I know that Minnesota is called the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” and it’s true enough; but there are also lakes almost too numerous to count in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan as well. Some of the most amazingly colorful places I know lie on waters between Baraga and Ontonagon; and on a calm autumn morning with light mists rising from the still surfaces of these beautiful ponds the bright hues of fall seem to reflect up from the very depths of the earth itself. These are the waters that touch my soul. I arrived at this location in time to watch the sun rise through the trees to the east and then illuminate the trees on the north shore. The light, in turn, bounced off the foliage and into the misty water. The foreground grasses became a line that turned into a reverse-C as it rounded the edge of the frame and pointed across the surface to the forest beyond. With the foreground elements in place, I felt comfortable in allowing the image to divide itself in half without creating a static result. A focal length of 157mm gave me the angle of view I wanted to isolate the edge of the pond and the woods of the far shore. An aperture of f/22 gave depth of field, and a shutter speed of 0.3 seconds at ISO 100 gave me an overall medium exposure. Hiawatha’s garden.
Don,
Great fall image, I miss the fall colors here in southwest Florida being formally from Ky. But I enjoy seeing seeing your images from the Smokies to the upper midwest. Keep up the great work.
You and I met a long time ago at Cumberland Falls at the Photo Weekend. If you ever get down to Florida please look me up.
Blessings Always
Mike
Don, Wonderful image. You were right the dividing of the image in half works because of the use of the foreground and the reverse curve I believe keep this from happening. Thank you for sharing your work, and have a good week at teaching.
Wonderful autumn palette with the warm colors accented with just enough of the cooler greens to give it interest. The texture of the grasses adds another dimension to the scene and as you note helps define the reverse “C”. I particularly like the yellow tree on the extreme right at the vortex of the “C”. It provides a nice contrast to the darker background, adds depth and keeps the eye from running out of the right side of the image as it would otherwise. I am really going to miss going to the UP this year.
Fall–the best time of the year.
This has jaw-dropping colors! By putting the treeline in the center you were able to double the colors. The darker grass colors, the stump family in the foreground and curve creates contrast and a path to keep us enjoying the color. The fog keeps it real. Thanks!
Good evening Everyone. Thank you all for joining me for this Image. I apologize for taking so long to respond to your comments and observations, but sometimes my Arrowmont classes are so intense that it’s difficult to carve out a time when I can focus completely on responding to an Image. Thanks for understanding. Mike, it’s good to hear from you. I have been enjoying your Sunday postings from southwestern Florida and will definitely let you know when I’m headed that way. Thanks for your kind words; I’m glad I can offer you some pleasant memories of home. Hey Chuck, as I write this you should be out of surgery by several hours. Bonnie and I are keeping you and Lois in our thoughts and prayers and wishing for a speedy return to all of the activities we know you love. We’ll be checking on you in the coming days. Thanks for your thoughtful comments and for taking the time to express them. Dorsey, good to hear from you and sorry we were not able to connect this past week. Hope you had a productive one. I appreciate your mentioning the warm-toned palette and the accompanying cool-warm contrast; and like you I saw the line of darker grasses anchored on the right by the side-lit yellow sapling as both tonal and textural contrast, with the tree providing a pivot-point to keep the eye in the frame. We can commiserate with each other about not getting to the UP this year, but will be looking forward to 2016. Margaret, I hope you received the email I sent you from Arrowmont responding to the image you shared from Santa Fe. I hope you are having a great time in the Southwest. All times of the year are best, and fall is absolutely wonderful. Hi Nancy T., thanks for joining us. I’m glad you had the response you had to this Image. One of these days I hope to share this location with you. I appreciate your observation about the reflection doubling the color and I’m glad you included the “stump family” as part of the elements that anchor the right side of the frame and help to turn the eye back into the colors and their reflections. Thanks, again, everyone for joining me and for sharing your thoughts.