Asher Kelman
OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
We started here and got into a great discussion on the meaning of the art term absrtraction and painterly. So I thought I'd clean the slate and focus here in our "Landscape" forum on Charles' image, itself!
Quote=Charles L. Webster]I leave the question of "is it art" to those who care, such as Ray.
Charles L. Webster[/quote]
Congrats Charles,
I'm a sucker for gold, sienna and sunsets! Your picture is very impressionistic and attractive. As it is it seems to lack some clarity but probably the real file prints well.
I tried sharpening and it really does look great that way too. I like the more defined irregular gold reflections broken up by the ripples on the water.
Do you also have shots with the sky?
We know this is a sunset or dawn, but that would be other pictures with different meanings. The lack of sky does create a tension, since we know enough of sunsets to expect the sky and low sun. It is part of the platter we expect mother nature to serve as things are packed away for the day!
So this image is only part of the sunset, a restricted sunset, if you wish. The top of the picture is not fading to anyrhing, rather abruptly disappears, which tells us more is there but we can't see it! So that sets up a question of what was there to see.
Asking that question and the initial attraction is what can take this image on its way to be "art". For me it works as art but I might want to choose such a pciture from a real print of a particular size on the right paper. Then it will make it or not.
All I can say is that I like it, I wouldn'y have framed it that way, so that's another thing I like!
Thanks for sharing!
Asher
This now brings us up to date on real comment and feelings, although since the forum is open, we could get into a discussion of
"The biophysics of tangential-light-energy-transfer to suspended microplankton in in coastal waters with diurnal indistrial effluant."
So we'll be on the lookout!
Now let's discuss the photograph!
Asher
Charles L. Webster said:When I took this picture, I saw the "painterly" effect and was struck by the abstraction. Several of my other photos explore this "reflection" theme and I think this is one of the more successful.
Shot with my trusty 300D with the Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 @ 240mm f/5.6 1/800 ISO 200. This is almost full frame, some small amount was lost when I rotated the image to straighten the horizon.
Quote=Charles L. Webster]I leave the question of "is it art" to those who care, such as Ray.
Charles L. Webster[/quote]
Congrats Charles,
I'm a sucker for gold, sienna and sunsets! Your picture is very impressionistic and attractive. As it is it seems to lack some clarity but probably the real file prints well.
I tried sharpening and it really does look great that way too. I like the more defined irregular gold reflections broken up by the ripples on the water.
Do you also have shots with the sky?
We know this is a sunset or dawn, but that would be other pictures with different meanings. The lack of sky does create a tension, since we know enough of sunsets to expect the sky and low sun. It is part of the platter we expect mother nature to serve as things are packed away for the day!
So this image is only part of the sunset, a restricted sunset, if you wish. The top of the picture is not fading to anyrhing, rather abruptly disappears, which tells us more is there but we can't see it! So that sets up a question of what was there to see.
Asking that question and the initial attraction is what can take this image on its way to be "art". For me it works as art but I might want to choose such a pciture from a real print of a particular size on the right paper. Then it will make it or not.
All I can say is that I like it, I wouldn'y have framed it that way, so that's another thing I like!
Thanks for sharing!
Asher
Although I'm not a conventional sunset/sunrise/landscape enthusiast I am a bit of a mug for a good reflection image. This certainly falls into that category for me. As Asher noted, very nice color contrasts. The colors and compositions of the best reflected images not only keep the eye satisfied, but they also provoke the analytical brain to wonder what is being reflected. That's the case here, too, although identification is just beyond my imagination.
Nice image, Charles. Thanks for posting it.
Hi Charles,
First let me affirm that I like you picture. Next we need to separate wonderful, informative articles that educate us on the semantics of describing art from the work of an individual who is just looking for reactions on how they feel emotional and think in terms of the actual image as it is, ways of photographing such a subject and choices for getting that idea to a brilliant print that people will enjoy and even pay money for.
Now how do we then deal with both and still have the openness that distinguishes OPF?
My solution is carve out this essay as an article which can be illustrated perhaps by my own pictures.
In any case the I may transfer my respected friend's informed article to a new place temporarilly while I think!
Asher
The ripplies in the water remind me of hammered or carved metal...
This now brings us up to date on real comment and feelings, although since the forum is open, we could get into a discussion of
"The biophysics of tangential-light-energy-transfer to suspended microplankton in in coastal waters with diurnal indistrial effluant."
So we'll be on the lookout!
Now let's discuss the photograph!
Asher
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