Cold Swimmer

Gallery: LandscapePosted February 10, 2013465 views20 comments

The storm that blasted New England only pulled in cold air here in the DC area. That cold combined with some sunshine to provided me with opportunities to work on abstracts using the ice in my backyard pond. Here's one view with ice refracting colors from the pond lilies that aren't quite sure whether to grow or hibernate. This is a 9 picture stack with the polarizer rotated to minimize reflections. Post stack processing includes TK's triple play and some luminosity painting. (5D3, 70-200 f2.8 + 32mm ET, 1/13s, f/13, iso 800, tripod, cable release and polarizer) [somebody forgot to reset the iso after an indoor session

] The shape in the ice has me thinking of something swimming, hence the title, what do you see?

Comments

20 comments

Comment posted by Hamed Musharbak on February 10, 2013 at 1:02 PM

this is great, i really like the mixing of colors here

Hamed

Registered on June 1, 2009, 372 Posts, 2282 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on February 10, 2013 at 1:46 PM

The colors are excellent all throughout this one, Mark. As well as the texture of the ice lending many shapes to it. I see a turtle swimming. Beautiful abstract.

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Hartmann on February 10, 2013 at 1:54 PM

I see a wonderfully creative, bright and colorful image that reminds me of stained glass. Way to find something special in your back yard. The larger photo is so nice. This needs to be printed and hung for all to see.

Why the 9 photo stack, was this for DOF?

Registered on January 15, 2009, 13 Posts, 772 Comments

Comment posted by Chet Dowell on February 10, 2013 at 2:23 PM

Wonderful nature painting, Mark The selection and arrangement of colors are very appealing and the swimmer just adds more interest. Very very nice. Chet

Registered on December 3, 2012, 237 Posts, 1171 Comments

Comment posted by Carol Nichols on February 10, 2013 at 2:25 PM

I see an alligator head swimming through the water Mark, but that's probably because I'm from Florida. The colors in this image are beautiful!

Registered on November 7, 2007, 161 Posts, 1420 Comments

Comment posted by Floris van Breugel on February 10, 2013 at 2:51 PM

Fantastic mix of colors and textures! Does look a little like a swimming turtle in the ice.

Registered on December 19, 2008, 306 Posts, 4840 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on February 10, 2013 at 5:06 PM

Fantastic and fun ice abstract Mark. The quadrants of color and details in the ice are wonderful. I think I see an alligator too (but I am not from Florida

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on February 10, 2013 at 6:16 PM

Terrific abstract with great colors, Mark.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on February 10, 2013 at 6:23 PM

I agree with Floris...it does look like a turtle under the ice! Fantastic colors and very, very cool looking. Nice work Mark!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Vlad Sadovsky on February 10, 2013 at 6:46 PM

Wonderful combination of all the colors and a little shapes in the center. Diagonals didn't immediately stand out , but when they did i appreciated the whole photograph even more. Nice!

Registered on November 12, 2010, 48 Posts, 358 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on February 10, 2013 at 8:48 PM

Mark: This is thoroughly cool. Superbly crafted image. >=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on February 11, 2013 at 12:56 AM

Definitely a trurtle--Gamera to be exact!

I totally love it!

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by John&Patty Benway on February 11, 2013 at 8:35 AM

This is gorgeous Mark,excellent color and light, definitely a frog, and definitely beautiful work.
John

Registered on May 12, 2006, 626 Posts, 8700 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on February 11, 2013 at 1:07 PM

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Yes, Richard, the stack was to insure top to bottom sharpness. At this f-stop, I probably could have gotten away with as few as 4 shots, but I've learned the hard way that you want to insure success.

It's also worth noting that these colors are significantly more saturated than in reality because this is originally a very low dynamic range picture and Adobe adds lots of saturation as you darken an image (in this case with the blacks slider). I left it in because as an abstract the goal is the "feeling" which I think can be very different from reality.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on February 11, 2013 at 1:29 PM

This is wonderful, Mark! The color, clarity, and shapes are perfect together. An excellent abstract..wish it was one of mine.

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on February 11, 2013 at 10:29 PM

I'm traveling at the moment, Mark, but even on the laptop, this looks incredible. The colors and lines here work great together, and you composed it perfectly. A really excellent abstract image.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Kathy Barnhart on February 11, 2013 at 11:00 PM

Beautiful colors and intriguing patterns. Could look at this for a long time. It reminds me of a fossil from some prehistoric sea creature. This is a wonderful abstract.

Registered on November 11, 2011, 404 Posts, 1639 Comments

Comment posted by Navin Sarma on February 12, 2013 at 12:55 AM

oh really cool Mark. The textures and clarity are really nice here.

Registered on July 17, 2011, 233 Posts, 1373 Comments

Comment posted by Doug Koepsel on February 12, 2013 at 12:21 PM

I see the head of a black rabbit in the ULC

Registered on April 1, 2010, 196 Posts, 1592 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on February 13, 2013 at 7:32 PM

You're in territory beyond my current experience with this software, so I must admit I'm a bit lost as to its usage..
That aside.. You say you forgot to 'reset' the ISO? You should forget more often

The LP looks excellent & a pleasure to view, in the true spirit of 'abstract'.
Very nice Mark, you out did your self here

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments