Laurence68 Loc: Olympic Peninsula, WA

Early morning calm...quiet as a churchmouse. An Osprey had performed a slowed glide overhead about 10 minutes previously, but of course I missed getting a shot of the magnificent bird.

Speaking of "magnificent", there was a certain magnificence in the purity of air and cool breeze in this early morning place, prior to the summer sun cresting the nearby ridges to turn it into a different, golden world with buzzing bees and the scolding chatter of squirrels. But for now, it was simply a blue-green world of silence. :-)

Fuji GX680 bellows camera
Fujinon 125/5.6 lens
f:45 and 4 seconds
Provia 100F film

(Download)

JD750 Loc: SoCal

You description is beautiful, it makes me feel like I am right there. (I was hiking in the mountains in Co for the last two weeks). Have you considered using video to get the sounds?

Laurence68 Loc: Olympic Peninsula, WA

Not a lot of sounds - occasional fish jumping, sometimes elk bugling. But, I gotta say...that darn GX680 camera gear and tripod is plenty of weight. A video cam might put me over the edge, and topple me into the creek with the heavy pack.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Understood. It's a challenge to take pictures during the blue hour but it can yield unique results.

Laurence68 Loc: Olympic Peninsula, WA

Yes, I debated with myself about jazzing up the blue - taking out or changing the blue with editing software, basically - but that would not reflect what I saw with my eyes. So...the "blue hour" color stays.

ediesaul

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What is the subject of the photo?Is it the blue-green color? Is it the sense of stillness? Is it the downed trees and the reflection in the water? I'm sorry to say that the image doesn't convey, to me, what it is you're trying to convey. I can see the trees as the frame of the image in the center. If that's the case, I think that's there's too much frame and not enough image subject. It's my own personal opinion that whatever is in the center or at the end of leading line should be of interest. The beauty of your poetic description is very hard to capture.

Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

Hi, Edie,
I hope Larry answers your question from his personal perspective.
To my eye, there is no question !
The depth encompassed in this scene is, to me, the subject. It is the shape of the space we are given to see, framed by the trees at the left and lower left and curving from the reflective water to the distant , beautifully three-dimensionally curving of a parabolic recess extending beyond the limits of the image. It is that deep space of the scene that draws this viewer into it.

Dave

ediesaul

I hope so, too, because when we look into that "deep space of the scene" there are those fallen logs.

Laurence68 Loc: Olympic Peninsula, WA

Let me attempt to answer your question here from my personal perspective as requested, ediesaul. I'll admit that, at first, I was a little taken aback at the sharpness of the question. But...this IS "For Your Consideration", and images posted here are posted in order to actually receive feeback, and I appreciate that you expressed your opinion.

Let me first say this is actually a more "esoteric" image than an image that is supposed to have a direct, in-your-face subject. It was supposed to convey more the "feeling" of a clean, blue-toned landscape prior to sunrise, during that time when everything seems to fall silent.

I had actually left my little base camp, and was heading for an uphill excursion to some sun-drenched meadows about two miles away, up and over a high ridge. I had that sunshine "in my head" when I turned and looked at the lake before ducking into the woods to climb a rib of timber. So...my "head full of gold" was suddenly sort of flabbergasted by the sight of a "basin full of blue". I hadn't really looked up from camp to this point, because the terrain was tricky in traversing to this point. This overall view was enough to make me pull all that heavy camera stuff out of the pack that I had spent 10 minutes trying to stuff into the pack at my camp, and I was only 15 minutes into my excursion!

The air WAS cool here, probably in the low 40s fahrenheit, yet the afternoon before it was in the mid 80s. So...another reason why I was sort of shocked into stopping to shoot an image.

All that junk I just wrote above aside , I feel that the subject that you feel is not well defined, isn't completely tangible as a "direct subject". However my words describing the shot included: "...a certain magnificence in the purity of air and cool breeze in this early morning place...". So I think that, based on those words that came out of my feelings for this great morning, it's simply the purity of air and cool breeze [and associated scenery] that are the "subject", and therefore what I was trying to convey.

So the subject to me is the overall feeling as described. Can a "feeling" be a subject? I think so, at least in this image. The trees and foreground foliage are simply part of the conveyed serenity, and I included them because at the time of the shot at least, there was a lull in the cool breeze, and I wanted them for perspective only since they were kind enough to stand still for a few seconds.

Regarding the downed trees, those are a natural part of the scene, and are caused by heavy snowfall, ground creep, and snow-creep factors. The proximity to the ocean here [about 25 air miles to the surf line] in the subalpine realm results in huge snowfall amounts averaging 15-25 feet, which play a dynamic part in the landscape. Those fallen trees will eventually become part of the meadow, and in the meantime, the next leading edge of trees gets to take a turn in being sloughed off by natural forces.

ediesaul

Thank you for your lengthy reply. I, too, have experienced being "in nature," and turning to a surprising change of light. I'm happy that, when you look at your image, that sense of magic is remembered and rekindled in you.

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

I enjoyed reading your intro to this photo and your response to Edie. I can understand her question because the viewer wanders about this composition much like you were wandering about when you saw the image. I also agree with your assessment of the photo. The question of whether a feeling can be the subject of a photograph is an interesting one. The photo does convey that blue early morning feeling. I'll just say that I really like the photo and leave it at that.
Erich

neilds37 Loc: Port Angeles, WA

Larry, I have often questioned the idea that a photo had to have a "subject". I feel there are innumerous scenes that the whole is the subject. Thank you for verbalizing the feeling.

Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

I'm curious, Edie, with what you consider to be the cryptic significance of "...those fallen logs" upon which you seem to have focused? Do you see that natural phenomenon of the montaigne forested environment as adding to the image?...or somehow distracting from it?

Dave

ediesaul

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For me, those fallen logs are definitely a distraction. I love the frame of the image. But the trees are just that - a frame - and I focus on what is being framed - the center - the fallen logs. It is a matter of composition - of choosing how one wants to convey the atmosphere, the feeling, of the scene. In this particular image, the photographer had a magical moment when he turned and, suddenly realized, the lighting had changed, which took his breath away in its beauty. But what exactly was beautiful? It was the light, not the scene itself, not the fallen logs.

"It was part of the scene" has never, for me, been an "excuse" for including whatever in an image. For example, garbage cans or electrical wires do not, most of the time, add to an image. I'm not talking about images that use garbage cans or electrical wires to make a point or are purposefully part of a composition. If we say that a photographer is an artist and not merely an amanuensis, then we choose what's in our images.

The fallen logs dissolving into a future forest tells a compelling story but that is not the purpose of this image nor is it conveyed by this image.

I think I need not say more, unless you or someone else would like me to further expound on my photographic philosophy. And it IS mine, so others need not agree and follow their own paths.

I sincerely apologize if my original post seemed sharp. I did not mean anything by it other than to focus my questions on composition and its relationship to the stated purpose of the photographer.

NJFrank Loc: New Jersey

On the positive side I do like the composition. The reflections in the water and I do not find the fallen trees not to be distraction. You caught a moment in time and I want to be there. I did read your reasoning for the blue overcast. Without your explanation I would have suggested you tone down the blue.