, I'd go with serenity:)
Posted by: Al Benas | Sunday, 17 August 2008 at 11:56 AM
"Snapshots are more important than 'photographs.' It's the nature of things."
Profoundly true, John, and something that not that many "serious" photographers are willing to say, or maybe even understand.
Posted by: John Kennerdell | Sunday, 17 August 2008 at 12:20 PM
You're doing quite well for a non-landscape photographer that doesn't like color in pictures. :-D
Posted by: Thiago Silva | Sunday, 17 August 2008 at 09:54 PM