Old Wives Lake, Saskatchewan

I'm sure it works at a large size, (as your images always seem to do!) but on my monitor the bottom half looks exactly the same as the top, so the only thing I can see is the line across the middle.

" the bottom half looks exactly the same as the top, so the only thing I can see is the line across the middle"

Well, that was pretty much what I saw that inspired me to take the photograph - kind of surreal but certainly an exercise in minimalism. There is a subtle colour differences between top and bottom and a few flecks of foam in the water :).

For me it does work on some level but is not the kind of image I would stop to contemplate. I'm not sure why it would be much different at a larger size given the bare simplicity of it. Is there more on that strip of land than is visible here?

Guy

Hi Eric,

I guess I am the complete opposite of Guy in this instance---this is the kind of image that I would stop to contemplate. I would be utterly compelled by it in a gallery, especially if it stood alone in a crowd of more traditional nature images...this would be the one I would zoom across the room to see. No doubt this requires a bit of a leap on the viewers part because at first gazing I didn't notice the detail on the bottom half...the little white patches of texture. Whether they are wind spots or just foam I don't know but there is definitely a difference between the top and bottom of this image. There is that ever-so-subtle gradient of blue. And that little point on the land that my eye is eventually drawn to. And how I feel surrounded by sky and water.....to me there is LOTS to look at and feel. So I think it works here and the print will most likely be magnificent. It has a very calming and peaceful feel to it also.

added: As I re-read your second comment I see that the white patches are foam.

OK, I can see some flecks of what look like foam, but I'm getting those bands across the screen on my monitor that are really killing this. I love the minimalistic compostion, and I would really like to see a large version of this!

Well Eric you have taken minimalism a bit further :)
I like it for that very reason. I would hope that the print shows off the tonal range. It would have to for it to work for me I think.

So I couldn't resist.....I converted it to B&W with some toning. It really pulled out the little "flecks" in front. Of course at this resolution the pixel mess up the gradient. A little burning on the horizon pulled out some more detail (I think). Doing this made me realize the print probably shows all that off!

Thanks folks.

Guy asked - "I'm not sure why it would be much different at a larger size..."

There is just something more immersive about looking at a larger print - it becomes apparent that you are looking at a photograph of a landscape and the small details, though there aren't many, give it depth. The vastness and scale become clear. The stillness perhaps becomes more pressing.

In general, I've found that I often prefer my simplest, most graphic images printed larger - they truly become landscapes rather than exercises in graphic design. I wouldn't necessarily have expected this - since the simple, graphic content is readily apparent even at small sizes. But it turns out the details are important after the original structure is taken in I think.

Of course, this image is a bit of a different beast - more minimal with very little graphic content.

Cheers,
Eric

I guess I am conflicted a bit about this particular image. As a standalone image, it's not powerful enough to hold my interest for long as it's perhaps too minimalistic. But as a part of the whole collection, it adds to a strong story and has to be included. It's amazing at how different the photos in this series can be. Although they are similar in subject and general framing, there are such subtle differences that make each one unique and totally different.

Eric, I am with Mary here. It is different than the norm (at least for here) and I sure do like that. I like seeing your images and this is no excepitons.

B.

i generally like your lake shots but this one is just too far down (or is that up?) on the minimalist scale for me. Not something I would want to print myself.

Eric,

Interesting range of comments....

For me - I'll take the largest print you care to make, thank you very much. I am enjoying your highway series very much, but I also dearly love the lakes/sloughs and I'm glad to see the last couple you've posted. I think this one is just lovely.....well done as usual.

CJ

Eric, I am with Mary on this one. If I were to see this in a gallery, I would gravitate toward it. I would think it was a wonderful minimalist, graphic image with a subtle and narrow range of color. When I got next to it and saw the details, the bits of foam, I would be suprised and even more intrigued. I am sure I would back away and then come closer, over and over. I can certainly understand why others would think "there's nothing there" but I think there's a lot to study in this image.

Eric,

I too am with Mary on this image. I zoomed right in on it even in the thumbnails.

The sky and water seperated by a thin whispy line in a halo of light. I like it especially because you don't see photos like this often.

Will
Edmonton, Alberta

Less is more. This is one of my favorites of yours.

- Dan.

Man, it's good to have your presence / vision back posting again - I think it pushes all of us to see a little differently. I like this very much - not as much as some of the others with more going on - but this has its own merits for its simplicity.

Clearly the kind of image that inspires a wide range of reactions. This is a scene I would very likely spend a lot of time photographing, and an image that I can appreciate for it's abstract qualities. If I tried to figure out what it was or where it was taken, I'd probably like it less.

I personally like making images like this, exploring just how minimalist a scene can get and still be impactful. This works for me!

I can see this much better on my 17" monitor at home. I like it a lot! The little textures of the foam at the bottom add just enough interest.

Simply gorgeous, Eric. This one really gets my interest. Awesome work!

Hi Eric, I have a tremenduous amount of respect for your dedication and discipline in fine tuning your craft, it's what makes a great fine art photographer I suppose. I think this image is almost impossible to appreciate on a computer moniter, but I think as a large print you will be very successful in selling this image to photography collectors who love the simple, minimalist approach and subtle colors that would look so good hanging on a wall. Nice work, Randy

Hello Eric
I know next to nothing about photography in general, and even less about landscape photography, so don't set much store by my comments.
That said, I must say that this image really doesn't "float my boat". Personally, I like an image to convey SOMETHING to me, and if all this shows is either the strip in the middle, or searching for various splashes at the bottom, then I'm sorry, I cannot rate it at all.
I'm sure that it is probably my ignorance that cannot see the real beauty of this image, but at least I may have inspired some debate!!
Absolutely no offence meant,
Best wishes
Phil

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful comments. I'm encouraged that a number of you related to this one. I was strongly gripped by the image in my mind when I saw this scene (usually a good sign) but had my doubts when I started to work on it (and the transparency had a lot more contrast than I had imagined).

Scott - I can imagine this working well in B&W. In fact, I sort of envisioned it as an almost monochromatic blue image.

Phil - I'm sure you're not alone in your thinking on this one! No offense taken at all - photography is a broad and democractic discipline allowing for a wide range of differing tastes and objectives. I was being a bit flippant in my comments about the foam and thin strip of land (though I didn't intend any malice or disrespect - I was really poking fun at myself and my minimalist tendencies). Of course, this photograph isn't about those things for me. Instead, it is probably more about space, emptiness and quiet calm. Which is probably more or less the same thing I'm attempting to communicate every time with this (ongoing) series of photographs. And I must say that Saskatchewan is a fantastic location to explore these themes - it has vast open spaces where I often drive (let alone walk) for hours without encountering other people.

Cheers,
Eric

Eric,

The intrinsic mystery of this image keeps me locked into it. It has an almost vaporous quality that I find most intriguing. The web presentation does not show the very subtle texturing and color that a large print would show, I'm sure.

I have always enjoyed your lake and slough images, and this one is right at the top in terms of creativity.

Eric- I like it, a lot! For me, it made sense immediately. Several people commented on the "slight" color difference between top and bottom. Maybe I'm overly sensitive to color, but the diference in color between the sky and the water, to me, is very noticeable. I fully understand your comment about this needing to be big to be appreciated. It's the kind of image that you need to be "in", not looking at from the outside.

I was going to comment on this about a dozen times and I'm finally getting around to it. I have the same strong reaction as Preston does and I think I know why. This reminds me very much of being out on the river , or ocean, and as the thick morning fog starts to burn away, you wait and look for a sign, something, any kind of landmark that you can recognize to get your bearings. Once you see it, you just become sort of transfixed on it, hoping it won't disappear into the fog once more.

So to me the central placement, the square format all work well to relate that sense of transfixation ( is that a word? )

I'm really amazed how these images of a great Canadian prarie region can look so much like a Maritime scene.

I just want to echo what Tim just mentioned about this feeling so maritime (almost carribean) when in fact it's from the prairies of Canada. It's quite shocking and very surreal when you think about it and speaks a lot to Eric's ability to see the possibilities in scenes like this. Also, I've been thinking about the wide range of reactions to this image and the number of views it's generated. People are really LOOKING at it, pondering and responding to it one way or the other. That seems like half the battle to me and no matter how you look at it, this is a successful image.

Eric,

You are the minimalist master. Are you studing Zen? Crongrats on the EP.

Bob

Eric: I'm often one to say that an image might have too little to hold my interest. In the case of this photograph, I think you've reached perhaps the ultimate of minimalism, but it's totally brilliant.

I've been meaning to ask; since you shoot 4x5 and crop square, do you capture the 'gist' of the image while in the field and then make cropping decisions later, or do you make firm decisions in the field? Do you crop most often from one side? Both L and R? Or sometimes all sides? Just curious about your methodology...

very good stuff.

to my photographic way of thinking (on the subject of photographic art as opposed to photogaphic decoration). it is photographs such as this that separate the thinking/feeling observers/photographers from the viual-adrenaline-junky crowd (obsevers and photographers).

whatever purely visual attributes this photograph has, and it has many, i think it also acts as a photography aptitude ink-blot test - those observer/photographers who are genuinely in touch with their inner self )in photography and in life), in all probably, see and feel much in this photograph jsut as i'm sure that you did in creating it.

it is its very simplicity and ambiguity that opens the doors to so many possibilities of thought, emotion, and feeling. you have, as always, resisted the temptation to visually "lecture" the observer on what is or isn't important/meaningful/beautiful. each observer is allowed to address and react to this photograph on their own tems and in their own way

where so many photographers use their technical skills to create visual vehicles that are on a single rail with a single destination, visually, intellectually, and emotionally, you have photographically opened the door to a vast vista (literally and figuratively) in which the observer may negotiate in a vehicle (to keep the metaphor going) of their own making.

...and it takes a real (hu)man to cobble together their own personal vehicle as opposed to simply acquiring a cultural ready-made.

very good stuff, indeed

Eric,
This is incredible! I am lost looking at this. I feel the expansiveness of the open water and sky, yet oppressivness of the fog. It almost terrifies me even as it leaves me breathless with wonder. So many things go through me that I can't even describe. This is minimilism extraordinaire! Congrats on the EP! It's good to see you here again.

Hey Eric,
this is a fantastic photograph.
Not much to add.
I feel a disappearence in this...leaving only hints(almost);
hints of lines/geometry, hints of matter/ground air/emptyness.

Very good work

Salut

Thanks again folks - and thanks for the EP. I'm on the road again in Saskatchewan (so many lakes, so little time).

Re: the maritime feeling noted by several people. I think that 'feeling' is part of what attracted me to the scene. And I think the similarity is due to flatness - you can see all the way to the horizon. And FWIW there is no fog here - just afternoon haze on a hot sunny day at around noon.

Re: composing and cropping. I compose it square in the field. I've marked the GG on my 1Ds and use the grid lines to guide composition on the Ebony (though sadly the existing grid lines don't properly frame a square). I usually crop from both sides (ie. I centre the image in the frame). I'm not particularly religious about whether I shoot horizontally or vertically. Every so often I see a slightly better crop after the fact than the one I composed :), so sometimes its nice to have the extra real estate.

I do sometimes see and compose non-square shots (and even make an exposure sometimes:)) but I don't seem to stray far from square.

In this case, this scene is pretty much as seen and composed in the field (I cropped in a little - mostly because I was struggling with correcting a small amount of vignetting) - shot vertically and cropped from both top and bottom.

Cheers,
Eric

Love it

superb image, and I would most certainly zoom across a gallery to check it out.

Simon

Well, for me , it works!!! Simplicity it's not easy to achieve!
Very good job!!

Fernando Brito