Here is a shot I made a few weeks ago at Grand Portage State Park.
Later that day we decided to head over to Canada for a bit and on the way back we stopped to take some pictures. I had forgotten that my wallet was still on my lap from when we had crossed the border into canada and it fell into the snow when I got out of the car, so we crossed back into minnesota and I realized that I didn't have my wallet any more.......... I thought OH S***! So we went back into Canada and luckily we found it about a mile up the road, but the problem was we had just crossed over into Minnesota ten minutes ago...... When we pulled up at the check point for the second time within 15 minutes they were a little suspicious... rightfully.... so we spent the better part of an hour watching our car get torn apart while they searched it, and of course they didn't find anything but camera gear and snowshoes! I just thought I'd share one the the dumb things that I've done while on a photo excursion! I found it to be rather humorous, and at least I have a story to tell now!
Well let me know what you all think!
Ben
1D Mark III - 35-135mm @ 135mm - tripod/cable release - 3-stop ND and Polarizer
ISO 50 - f/16 - 0.4 seconds
Posted by Ken Hupila on January 24, 2009 at 11:36 PM
Love the warm color against the cold ice!
Posted by Philip Schwarz on January 25, 2009 at 11:20 AM
It is a good picture made even better with the story behind it.
Posted by Brian Vance on January 25, 2009 at 3:57 PM
I really like the light and the details in the ice formations. I like the composition a lot and have a question. I'm wondering what was just above the top of the frame? The ice that makes it across the top of the frame is very nice, but seems a bit cramped in. I like the reflected light there, but want to know what's just above the frame. Not a nit, just a curiosity. Lovely image well seen and captured.
If I had framed it any higher up I would've hit snow that was no longer covered by the shadows of the surrounding bluffs and would've been completely blown out. I was going to crop out that little sliver of highlighted snow, but it kind of grew on me and now I like it!
Posted by Chuck Beatty on January 25, 2009 at 5:58 PM
Beautiful light and composition, Ben. I like the details in the ice along the margins. Great story, too!
Nice image. Excellent light and an interesting intimate composition. My preference would be for a very slight crop from the top to eliminate that far bank and give this a bit more of a semi-abstract appeal.
Fun story to read - I'm glad you found the wallet. That'd be rough otherwise. Yikes. As stated, beautiful light. I'm undecided about the top edge. It does act as a bit of a framing element, but I can also understand Kerry's thoughts. One nitpicky thing that did occur to me was that I'd personally prefer either more or less depth of field. It gets soft towards the back, which does create a bit of depth, but it's kind of riding the edge. If you wanted to get the ice sharp in the background, you could take two exposures focused at different points and then merge them in post. Just a thought. Nice shot.
Discussion
7 repliesLater that day we decided to head over to Canada for a bit and on the way back we stopped to take some pictures. I had forgotten that my wallet was still on my lap from when we had crossed the border into canada and it fell into the snow when I got out of the car, so we crossed back into minnesota and I realized that I didn't have my wallet any more.......... I thought OH S***! So we went back into Canada and luckily we found it about a mile up the road, but the problem was we had just crossed over into Minnesota ten minutes ago...... When we pulled up at the check point for the second time within 15 minutes they were a little suspicious... rightfully.... so we spent the better part of an hour watching our car get torn apart while they searched it, and of course they didn't find anything but camera gear and snowshoes! I just thought I'd share one the the dumb things that I've done while on a photo excursion! I found it to be rather humorous, and at least I have a story to tell now!
Well let me know what you all think!
Ben
1D Mark III - 35-135mm @ 135mm - tripod/cable release - 3-stop ND and Polarizer
ISO 50 - f/16 - 0.4 seconds