A Winter Morning
by Nick Bristol
This is a scene I photographed after one of the last snows we had last winter. I remember the morning well and how pretty things looked with the wet snow coating everything. I waited for awhile for the 5 geese to come in to the frame and this was as far as they wanted to come. After looking for awhile I actually liked where they are. I was just working on this picture for my new Christmas card and thought I would go ahead and post it here as well and see what you thought of it. I added some lightened vignette to this as well.
Canon, 24-105 @ 85mm, iso 200, f/14 and 1/50 sec.
Comments
41 commentsThe snow-covered tres and bit of reflection are excellent.
Would make a wonderful holiday card!
Sandy
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Chris Chamberlain
541 Buck Avenue,
Vacaville, CA. 95688
I love snowscapes and this is eerily quiet and beautiful. I do agree about the inverted vignette around the trees. It looks a touch heavy handed. I would peronally prefer the scene shown without the vignette.
Chris, Your added...
John
Regarding a large print of this beautiful image, I maybe would prefer a version without a noticeable vignette. But that might be purely a matter of opinion.
Peter
Outstanding winter image! This will make a wonderful holiday card for sure.
The geese don't pop up immediately, but no doubt they are a great addition to this scene.
Personally, I think the light vignette is too much - at least for a print it seems too contrived? (too strong a word, but couldn't think of another.) However, I think it's a great enhancement for your card you're thinking about.
Regardless, a wonderful image.
Lon
The vignette is just for the card purpose. If I decide to print this as one of my gallery prints the vignette will be much less noticeable or not used at all. I just thought it might work well for the card. I really appreciate all of your input on this..
But what it has going for it in my mind is number 1, sort of a reversed dynamic contrast, kind of the effect one gets from NIR. Clearly snow and frost, but what initially strikes one is the lines of the tree trunks and branches against the white foliage of the leaves.
This has meaning and significance in the context of trees and time; how it is the trunks and limbs that live on year after year in desciduous trees. The very word "deciduous" means to fall off at maturity. And so it is that the darkest elements will go on living year-after-year while the bright leaves we see fall.
The ducks are watching all of this, reflecting upon the images on the pond.
In terms of the composition, I like the big clump of trees in the left rule-or-thirds position that brings the eye in to it, then following the line of trees over and downward to the right, as the eye of us in the West, at least, are used to reading from left to right, donw then to the ducks.
And there is like a little V there in the tree highlights that acts like an arrow pointing to the ducks.
What the ducks represent, then, in this scenerio, are twp things; first consciousness, consciousness and awareness of their surroundings throught sight, something the vegetation does not have, and then also the social element.
So I think the ducks can be taken to represent us in these forums, and the trees are our images, and we, perhaps, are like the leaves; deciduous, speaking for myself.
Stan, Maybe just a little less of the vignette would do it. Working in my studio now on some sample prints. Thanks, Nick
Ed