Headwaters--95

Gallery: LandscapePosted March 23, 2011248 views15 comments

I am very grateful for all the critiques and suggestions I've recieved on this series. On my last 'headwaters' post, it was suggested that including recognizable elements might increase the overall impact of the image. I think the pebbles in the bg of this image are recognizable. Do they help emphasize the current in the image? Do they ground the image? Do they help provide a pathway for the veiwer to 'wander' through the image? Do they increase the overall impact of the image? All critiques and suggestions are most welcome.

1/400sec f/3.5 200mm

Thanks for looking

Comments

15 comments

Comment posted by Balan Vinod on March 23, 2011 at 12:49 PM

Lea ..wonderful abstract ..love the pattern ..and my kind of image. I tend to search for water abstracts. Do you have a chance to get back to the place ..? may be try a faster shutter and less waves to expose the pebbles ..well that would well be a good experiment. Well done on this one ...

Balan Vinod

Registered on March 20, 2006, 889 Posts, 2312 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on March 23, 2011 at 1:01 PM

Another beauty Nancy. I love your chosen shutter speed. The pebbles neither help nor hinder the overall impact for me, except for perhaps adding a little color. The impact for me is the ripple's shape. I might crop some off the right side as the URC is rather bland in comparison to the rest of the image. I've really enjoyed this series.

EDIT: Dumb Me, I just figured out that ALL of the color in the center is caused by the pebbles. DUH! In that case, let me change my statement about impact. The pebbles make a very positive imapct! Sorry Nancy.

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on March 23, 2011 at 1:17 PM

This is a great abstract. i like your chosen shutter speed.

Registered on January 29, 2010, 285 Posts, 4281 Comments

Comment posted by Luis Argerich on March 23, 2011 at 1:19 PM

Nice abstract, I like how soft the little waves are.
Being this an abstract I think some liberties can be taken editing and I'd try a blue version of the water. Maybe I don't like browns :)

Registered on December 22, 2009, 91 Posts, 1349 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on March 23, 2011 at 3:19 PM

Bill, my question was actually only refering to the bg pebbles so your comment was totally appropriate. It is the pebbles that add the color but it's the flow that creates the abstract quality I'm trying to capture.
Balan, I will attempt your suggestion next time I'm out.
Luis, Blue is probably more traditional for water but beyond sharpening and sometimes increasing the saturation, I try to keep these images 'as shot'.
Thanks all of you for your suggestions.

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Kyle L. Krause on March 23, 2011 at 5:01 PM

Nancy, this is a beautiful abstract. It has a hint of a water color painting. I would not change a thing. Very nice work.

Registered on June 15, 2010, 29 Posts, 605 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Richter on March 23, 2011 at 5:48 PM

Nancy, I like your image a lot! There are appropriate focal points and a really amazing surrealistic pattern. Exposure and processing works well in my opinion.

Peter

Registered on November 10, 2010, 218 Posts, 2723 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on March 23, 2011 at 6:55 PM

Wonderful colors and detailed ripple shapes especially in the left 3/4ths of the frame. The recognizable pebbles bring a touch of reality to the image but for me the abstract nature is what sets this apart.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Floris van Breugel on March 23, 2011 at 10:33 PM

Absolutely fascinating colors and forms in these ripples, Nancy! The composition works for me here, though I could also see lose the top right corner one way or another - not as much going on there. Looks like there's a combination of artifacts and noise reduction throughout the image - probably nothing you can do about it.. but thought I'd point it out.

Registered on December 19, 2008, 306 Posts, 4840 Comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on March 23, 2011 at 10:55 PM

Beautiful abstract. I'd keep the pebbles at the top, I might crop the right side to make the image a little more abstract.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by dean hebert on March 24, 2011 at 4:14 AM

Nicely done, I like the distorted pebbles. I would crop the RHS to create a more abstract comp.

Registered on August 4, 2010, 70 Posts, 1132 Comments

Comment posted by Gary McGhee on March 24, 2011 at 8:18 AM

This looks great Nancy, the patterns throughout are very interesting indeed.

Gary.

Registered on April 15, 2010, 142 Posts, 2416 Comments

Comment posted by Eric Good on March 24, 2011 at 8:23 PM

Very inspiring work! I could see an argument for leaving in the pebbles for their ability to lend viewer as sense of place and scale. But I find the more abstractness of the center to be most interesting to me. I particularly like this flipped 45 degrees CC and a little of the sides cropped off. That creates a very nice abstract that looks like rising colorful flames. Either way, really nice work!

Registered on March 17, 2007, 116 Posts, 4764 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on March 26, 2011 at 1:05 PM

Very cool abstract here.

I think you could also do a square crop of the left side where the rock vs sandy areas are (no sandy areas if that makes sense).

Mark

Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Pederson on March 27, 2011 at 11:18 AM

Fascinating abstract, Nancy. I like the color palette and this is a very nice image. Not sure about the pebbles in the background; they do help make it recognizable as a shallow streambed. For me, the "action" is in the center of the image. I could see a closer shot of that area - even more abstract.

Registered on October 19, 2010, 95 Posts, 470 Comments