It seems to me that in photography some people are theorists and what some of them don't appreciate is that none of the "rules" or guidelines in photography are universal. Regardless of how widely accepted an idea is, it should never be assumed that it can be applied universally. Objects in the foreground can be distracting, but for that to happen they have to be attention-grabbing, or in some way impede the viewer's exploration of the shot. Your submerged rocks are a long way from doing that. In fact they add subtle interest and context.

My dam bird series is about a mix of very specific elements: birds, light, water, and ugly rough geometric concrete. There is nothing else, ever, in these photos. But the elements included can change. Different birds may arrive, the light changes, and the water may be calm or fierce. I prefer the wilder water, and shoot with a fast shutter to catch the water and the birds in place. In this recent shot, I have the relatively smooth water the birds fish in, and the tumult coming from the dam gates behind them.

I refreshed myself with a little reading on these clouds. https://sciencestruck.com/facts-about-lenticular-clouds
This gives a pretty good explanation. I think the gist of it is, that strong horizontal winds are affected by vertical wind caused by things like mountains, directed into the horizontal wind flow. The result is a smooth dome shaped standing wave, like fast moving water can do, in the lee of a rock. The cloud you photographed may well have been affected by these conditions to a lesser degree. Either way, Its a very nice photo.

Your words "In this recent shot" got my attention. These dam bird photos so captivate me. The juxtaposition of these elements create such an otherworldly arena. The contrast between the stoic concrete forms, powerfully compositional, and the water, from tumultuous to relative calm, would be a lot to work with all by themselves, but graced with the delicacy and elegance of the egrets, apparently unaffected by the surround, make these a unique visual experience. Thats about as well as I am able to articulate my thoughts. I used google earth some years back to understand better this place. Its a wondrous place.

The Master In You

The Master in You is an evolution of the monthly Master's Critique. Here we will give you a "topic" each month with some themes to consider. Shoot some images with the assignment in mind and then post them in this thread and tell us about them. Where did you shoot the image? What are your concerns and challenges with the image? How much, if any, consideration did you give to gear to get the image you wanted? You might also wish to address the themes that are mentioned along with the topic.

General guidelines: This is an open thread where you are encouraged to post your original works and discuss them. Please post only your own work. Do not post edits of another member's work unless you have asked that member for permission to edit. Remember that some people do not want their work edited by anyone. Please respect that. The topics will be active for one month at a time. You will have the entire month to ponder and work on the subject. Feel free to post at any time during the month. You can post more than one image. If you shoot more than one image on any given topic, you may make several submissions. That way we might be able to stimulate some conversations that act as inspiration or, at least, incentive for others to go out and try the topic themselves.

The original purpose of FYC was to be a "cafe" atmosphere where people gather to discuss topics pertaining to photography. It is hoped that this thread will encourage members to get out and shoot images that pertain to the topic and then enter into a discussion about your posts and the posts of others. This monthly topic is not about : "That is really nice" or "two thumbs up". While these are certainly legitimate responses, the aim of this topical thread is to throw a wider net. It is hoped that we will discuss what works and what does not work so well. If someone's work does not appeal to you, feel free to say so in a way that acknowledges that we all have different ideas about what appeals to us.

The Moderators


Assignment 1 July 2021: Water
Theme 1 What look do you go for. Blurred or stop action?
Theme 2 Cascade? Mountain stream? Sill water? What brings out your creativity?

Because we are looking for membership participation, nothing is “etched in stone”. We would love to hear your ideas for future assignments and themes.

While the topic is water, the subject of this photo is the life guard stand on its side. This indicates that I'm here early in morning and the beach is still closed for swimming. If you are looking for untouched sand, the Jersey shore in the summer is the wrong place to look. The thousands of footprints give us an indication that there is going to be activity here very soon after that sun comes over the eastern horizon. The water in the scene is only a small band of ocean between the beach and the sky. Here I did not worry about shutter speed at all and was more interested in creating an early morning feel for the photo. Would you have used similar processing or gone in a different direction?