• Members 699 posts
    Feb. 5, 2024, 5:27 p.m.

    Notre Dame Cathedral
    notre-dame-cathe.jpg

    notre-dame-cathe.jpg

    JPG, 2.7 MB, uploaded by Sagittarius on Feb. 5, 2024.

  • Members 1517 posts
    Feb. 5, 2024, 10:30 p.m.

    I prefer 2, with a bit more cropping. It's the dross over of the leaves picking up the X shape of the wings joining the body that grabs me. A touch of one of the newer noise reduction programs would help both images.

  • Members 1330 posts
    Feb. 5, 2024, 10:32 p.m.

    Thank you kindly.

  • Members 1330 posts
    Feb. 5, 2024, 10:33 p.m.

    Wow, those saturated colours...

  • Members 1330 posts
    Feb. 5, 2024, 10:34 p.m.

    Just cool, cool image. Thank you. Let your imagination flow...

  • Members 1517 posts
    Feb. 5, 2024, 10:40 p.m.

    Very nice indeed. In no particular order, things I like. The stability of the trunk all the way up the right hand side emphasizes the take-off into the void. The extended toes on the feet that still retain contact with the trunk. The similarity i tones and texture between the plumage and trunk- it suggests a parting of the ways.
    Exactly the right amount of bokeh and tone on the background. The background can be inferred while giving contrast to outline the bird and yet we still feel that this is a night time shot.
    The positioning and spacing of the elements here is all quite perfect.

  • Members 1517 posts
    Feb. 5, 2024, 11:18 p.m.

    This should be read along with my comments on ChrisOly's fog post this week. Many of the same things apply here as well.
    "it'll have to do." Ha. It'll do alright. The golden warm combination plus the mist is a total winner. In particular, I love the thicker mist on the left as a frame for the trees. This is unexpected . We assume that the thicker mist will be at the top. The connection between the leaning tree trunks and the small patch, bottom right, ties everything together. IMO, this is about as perfect as a composition gets.

  • Members 1517 posts
    Feb. 5, 2024, 11:25 p.m.

    Agreed. The portrait format and the vertical lines carry our imagination up above. There's something big and it is sure to have claws on the other end of the neck. The jaws are gaping and coming down. Could we have a screaming blonde with ripped clothing somewhere please?

  • Members 1517 posts
    Feb. 5, 2024, 11:39 p.m.

    You could remove all the surface details from this image so it became blocks of colour and lines. Screwing eyes up and squinting sort of does the trick. It remains a satisfying expression of balance, line and tones irrespective of the subject matter. Maybe take a small slice off the right-hand side so the bottom rhs shadow forms a sharp triangular apex at the edge to match the other apexes in the image?
    Apexes.jpeg

    Apexes.jpeg

    JPG, 61.8 KB, uploaded by MikeFewster on Feb. 5, 2024.

  • Members 760 posts
    Feb. 6, 2024, 3:24 a.m.

    Minnie, Chris, Mike,

    Thanks so much for the comments.

    Rich

  • Members 543 posts
    Feb. 6, 2024, 8:59 a.m.

    Yes, a bit of fog to soften and add mystery to the background and highlight the bare tree, and the world is transformed. Even an old power station is no longer a blot on a good image.
    I agree with everything Minnie says and think her subtle crop makes the image even better.

    Pete

  • Members 543 posts
    Feb. 6, 2024, 9:28 a.m.

    It looks like a sea-bird covered rock/island, but the painterly treatment helps us interpret it in a much freer way, and the process of doing so or trying to mentally retro-process back to the original is captivating.
    The colours and composition create something which is both imposing and calm.

    Pete

  • Members 543 posts
    Feb. 6, 2024, 9:38 a.m.

    That is one to be very proud of! You have caught the decisive moment perfectly as the bird launches itself. Its feet barely touching the tree and its body stretched to maximum. The tension is tangible.
    It may be a bit dark, but as it is, there is a feeling of dusk or a spirit in the night, which is also cool, so I’m not sure that I would change it.

    Pete

  • Members 543 posts
    Feb. 6, 2024, 9:45 a.m.

    Who needs iconic scenery when you have beautiful scenery! Most importantly you have observed and captured it in a beautiful way, and drawing attention to the intrinsic beauty in an easily overlooked scene is far better than showing an iconic scene as an iconic scene.

    Pete

  • Members 543 posts
    Feb. 6, 2024, 9:51 a.m.

    You definitely made the most of this little scene with a keen eye. The light flatters the colours, composition, and textures and creates a very pleasing image.

    Pete

  • Members 543 posts
    Feb. 6, 2024, 9:57 a.m.

    Yes, that’s quite a sight! Most gothic churches are bare stone now, but many were highly decorated like this. Just imagine the effect that had seven hundred years ago. A hallucinogenic visual firework every Sunday before returning to the dark and dingy hovel.

    Pete

  • Members 1517 posts
    Feb. 6, 2024, 10:46 a.m.

    I'm puzzled. I've been inside Notre Dame in Paris but I don't remember the colours as they appear in your photo. Is this Notre Dame in Montreale? Are their lights that can be turned on in the Paris Notre Dame that can dramatically change the experience? Is my memory slipping (entirely possible.)

  • Members 1517 posts
    Feb. 6, 2024, 10:52 a.m.

    Is the dark shape a human? I don't think so but it certainly suggests a woman and that's enough to create the story. Well, we don't know the story but we feel the mood. Figure, colour and the vertical lines are enclosed in a dark frame, top and bottom. Cue in a jazz soundtrack.