Saline Oxbow

I like the fog and the symmetry of the oxbow. Where is this located and why is it saline? just curious.

John,

I like what you were after and the conditions make for some moody light, but I feel your vantage point was too low. The reeds tend to obscure the oxbow. If you get the chance with similar conditions I would encourage you to try it again with the camera highere up. Again I love what you are trying to get and I think it could be wonderful.

Lots of nice elements here. Colorful reeds. A rounded waterway. Bare trees in fog. Reflections in the water. I like them all, however, it feels a bit too much. Maybe trying to concentrate the image on less would be better.

John,

I really like the "oxbow" - made me think of the Horseshoe bend location and images as well. The fog has created great mood and atmosphere here. I tend to agree with Youssef a bit and am wishing there was some more separation between the grasses and the big, sweeping shore/waterway. Don't know the setup, but probably would require a ladder... ;-) But as presented the grasses kinda block the view and symmetry. Not sure what you could have done differently though.

Have you considered cropping some the blank sky? I know this is already a pano format, but most of the gray sky isn't adding much. If you cropped 1/2 of the gray, more emphasis might be put on the grasses and also help out with the presence of the big bow of the waterway. Just a thought.

lon

I like the way the layers in this image sorta spiral around each other. I find the reflected trees on the rhs particularly engaging.

John, I like the colors and the wide view of the oxbow. This looks like an "Ansel Adams" moment where you need to stand on the roof of your car to get a higher view that would spread the neat parts of the image (foreground grasses, oxbow, and trees fading into the fog) through more of the frame.

Phil, this is in southeastern Nebraska, specifically Lancaster county. These saline wetlands are considered to be some of the most endangered wetland types in the world. Here are a couple of links that can explain it better than I.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saline_Wetlands_Conservation_Partnership

http://prairieecologist.com/2011/11/09/salt-marshes-in-nebraska/

John

I like the idea and the mood is very nice, I also think the colors and the reflections work. I also think a higher vantage point would improve this.

I really like the wide angle format, and the curve of the bank on the far side. I'd tend to agree with the comments made so far. Maybe simply cloning out the four or five twigs in the middle that extend up higher than the rest would help a little. I'd also agree with Lon's suggestion to go for even more of a pano by cropping from the top. Also ... is that some kind of structure on the right?

very nice, John. I think you could crop the very top and emphasize this scene as a pano.

John the large view shows the scene off very well, not really sure about the reeds, but the more I look at it, the more I like it, all in all, you presented this very well.
John