Back in the creative autumn groove

This was a slightly experimental horizontally mobile shot of a small lochan, to act as an antidote to the bout of vertical 'drag' shots I was experiencing this autumn.

It was taken using a 4 second exposure and moving the camera horizontally for three secs and stopping it for the final 1 sec. The result is a combination of movement and sharpness thats allowed the trees behind to appear, but in a ghosting kind of way. However the reeds in the foreground have blurred out and the bands of greenery on the bank and their reflection have all banded too.

This is (I suspect) a love it or leave it type of image.

1DMk3, 70-200 @ 200mm, 4 secs @ f13, ISO 100, tripod, polarizer and 2 anti-seasickness pills.

I works for me, the complimentary colours are calm and gentle to the eye; although maybe I would have liked it more with a 50/50 split between moving and fixed position which would have burned the trees in a touch more, so the result was less ambiguous!

A very interesting technique and image John. Come, come, though; you're surely not dissing the merits of the ‘vertical drag’ are you?!

Joking apart, thanks for the thorough explanation - always good to be informed – it helps with adaptation.

Cheers,
Chris

It takes a few seconds to judge Not sure if I like the overall image but I do like the trees in the background. Indeed it has a ghost feel to it and the colors match perfectly together. Man...you activate my brain like no one else has ever done before. Which is a good thing. It's different. Please keep on doing this.

Edwin Kats

I think I'm beginning to lose the plot A lot of your images are thought provoking John and we probably need to have new and exciting ideas in natural history photography but sometimes I just don't get it. Call me old fashioned or maybe just an old stick in the mud but if I look at a Natural History image I'd like to know what I'm looking at without having to be told what it is. The horizontal banding in the lower half doesn't say to me, Loch, reeds or anything else... just horizontal bands! The ghosted trees I can just about live with but overall, for me, this one does not appeal one bit and to my mind would be better suited to an art forum. Sorry if this sounds a bit harsh but it is certainly nothing personal as I have admired many of your images.
Robert.

Interesting, I am still trying to work out if the ghostly trees in the background work or not. Good to see something wildly different though.

Andrew

Thanks for the feedback (so far! Keep it coming if you can be bothered!).

Happy to keep you up to speed with explanations Chris! Thats what this online hide should be about.

Edwin - my pleasure. Thats a big responsibility so I'll keep trying on your behalf!

Robert - great response. Harsh is good!

Thanks for taking the time to explain what you DONT like. We get too many 'dont like this' with no real qualification or explanations. I always feel like an image has been 'successful' (in a rounded provocative sense) when the comments explaining why someone does NOT like it require more sentences than the comments in favour!

I've always felt that we take too narrow a view of what passes for nature photography in the UK, and thats certainly NOT a dig at you Robert nor any criticism of your personal taste which I respect, more a general observation, and thinking specifically about the way for example some of the Scandinavian photographers portray their landscape and wildlife - very very abstract and wildly different to the prevailing UK/USA visual attitude. But its most certainly not to everyone's taste.

The reality of this image is that its probably nearer 'real life' than vertical drags - just try keeping your eyes fixed and turn your head quickly - and hey presto, who needs a camera! Hence the seasick pills!

Better on an "art forum" ? That really made me smile, I thought we all were artists! :-) I value the criticism here way more than any I could obtain on upmyownbottom.com.

So thanks.

Regards

John

It's good to see a response from you, John, stating your views and defending your reasoning behind the image posted; it is not often that people explain the creative process that they have put into the image and reasons behind the composition etc to counter any of the nits that get posted by those critiquing the shot.
What your image here suggests to me is a somewhat deeper personal comment in that it conveys that all too human trait of rushing past all the great beauty we are surrounded by without really viewing it properly.

Thanks for the reply and explanantion John, just tried the eyes fixed head turn thingy and now have a cricked neck
Robert

I like it, especially the ghosted trees and the colours. Would love to see more with this technique and its great that you're being so experimental.

Love the lines and colours makes the image for me John

Hmm. I attended a live print critique session last night. 2 messages. The judge on the night felt that, if an image came across as "disturbing" then it had provoked thought and challenged the viewer. This one is "disturbing", so has been successful in one regard.I do like the mystery in the top half, but I find it clashes with the vivid horizontals in the lower half. Need to see it a few more times. 2nd message - the judge felt he was unable to mark one print because he felt it had crossed the boundary between photography and art, in that the print had more of a watercolour feel than a photograph (due to photoshop rather than in-camera technique). I'm really not sure if there is a barrier at all (as long as a camera is involved!)

Hi John,

Nice to see something that makes people think, and you're to be applauded for your repeated attempts to bring more creativity to this forum.

I've been attempting something similar - however totally abstract without any identifiable element - on recent train journeys. I also tried something with double exposures - one straight image, one panned (didn't quite work but I haven't given up).

This image doesn't quite work for me however. I like the idea, but not sure the balance is there between the abstract and the nature, perhaps needs less panning/longer still period. I think you should keep trying though!

Greg

Nice to see the creative juices flowing well John

Great idea. For me the trees need to be more dominant or more of them. Looks like Craigelleachie and after 8 years of visiting that place each autumn you may have exhausted the possibilities, but then again perhaps not!

Hi John,

when I first looked at this shot I hated it

I have looked at it several times now and it has grown on me.

I am inspired to try for myself

Glad to hear some of you are inspired! And that some of you may try it also. Can I ask those that do try a favour? When you've tried it, tell the folks who wanted more detail in the trees what happens to the foreground if you do less moving and more static.

Seriously though - this result took a LOT of frames to obtain. Not quite as easy as it looks and certainly gave me a workout!

Hi John

Always good to see something very different, but it doesn't work for me. I like the light and subtle shades but for me the trees need to stand out a little more and if as you say this is not possible then it would never work for me!

David

Has a 'Zen-like' feel to it for me. Keep pushing those bounderies!!