It is a beautiful, serene scene. The early morning(?) mist helps that feeling and conceals details, which makes the viewer look longer to try to discover or imagine them. The blue, grey, green palette is also quiet and introverted. The lake is like a mirror, with hardly a ripple.
Then there is the boy. He too is quiet and concentrating on his fishing and with one trouser leg pushed up, hints at a quiet, care-free attitude. He is also simply adding to the scene, and even though he contributes greatly, he is not the main subject. I have added a cropped version, which is also a nice quiet photo and may have been a tempting alternative, but it is about the boy and does not have the tranquility of your original, and comparing the two proves what a good choice you made in your framing.
July 2, 2025
78
-
-
I will fix that. The story is:
I bought a brand new laptop with me on holiday. It's 8 times faster at denoising (LRc) and I was able to do that quite well. Pictures dowloaded from my PC onto a folder that is synched with my home system. Edits kept locally on the PC (to stop overloading the internet link.
However, the new laptop had a hardware fault in the touchpad (kept jumping the cursor to bottom left of the screen). So I contacted HP support to get it sorted. They wanted me to run some diagnostics and one was to put the laptop into safe mode. I did that but could not then log in. I was able to reboot into normal mode. So the operator asked me to get into safe mode a different way. At which point, it refused to log in or go back to normal mode.
Then he said - "no problem, we will re-install Windows and I guarentee it won't affect your data.". And I believed him???? Silly me. But there was no option. I'd lost access to everything anyway. And, of course, it wiped it all out.
So, back to my old laptop which I'd brought with me. All the dowloaded photos there and some of the final images - not the local edits. But denoising is really slow - 2 minutes instead of 15 seconds. So I have what I have until I get home from holiday.
Alan
-
It's interesting what a bit of gorgeous light and a hint of sea can do! My initial reaction is "Wish I lived there", but cold analysis reveals that actually the houses are not that attractive, especially with that loud fake stonework around the garage door. Then there is the enigma of a beachfront house with a balcony, which has a fabulous view of the...road???!!!! What were they thinking. Maybe the owner likes cars.......or street photography.
However the light is superb. The subdued light coming over the sea and lighting the side of the building is attractive, and the house facades in shadow have points of light in either dappled reflected light or house lights (very René Magritte, as Roel pointed out).
I find the bright turquoise window in the left hand house very attractive and I am not sure why. Yes it is one of the brightest points of the image, which always attracts the eye, but that is not the only reason. I suppose it it because it contasts with and complements the shadowy ochre colour of the walls.
The palm trees are important too. They give a sense of place and also contrast with the straight lines elsewhere,
In any case the photo s a lovely study of light, colour and geometry. -
Mike,
Relax! It's Ok, mate. Really! This is a small stretch of the coastline! Carlsbad has miles of gorgeous open beachfront.
And this is just part of the pristine San Diego County coast!
If you want something to worry about, man, know that Southern California, from Santa Barbara in the north down to San Diego, and the whole attached peninsula of Baja California (which is now Mexico) is sliding northwest-ward along the San Andreas fault line by a few inches a year.
Why, in just a few million years, San Diego will be northwest of San Francisco! Santa Barbara will be north of Seattle, Washington!
Don't get me wrong, there's a silver lining in everything. I mean, the San Diego Padres baseball team will only have to make a hop, skip and a jump when they play the San Francisco Forty Niners. But, hey, if I want to go to Las Vegas, Nevada, instead of a day trip, it'll be a major journey! And they talk funny up there in the Pacific Northwest. I'll have to learn a bunch of new things to say! They wear lumberjack clothes, have funny haircuts and seem to do nothing but drink coffee all day.
We've asked the Mayor to look into this, and wonder if a few well-placed rivets, or maybe some stout ropes can anchor the place down and prevent this calamity!
Crikey!
Rich
[/quote]This explains many recent news items. Your President fears that y'all moving to Canada.
-
In a similar way as Roel, you are using the striking characteristics of the lens to create an image and not simply to show them off. Here you are showing the shallow depth of field and unusual characteristics of a vintage lens to illustrate a vintage lens with similar characteristics. The composition works and the barely discernable face adds welcome mystery.
You mention you sometimes doubt whether your efforts at documentation of such lenses are worthwhile, but you also use the word passion, and as long as you enjoy it then it is definitely worthwhile. Maybe the topic is niche, but that it is exactly why it is worth doing. An article about Canon lenses, for instance, would not be as important, since there is so much accessible knowledge already. I had a quick look myself and read an article with interest, which I picked pretty much at random. I also enjoy your images, as they illustrate by using the lens to create a piece of art, rather than a test chart or a straight forward "here-is-a-flower" illustration of its capabilities. -
Pete,
Thank you so much!
It's a scene of achingly beautiful color and nature with the ridiculous result of human kind's intrusion.
Thank you for seeing the absurdity of the stone veneer. And, as you say, the turquoise window (I assume the result of a coating on the glass reflecting/transmitting the actual blue sky) has a lot to do with the image's "attractiveness."
Why, indeed would there be a balcony there? Over the back alley entrance? It's a faux "design" not meant to be actually used. Like the styrofoam-covered-with-stucco facades of so many "McMansions" that have been built since the late '70s.
I hoped that someone would notice how mundane the telephone wires and satellite dish looked.
Only the light, the palm trees and the ocean are real.
Everything else is garish and an affront to the native beauty.
On the other hand, it is also amusingly naive that these owners, with all their wealth could compete with nature.
Rich
-
A general response to the various comments on the shot. As Roel says, they come for the food, the newspapers and the company but it's a bit more. It's a family place with all the generations. It's also a business place. Deals are being done but it's a family thing. Toddlers and geriatrics at the same tables. Very Chinese. It's Hong Kong, not Thailand but they can be similar. Noisy, fast and steamy. The photo doesn't convey the atmosphere.
Re the blue. I can see how Roel and Pete have arrived at their interpretations based on the image. -
I just really love the combination of warm and cold tones in this one and even though there are many different elements and shapes in there (with the palm trees, cables etc.) I think the composition works very well. I like the hints of perspective lines, but don't care that they're not emphasized further. Gives it a more realistic vibe. Well done!
-
Thank you!
Rich
-
Yes. A demonstration of how extended horizontal lines work on the way our brains respond.
-
I almost missed this discussion. It's the kind of developed point from various points of view that I'm missing badly in our forum. A casualty of flat view v threaded view.
Awareness of cliche is a complex question with implications across all the arts. Cliche and playing with cliche is a delicate balance where the artist and the viewer/hearer make assumptions about experience and intent of each other.
I find it more difficult with music to distance myself from responding negatively to something that has become cliche. Enjoying a piece of music becomes ruined for me when a section of the piece has been destroyed by advertising. The associated jingle or whatever intrudes into the performance. I can't go back to the state of innocence.
Cliche references in images don't annoy me in the same way. I think it is because the image stays with us while we delve into the associations. With music, the experience continues to change as the piece develops so there isn't the time for contemplation.
The role of experience in all art creation and perception is fascinating and critical. One person's "cliche" isn't the same as that of another. Awareness of cliche and playing with it is a subtle two edged process.
