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Early Light + repost
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Early Light + repost

by Nick Bristol

Gallery: LandscapePosted October 31, 2012731 views38 comments
This is a picture I made the first of October at Council Lake in Upper MI. This was taken just a little after sunrise as the sun was lighting up the shoreline of this small lake. The days were mostly clear with blue skys but the early mornings were quite nice.
5D3, 70-300L @300, iso 100, f/16 and 0.8 sec.

Comments

38 comments
Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on October 31, 2012 at 10:51 AM
Killer scene and color. I find the reflection and mist a wonderful abstract, maybe better than the top trees. Did you get a shot of that as the entire comp? Clear days are good for something! :toast:
Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments
Comment posted by Gary Reed on October 31, 2012 at 10:52 AM
Love the colour and comp... Might try a slight level to the left...seems to flow down on the right... :toast:
Registered on September 19, 2009, 198 Posts, 1074 Comments
Comment posted by Zack Clothier on October 31, 2012 at 11:15 AM
Beautiful colors Nick, I'm especially drawn to the reflection here. The red highlights look blown on my monitor, did you happen to shoot some more exposures for blending?
Registered on January 28, 2010, 343 Posts, 2257 Comments
Comment posted by John&Patty Benway on October 31, 2012 at 11:45 AM
Gorgeous shot Nick, as soon as I opened the page it jumped right out at me. Beautiful light, color and comp, beautiful work.
John
Registered on May 12, 2006, 626 Posts, 8700 Comments
Comment posted by Wayne Willison on October 31, 2012 at 12:36 PM
A real beaut. Love the reflections.
Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments
Comment posted by Bob Miller on October 31, 2012 at 1:02 PM
I'm guessing that it's the fog that is making the water appear milky. It's an interesting addition to the brilliant fall color. The reflections have a look of their own. I might want to increase the blacks a tad but that's a personal choice. Well shot & processed.
Registered on January 24, 2005, 152 Posts, 405 Comments
Comment posted by Robert Dayton on October 31, 2012 at 1:20 PM
A lovely morning fall scenic with a nice mirrored reflection in the pond.
Registered on November 11, 2008, 281 Posts, 3958 Comments
Comment posted by Peter Coskun on October 31, 2012 at 1:44 PM
Like the others I am drawn to the reflection in the water. The abstract quality there is amazing and perfect. Don't get me wrong, the colors here and comp are very nice, but it's the bottom that really holds my interest. Great work.
Registered on October 31, 2011, 170 Posts, 1240 Comments
Comment posted by Shantikara Valuska on October 31, 2012 at 1:48 PM
Very nice, calm scene. The colors and the reflection on the water is so beautiful. I also have a feeling of a slight tilt.
Registered on July 25, 2011, 38 Posts, 451 Comments
Comment posted by Nick Bristol on October 31, 2012 at 1:53 PM
Thanks guys for your comments on this so far! Always appreciated.
Harry, Yes I do have a couple of shots of the reflections here. A later post probably. Thanks!
Zack, I agree about the reds, and you are right. This is the only exposure I have of this comp. After shooting this one I changed the comp thinking it looked better, but now I like this one better. I guess we keep learning as I should have made a couple of other exposures of this before changing... :smile: .
Bob, Yes, there was a light layer of fog across the water giving the milky look which I too thought looked pretty cool. I do like the reflections in this. Thanks, Nick
edit: Gary and Shantikara, I see you both mentioned a slight tilt so it might be a good idea to rotate this a bit for appearance. I thought it was level but sometimes a little rotation can still make it look better. I appreciate your thoughts! Nick
Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments
Comment posted by Rudy Ruberti on October 31, 2012 at 8:46 PM
Beautiful light and colors here Nick. This is nice as is, but I also wouldn't mind seeing more of the reflection. It does appear to have a tilt. Great scene.
Registered on October 28, 2008, 179 Posts, 1875 Comments
Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on October 31, 2012 at 9:17 PM
You and your light are amazing, Nick. Really like this this one a lot!
Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments
Comment posted by Kathy Barnhart on October 31, 2012 at 10:06 PM
Wonderful cool and warm colors, and love the white trunks, both on land and in the water. I might try cropping on the right side a little...it's dark and not much going on except for the red tree in the URC. That's just minor..overall this is a beautiful image.
Registered on November 11, 2011, 404 Posts, 1639 Comments
Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on October 31, 2012 at 10:37 PM
I like your composition here, Nick. The early morning light really helps to bring out the color too. It does look like the red channel is a bit washed out. If you can back off on the saturation a smidge there and recover some of the details this will be great. :toast:

EDIT: I just saw the other comments about the red channel - I guess that confirmed it wasn't just me. You might try to use the Color Range tool from the "Select" menu bar in Photoshop and use the dropper to select the red channel to make a selection and then maybe use that selection to create a mask on either a hue / saturation layer or a vibrance layer and dial back the saturation a little. Hopefully that will help bring back some of the detail.
Registered on May 28, 2004, 114 Posts, 2890 Comments
Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on October 31, 2012 at 11:06 PM
Now, that is something I'd like to see. I love what we have out here, but wow, what a nice array of colors. Love the misty, milky blue water too. The snags really add to the scene, especially in the reflection. Excellent!

Chris
Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments
Comment posted by John Williams on November 1, 2012 at 12:15 AM
Wonderful Nick! It's like several great photos in one. I really like the white trunks without trees, they add a lot. I too really like that milky reflection and look forward to future posts if you have an isolated abstract of it. :toast:
Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments
Comment posted by Dean Sauskojus on November 1, 2012 at 1:15 AM
Some really great colors Nick and the reflection adds so much to the photo. I've been back to look at this image several times and this is what I think. The white trunks are what really stand out. With that I would probably crop the right side only because there are a lot fewer white trunks throwing off the balance of the image. Beautiful fall image!
Registered on September 29, 2009, 137 Posts, 2659 Comments
Comment posted by Alex Mody on November 1, 2012 at 7:04 AM
I love the light and composition. Great work!
Registered on December 25, 2007, 163 Posts, 1896 Comments
Comment posted by Yiming Hu on November 1, 2012 at 8:30 AM
Classic autumn scene. Calm and beautiful.
Registered on April 28, 2011, 38 Posts, 733 Comments
Comment posted by Nick Bristol on November 1, 2012 at 1:33 PM
Thanks so much to all of you for your thoughts! Some good sugestions and tips as well...Thanks! Nick
Brian, Thanks too for the extra photoshop advice. I'll give that a try as soon as I can and see how it works out. Much appreciated!
Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments
Comment posted by Peter Richter on November 1, 2012 at 3:52 PM
Nick, the unique reflection makes your image exceptional for me. Wonderful color palette, and the bare trees make for an interesting structure to my eye.

Peter
Registered on November 10, 2010, 218 Posts, 2723 Comments
Comment posted by David Chauvin on November 1, 2012 at 5:55 PM
Amazing color and the misty reflections in the soft light. :cool:
Registered on August 5, 2004, 1007 Posts, 5595 Comments
Comment posted by Nick Bristol on November 1, 2012 at 8:05 PM
Thanks so much to all of you for your comments!This is with a little ccw rotation done. I also tried Brian's suggestion on the red channel...Not sure if I did it right but here is a version that I did trying to get a little more detail in the red. Might be hard to see in this small file if I really did anything.
Brian, I appreciate your help. Nick
Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments
Comment posted by Chris Moore on November 1, 2012 at 8:58 PM
Beautiful image, love the cool tones and mist in the bottom part :toast:
Registered on January 12, 2010, 84 Posts, 388 Comments
Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on November 1, 2012 at 9:02 PM
It looks like you were able to bring some more detail out in the reds in the repost. I'm glad I could help!! :wavey:
Registered on May 28, 2004, 114 Posts, 2890 Comments
Comment posted by Kory Lidstrom on November 1, 2012 at 10:45 PM
Nice work! I love everything about this except for the negative space in the LRC. Have you thought about cropping the right side off? Regardless, this is a nice image.
Registered on November 19, 2008, 49 Posts, 1035 Comments
Comment posted by Nick Bristol on November 1, 2012 at 11:17 PM
Thanks Chris, Brian & Kory!
Kory, A couple of others mentioned that crop as well...so that is something I will certainly consider! Glad you enjoyed it. Nick
Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments
Comment posted by Joseph Campisi on November 2, 2012 at 12:39 AM
Just excellent Nick! The repost is a little better as far as the reds go. Those reds are hard to keep under control sometimes! Great light and scene!
Registered on November 24, 2008, 304 Posts, 3211 Comments
Comment posted by Paul Breitkreuz on November 2, 2012 at 10:04 AM
Gorgeous light and overall autumn scene, Nick. Colors and lighting are everything in this capture. :cool:
Registered on February 25, 2006, 525 Posts, 8448 Comments
Comment posted by Philip Schwarz on November 2, 2012 at 2:06 PM
Nicely done. A great place for fall photography but I was a bit bummed by the low water levels in the lakes this year.
Registered on November 29, 2006, 236 Posts, 1210 Comments
Comment posted by Dan Roberts on November 2, 2012 at 2:35 PM
Awesome colors and can really feel the chill in the air. There does seem to be a minor list. More distracting in the reflected tree trunks than in the shoreline. Overall nicely done.
Registered on March 9, 2011, 69 Posts, 501 Comments
Comment posted by Nick Bristol on November 2, 2012 at 3:13 PM
Thank you much... Joe, Paul, Phil and Dan!
Phil, Yes, I know what you mean about the low water levels. I was pretty disappointed too. Hopefully they will get some rain and lots of snow this winter...Thanks guys! Nick
Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments
Comment posted by Patricia Brundage on November 2, 2012 at 4:10 PM
Several nice elements... the fog, the colors, the reflections and comp. Lovely scenic.
Registered on March 23, 2006, 1111 Posts, 6531 Comments
Comment posted by Paul Gasior on November 2, 2012 at 7:12 PM
WOW.
Amazing color, light and reflection :wavey:
Registered on March 7, 2010, 99 Posts, 502 Comments
Comment posted by Stan Rose on November 2, 2012 at 7:42 PM
This is super pretty, Nick! The reds look better in the repost. I think id personally zap some of the blue in the trees too--this is really a warm shot and the blue just clashes for me. Nice!
Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments
Comment posted by Nick Bristol on November 3, 2012 at 9:36 AM
Thanks Patricia, Paul and Stan! Really hadn't even thought about the blue in this Stan, guess I actually like it. I might try your suggestion just to see what a different look that would give.... :wavey: Thanks All! Nick
Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments
Comment posted by Morris McClung on November 5, 2012 at 8:41 PM
Sorry I'm late to this beauty! I like the repost a little better, but both have a great impact on viewing. The reflection makes this sing! :toast:
Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments
Comment posted by Nick Bristol on November 6, 2012 at 6:58 PM
Thank you Morris! Nick
Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments