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Intense Reflection + Alternative Crop
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Intense Reflection + Alternative Crop

by Harley Goldman

Gallery: LandscapePosted November 30, 201711,982 views10 comments
The Merced River next to Pohono bridge was nicely reflecting a variety of colors, so I decided to go abstract with the reflection. On two different looks at this one, I experimented with cropping off the dark area on the left side, but decided I liked it better with it. This one is very understated. 

Please see the large version.  The small is not translating well.

D810, 70-200mm

Comments

10 comments
Comment posted by Bill Fach on November 30, 2017 at 11:15 PM
Harley: One MUST view the large version. I love the blue highlights. I might be tempted to brighten this up a bit but that's advice coming from an unrepentant color junkie. Nicely seen and superbly captured. >=))>
Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments
Comment posted by gary phillips on December 1, 2017 at 2:02 AM
Real nice Harley.  I also love the blue highlights and the mix of yellows with the metallic gold.  I'm on the fence about the dark left side.  If my memory serves me, a darker left side is becoming a trendsad.  Seriously, a cool abstract.
Registered on October 24, 2013, 185 Posts, 4136 Comments
Comment posted by Lon Overacker on December 1, 2017 at 3:46 AM
Harley,

Ahhhh, so that's what you were seeing and photographing!  It's amazing, and thankfully so, how we all see things differently, yet standing literally in the same location (not sure, you could have done this the next day after we left...) but regardless, you saw, envisioned and captured this abstract - and beautifully.  I love this!

I especially love the splattering of blue throughout. Great choice with the shutter speed which let you separate the variety of color.

Way to go - great "seeing" with this.

Lon
Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments
Comment posted by Dave Dillemuth on December 1, 2017 at 10:49 AM
Opens up real nicely in the large view. Beautiful mix of reflected colors with just enough amount of texture in the water. The sort of natural beauty that most non-photogs would never observe. It looks a bit dark on my monitor so I could see brightening it up some.
Registered on December 10, 2015, 104 Posts, 1112 Comments
Comment posted by Harley Goldman on December 1, 2017 at 10:52 AM
Here is the version with the dark area on the left mostly cropped. Lon, you were standing a couple of feet to my right. Not that it matters, but the colors are very representational of what I could see while standing there. 
Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments
Comment posted by Preston Birdwell on December 1, 2017 at 11:45 AM
This is a wonderful abstract, Harley. I have tried, and failed to get nice reflections at this spot, and so I applaud your seeing and processing here. The color look natural to me, and the textures are excellent.

I like the original image with the dark area because the the nice curves of the reflection help with the dynamic.

Very nicely done, sir!
--P
Registered on November 1, 2003, 471 Posts, 5188 Comments
Comment posted by Igor Doncov on December 1, 2017 at 1:45 PM
Difficult choice, but I think I like the repost a bit more. It's better balanced and more abstract than the original. On the other hand the original gives a better sense of what we're seeing. The repost is more of a collection of colors, shapes, and tones. The strong blues seem more appropriate in the repost somehow. I like it.
Registered on November 22, 2014, 189 Posts, 2733 Comments
Comment posted by Ed McGuirk on December 1, 2017 at 1:59 PM
Harley - wonderful abstract image, nice bit of seeing on your part. The interaction of patterns, textures, and colors is superb. Whats interesting to me about this image is that there are essentially two images here, the left side and the right side. Each has it's own tonality, textures and colors. Sometimes images with a duality like this have the two sides compete with each other for attention, but in this case, the two sides mesh together nicely, and you end up with a balanced result. To my taste, I would like to see it a bit brighter even than in the repost, but maybe it's just my monitor .
Registered on November 29, 2017, 19 Posts, 260 Comments
Comment posted by Lon Overacker on December 1, 2017 at 4:28 PM
Harley,

Had you posted the cropped image first, I wouldn't have any qualms or suggestions with that either. The greens actually frame the scene nicely on the left and the splattering of blue still prevail.  Having said that, I think I lean towards the original for the same reason in that in the original it's the black/dark area that frames the scene and the green and reddish reflections seem to be channeled thru the image giving it a nice flow.

Can't go wrong with either.

Lon
Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Seaver on December 2, 2017 at 10:05 AM
This is a great reflection abstract, Harley, with a good spectrum of colors and lots of interesting detail in the ripples.  I think the darkness on both sides provides a balance for which I favor the original post.  I too think that some overall brightening might look good.
Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments