jenny Loc: in hiding:)

The glorious color ends, winter is about to claim us, there is one warm sunny day traditionally called Indian Summer.
Such was the day yesterday when...Haiku came to mind in a reverse order from what we have been seeing in this section. Words came to me to describe the day, I then stole a few minutes to go find the illustration in a hopefully somewhat poetical style if possible.

Billyspad Loc: The Philippines

Not unpleasant not earth shattering and not convinced as its presented here it brings forth thoughts or emotions about an Indian summer or much else.
The possibly glorious colours are too subdued to do that.
It has the appearance of a SOOC Raw file.
It could be transformed with some simple PP and a contrast boost.
The very subtle look is maybe what you wanted but it fails to tell a story.

jenny Loc: in hiding:)

And THIS is the haiku that was to accompany it.

Maiden's short youth
One brief day -
Indian Summer

Not everyone today understands this little proverb referring to the Native American culture, and often the phrase is used instead to describe the height of foliage color.
Revision: It's half right anyway, now that I see the original image was willing to go to UH but not the copy which was enhanced with contrast. So use your imagination, gently please...

Well folks, the "compouter" gave me much trouble trying to download a photo again today. I have been "living dangerously" with all too many hints from it that it may need to go back to square one with a complete reinstall. Sunday was a bit of a disaster in trying to overcome these symptoms so don't expect any further attempts to send pictures for awhile as life gets in the way of photography anyway with more immediate matters to attend to.
As to the above comments, no it is not RAW, yes it is subdued to tell the story, and maximum amount of contrast was added beyond the delicate nature of the natural colors in the local scene while still trying to retain its delicacy, i.e. seasonal brighter color is GONE, which is the description of Indian Summer.

jenny Loc: in hiding:)

And now it seems the magic hour of revision is up as I note the original was willing to be sacrificed to UH and not the copy which was enhanced with contrast. But I'm done with this struggle, use your imagination, gently please.... :) :shock: :-D :roll:

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Jenny, I really like this image. It is delicate, indeed, like a carefully executed water color. Please do not pour a bunch of contrast on it to make it more dramatic, it is just fine as it is. I know the meaning of Indian Summer just as you describe it, and this is a nice though understated (in a positive way) manner in which to illustrate it.

You might have stretched some rules but that's what they are there for. No clear subject? I don't care, the scene is the subject, or the feeling generated from the scene, moreso. Muted colors? There's plenty of color, it's just subtle, fits the mood, perfect match. Soft? dreamy. Again, I really like it. Nice haiku to go with though I am a poor judge of those efforts so perhaps you should wait for Dave for a decent review of the verse!

jenny Loc: in hiding:)

Thank you minniev, it did well take a very minimal bit of extra contrast. I'm quite conservative about going over the line on that sort of thing.
So much regret that everything has been going awry with the computer and no time to do anything about that right now. Hope the good members will understand my lack of full participation for the next....however- how- long. Along with things which need to be fixed I'm trying to make a move after years of being settled, so a lot of chaos in this part of the neighborhood. But will try to get back to everyone, get a peak and make a squeak now and then.

Billyspad Loc: The Philippines

Off topic slightly but not sure how computer literate you are. If you are a windows user have you tried System Restore. Greatly underused tool that solves gremlin problems nine times out of ten.
Let me know if you need help to locate it and use it.
If you have a degree in applied computing and Im teaching my granny to suck eggs forgive me babes just trying to get you fixed up quickly.

jenny Loc: in hiding:)

* * *
Windows....Restore is the lifeline to always grab onto, escape all sorts of problems, always totally relied on it as any last resort. This time it didn't do the job. There are multiple small symptoms of trouble, one being annoying email error msg. I struggled with for long until contacting the server...they couldn't find the problem.

Trying to send pictures to UH has no pattern, instructions easy enough and sometimes it works reasonably well. Sometimes it simply will not recognize the file, and encourages to "try again"...(an excuse designed to drive people bonkers).

Sunday it involved a notice that Adobe pdf reader upgrade was available. Did so, changed my mind, didn't need it, tried to uninstall twice and that's about when the tapioca, as they say, hit the fan ,and stole "my pictures". But I don't have time for these complications while sorting, discarding and packing for a move in the near future.

Not having time for photography is the very worst, and beyond that, the probable appearance of being a real air head who can't send a simple picture becomes embarrassing. So I will win later, when there's time to tackle the beast with every tool except a hammer. Best now if only asking for your patience everyone for not contributing much but a comment now and then.

Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

Xxxxxxxxxxx
Jenny,
You may notice That I posted your Haiga within the on-going thread here in FTC because I thought your diabolical desktop had thwarted all you efforts to do so.

Your image is, obviously, of a second-growth scrub-wetland in that unstable, middle-moment between warm autumn and winter...in its (presumed) last temperate gasp.
And your haiku fits well. There are more than a few among the haiku-cognoscenti who will, by knee-jerk decry your use of metaphor. They sternly proscribe metaphors and similes from use in haiku...but fie upon those nay-sayers..."Fie" I say! Although not commonly used, and often over-done by novice haijin, they are to be found -and not rarely - in haiku of most of the acknowledged masters of haiku since Basho in the 1600s.

"Ill on a journey; my dreams wander over a withered moor" (Basho)

"The invisible color that fades, in this world, of the flowers of the hearts of man." (Basho)

Certainly, trite similes and metaphors can be tiresome, but more subtly imaginative ones, such as yours, and these, are fair game!

Just a point of realism, here. Simply because I enjoy reading and writing haiku and haiga, that is in no way to construed as meaning that my opinion about those submitted is any more valid than anyone else's . They have been a widelypopular literary form in Japan for centuries. Many more people enjoy them than write them, but I'm told that everyone has an opinion on practically every haiku and Haiga they read.

The idea of haiku is based on simplicity. Simple words, brevity, an uncomplicated subject, one that most people can relate to, but haven't viewed it quite "that way before" Language with literary flourishes are beyond the pale. And combining haiku with an image? No rules. It works or it doesn't. In general the image sets a reasonable scene within which the haiku can be easily accepted as a complementary visual influence.

Which comes first? The haiku or the image? It can work either way. I have some favorite haiku that have been waiting years for an appropriate image...and some images waiting for the "just right" haiku.

Personally I like Jenny's haiga because the scene is clearly autumnal, but not over-bearingly so, and the haiku is an immediately applicable, novel, and easily understood metaphor.

How do others feel about it?

Dave

flyfishingfool Loc: California

I could see this type image hanging in a doctors office. Preferably a dentist. It has a calming effect.

jenny Loc: in hiding:)

* * * * *
That one last warm day after the chill of autumn is always sunny and calm, so I hope to depict the quiet atmosphere of those last leaves falling on such a day. I make no excuse for pulling out a bridge camera with its long lens at a fair distance to try to accentuate those last leaves and
soften the grasses as if it had been done by a more deliberate choice of shallow dof on a camera some might prefer to use.
A time and use for everything....but Dave has just given us all more knowledge than I knew about Haiku. My remembrance of it has faded and its initial knowledge was minimal as well. Most of us need to read the links he has provided...and that includes me!!!

jenny Loc: in hiding:)

Dave - What shaky ground I've traveled in my enthusiasm and ignorance. Now feeling as though it had been with a left front wheel bearing "gone bad". Metaphors and similies sometimes proscribed, huh? Ooops, need to read those links to get the right " philosofitty" to be strong but subtle?
Last week I learned to add a dash sometimes, admit that wasn't applying myself fully...

Jut one opinion, but probably Haiku can be a valuable guide to help a photographer define what he/she really wants to express visually, and to do so before pressing the shutter button?

Dave, let me protest your view that your opinion is no more valid than anyone else's. Horse feathers! You've been reading and writing ...and we weren't. You are telling us there are as many little views about it as the whole gamut of petty photography controversies such as whether or not to use a protective lens filter?? :)