[SI] Some Weather Comments
Got some extra time this week, so here goes...
Dave Sibbett (http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/62475260)
First thing I noticed was the excellent use of empty space. The most
noticeable shape to me is the silhouetted dock structure, which is placed on
the relatively insignificant extreme right edge of the composition. This
placement, combined with the dock's relatively small scale, lends the
photograph a sense of atmospheric vastness which is very much in tune with
the mandate subject.
The second thing noticed was the use of muted colors. This is how the real
colors of nature appear in... well, nature. Trained in geology, I was
taught to use nature's understated true colors to assist in the field
identification of rocks and minerals. As a result, I have always had an
appreciation for the beauty to be found in the subtle pastels of the real
world. I've never been a Velvia person. I can remember when Kodachrome was
considered hopelessly saturated. Times change, I guess.
And as far as the flare mentioned by others goes, I think it enhances the
composition of this photograph. Just because the book says that flare is
generally bad does not mean flare is always bad. Just my take...
Jim Kramer (http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/62475333)
A perfect day for - what is that? - kite surfing?
I've been to San Francisco more times than I can count and I can't ever
remember seeing the shadow of the bridge on the water. On most visits I
couldn't even see across from one side to the other due to the ever-present
fog.
Most people's word association blurt to "weather" would be "storm." In this
regard, I applaud your choice of good over inclement weather as a subject.
Compositionally, I like the sense of scale imparted by both the surfer (if
that's what it is) and by the light-scattering haze in the distance. This,
I think, is the strength of this picture.
Just now I held up a piece of black cardboard to my monitor. I think that
the foreshortened scale effect could be dramatically improved if the
building rooftop and tree tops were not included. However, in fairness, I
*think* I know about where you were standing. If I'm correct, you may not
have had much flexibility in where you could plant your feet.
Walter Banks (http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/62475335)
The drama here results from the intense colors (sunsets/sunrises are one of
the exceptions to the muted colors in nature rule) and the peculiar vertical
distribution of the sun's light.
I don't think I've ever seen this effect before. Is it related to intense
cold winter weather? I've seen the ice halo around the moon, but not this.
I do sense something missing here, but I'm not sure what. Beyond the sun
effect itself, I'm looking for more context I think. Perhaps use of an ND
grad would have allowed more shadow detail in the foreground. (Sorry, I
don't usually think in terms of digital solutions.) Or maybe some other
secondary point of interest is required. Hmm...
I think if the photo were able to first stand on its own as a compelling
landscape without the vertical effect, then the addition of that effect
would make for a spectacular photograph. I'm not sure that's the case here.
But I do really like that solar illusion.
Bowser (http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/62475338)
No need to apologize. This is the weather most people know and love.
Well... know, anyway. After seventeen years in the Great Pacific Northwest
this is what I see for 9-10 months out of every year. Around here summer
begins on July 4th and ends on Labor Day. Don't blink now...
The curve of the brick walkway and lawn border, together with the color
contrast they create, is what makes this a pleasant photograph for me.
Glistening pavement, raindrops and the general gloominess complete the
picture I know only too well.
This entry resonates with me. Makes me want to go down to the basement and
sit by the wood stove - except that it was a rare 92F/33C here today. But
this too shall pass quickly.
Bret Douglas (http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/62475341)
I suspect that this scene was probably more dramatic in person than is fully
captured here. Knowing in advance that it was an almost-hurricane helps
make the case for this picture.
The thing that strikes me first are the two different sets of converging
lines. The land-based vanishing point is just to the right of center on the
horizon. The cloud-based point is over the distant land mass on the left.
The difference in these two points lends a little tension to things for me.
And I do like the prominence of the darker underbelly of the clouds in the
distance. It gives hint of bad things happening somewhere beyond that
island. As I mentioned with Dave earlier, I personally equate weather
phenomenon with a sense of vastness. And vast things, like the weather, are
uncontrollable. That sense is evident in this photograph. I like it.
Ken Nadvornick (http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/62475343)
I maintain a list of pre-scouted sites where I know the photographs I wish
to make. Each site has a missing dynamic of some sort that requires me to
wait for the proper moment. This picture was made from one of those
locations.
I can see this composition from where I live, but cannot set up a camera
from there. For that I must drive about ten minutes away to a certain spot
on a small country road above a river valley. This location affords the
panoramic view you see here.
I had been waiting for some dramatic thunderstorms to materialize, walking
outside every day for a look up at the canyon. When I eventually saw some
excellent ones forming I grabbed a camera and drove to my spot. The cloud
forms had begun to deteriorate by the time I arrived, but were still
reasonably acceptable and I had no more days to wait.
I'll try this site again, as I do with a number of others. Next time I'll
do 4x5. Unfortunately, that camera was unavailable this time around.
Al Denelsbeck (http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/62475345)
Unlike some others, I don't mind the dark foreground. My submission has an
intentionally dark foreground as well, intended to serve as a lower boundary
to the main weather subject above it. Presumably you have approached your
weather similarly.
I like the vaguely similar shapes of the clouds, with the nearer one looking
angrier. I also like the subtle color contrast between the cooler sky and
the warmer cloud tints.
If given sufficient time for fine-tuning, I think more visibility of the
darker undersides could have enhanced the composition. But it sounds as if
you, too, were rushed. Cloudscapes are not easy. At a glance they appear
to be motionless, but in reality they are changing extremely rapidly.
Duncan Chesley (http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/62536797)
Duncan gets the award for the most strikingly three-dimensional rendition of
clouds submitted. And although I do like the "weather(ed)" angle, I think I
would have preferred a pure cloudscape absent any foreground elements.
The light reflecting off the undersides of the clouds is very delicate and
could easily have substituted as the main focal point of interest. The
overall effect is almost tactile. For me, the inclusion of the building
corner gives to the photograph a sense of angle, placement and scale that I
do not wish to know.
Even so, this one is my favorite of the set.
Ken
Ken Nadvornick
|
|
