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Lake with reed
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Lake with reed

by Chris Stenger

Gallery: LandscapePosted November 14, 2013327 views10 comments
A small lake with reeds in winter (last August) in the national park Torres del Paine, Patagonia. I was struck by the orange reed in the dark water. I used a long exposure of 16 sec to smoothen the water and to get some movement in the reed.
Mamiya 645DF with Leaf digital back
ISO80, 35 mm, 16 sec, f/10

Comments

10 comments
Comment posted by Ronald Murphy on November 14, 2013 at 1:37 PM
Yes, I like this. I'm drawn right in to it. And nice color contrast. Not sure I like the blurred grass or maybe prefer no movement.
Registered on March 13, 2012, 279 Posts, 975 Comments
Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on November 14, 2013 at 2:06 PM
A nice broad view of a "see forever" day. The grass movement is not really noticeable, at least not enough to "feel" the force of the wind. If it took 16 seconds to get this much, I'm not sure you would have done as well or better to use a faster SS. Or come back on a windier day.
Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments
Comment posted by Nuno Eira on November 14, 2013 at 4:23 PM
For 16 seconds is not a preceptivel movement, parabens beautiful moment ...
Registered on October 8, 2012, 37 Posts, 99 Comments
Comment posted by Rudy Ruberti on November 15, 2013 at 3:34 PM
I like the way the grass seems to jump out of the water. Nicely done.
Registered on October 28, 2008, 179 Posts, 1875 Comments
Comment posted by John Williams on November 16, 2013 at 10:09 AM
Interesting photo Chris, and very engaging as is. The blues really bring out that middle yellow. A couple of thoughts though. I agree that the grass movement is small enough that it may have been better to capture without it. Second, the most interesting part to my eye is that circular area of grass in the distance. Did you happen to take a shot zoomed in that focused more on it?
Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments
Comment posted by Chris Stenger on November 17, 2013 at 11:17 AM
Thanks to all of you who took the time to comment on my image. Most of you commented on the long exposure time that I used and the movement of the grass. I used a long exposure time for two reasons, i.e. to smoothen the water and to get some movement in the grass. In the small NPN images the smoothening of the water is obvious, but I agree that (unfortunately) the movement of the grass is hardly visible in these small images. However the oiginal image is more than 10,000 pixels wide and in a large print the movement of the grass is clearly visible. Whether you like it or not in the large version, I guess, is a matter of personal taste. I like it and for me it's a key element in the picture, also because I didn't want to make the standard picture of a lake with orange grass. I appreciate, however, all your comments on this and perhaps it would have been better not to post an image in which a key element is hardly visible. By the way, going back to make a different picture is not an option....the lake is more than 10,000 km away from where I live....unfortunately.
John, you asked whether I have a shot zoomed in on the circular area of grass in the distance. I have not, but the number of pixels in the original image is large enough to allow cropping. You will find a cropped version above and you may decide yourself what you like best. Personally I prefer the first version. Again personal taste.
Registered on May 9, 2013, 27 Posts, 163 Comments
Comment posted by Randy Runtsch on November 17, 2013 at 11:39 AM
Hi Chris,

Well done. I prefer the first version, with the smooth open water that transitions to the reeds and creates depth front to back. But, maybe darkening that water a bit, thus making the underwater reeds less visible, would make the above-water reeds stand out more.

This is a pleasing image from a beautiful site. :smile:
Registered on October 30, 2013, 50 Posts, 445 Comments
Comment posted by Todd Liotine on November 17, 2013 at 12:00 PM
Chris I prefer the first version. Like how the reeds from the lower right corner draw you in.
Registered on July 1, 2008, 131 Posts, 671 Comments
Comment posted by Bill Chambers on November 18, 2013 at 11:28 AM
Lovely color combination. It may be winter but the image has a nice warmth to it.
Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Metternich on November 18, 2013 at 2:40 PM
A really cool foreground. Playful IMO. Nice job on this one. :toast:
Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments