Ottawa

Photographer's Note

There was an utterly peaceful spaceousness I felt while walking by the river yesterday afternoon. The open, snowy vista, in spite of its near-desolation, exuded a sense of calm, of freedom.

I upload this shot as I took it, with the deliberate centrality of the construct of whose purpose I couldn't guess. The colour version is in the Workshop, but this time I have opted clearly for the bw...

sabyasachi1212, james-r, alejandroguzman, coco, Nelu_Goia, evanrizo, ribeiroantonio, luisafonso, sleon, riclopes, andante, eleparc, Paolo, syd1946, Charo, KevRyan, robiuk, bantonbuju, bertolucci, jammer79, delnaja, everlasting heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

sabyasachi1212 (19779) 2007-02-26 22:18

Hi Sasa,
Absolutely sensational in a very peaceful way. Such vast expanse of snow together with the sky and the lone person in the distance. No questioning your choice of B&W.
With Greetings from India
Sabyasachi

prezntime (3946) 2007-02-26 22:49

Hello Sasa.
You are quite right about the drama here. The color is charming, but the color does not have the impact of the B&W version. What a sky, thunderous...heavy, not sure how to describe the feeling. Isolation under the great curve of the earth...a blanket of white to black the eyes and soothe the straining conscience.
Is that a small person down by the structure?
Now, that's scale.
Chris

jinju (14265) 2007-02-26 22:49

Yeah,

a total stunner Sasa. The great thing is the clarity and the beautiful contrasts here, both emphasizing the bleakness and the cold desolation of this place...but also its absolute beauty.

james-r (676) 2007-02-26 23:10

Superb again, Sasa.

The tonal range here is wonderful, this is a great image for people to learn from. The central positioning on the structure works well and the wee person (it is a person?) adds scale to the scene.

That sky is just lovely, it really comes out and over you as you look at this picture. Excellent shot.

partha (14023) 2007-02-26 23:18

Hi Sarolta,
U give the real essence in B&W.I found the minimalism, the tiny person in the midst of huge nature make it so appealing.
Partha

alejandroguzman (4684) 2007-02-27 0:21

Hello Sarolta:
Amazing composition.
The depth inthis BW format gives more dramatism to the composition. And the solitude of tha man (that's a man, right?) makes more dramatic. And I can give a plus for the lighting and saturation as well.

TFS
/Hugs
Edgar.

Galeota (10352) 2007-02-27 0:47

Another visual poem that wouldn't simply exist if you weren't there to see it through the prism of your understanding. Absolutely beautiful in its grandness.

animesh_dan (222) 2007-02-27 1:08

Hi Sarolta,
A very good BW as well as wide angle work. The cloudy sky gives a solid impact on the picture. Good work.
Animesh

coco (30439) 2007-02-27 1:13

Hi Sasa.

There is no doubt: you love black and white pictures. And something better: you have an special talent, you know where is the photo and how should be.
Again, a new beautiful photo from.

Thanks for sharing.

ohe (2334) 2007-02-27 1:38

Dear Sarolta,
Very nice shot ! I really like the two version of the shot !
B&W works very well ... As the sky is darker than the ground, it gives the shot a very special atmosphere.
Thanks for sharing,
- Olivier -

weiphoto (353) 2007-02-27 1:58

Nice BW image. Gorgeous skys & clouds. Nice foreground interest w/ person & "Hut?" Low horizon makes this really blue skies. No, the workshop version in color just doesn't do it. I think you chose the right interpretation of the scene.

Nelu_Goia (3116) 2007-02-27 2:12

Szia Sari,
Hat nagyon szep munkat csinaltad itten:)...a felesegem magyar ugy hogy...

I can see a small person near that tower and this is how I feel too: small in that vastness.
Very impressive picture.
Thank you very much,
Nelu

naxius (16685) 2007-02-27 2:13

Hi Sasa,
Simple, minimalist and it works so good..
This is perfect.
The b&w conversion is just perfect too and give an unreal mood.

Indeed, a great one.
Alex

DarkoG (8) 2007-02-27 2:28

Good, even excellent choice Sarolta. Structere of cloud and contrast among them are very good and reveal a feeling of calm and enormous space in front of us. Spacwe that make us feel very small, just as is human figure in front.

evanrizo (462) 2007-02-27 2:42

Wooooh what an impressive photo!!!Great tones,great composition, wonderful lightness.
Cheers.
Evan

ribeiroantonio (22730) 2007-02-27 3:01

It is definitely more dramatic than the colour version. That huge sky and beautiful clouds made my day. Your B&W conversion is extraordinary and really created an impressive sky. Congratulations.
Antonio

luisafonso (862) 2007-02-27 3:08

This time it's got to be the b&w. For its drama, you bet! Boy, I wish this one was mine. :) It reflects my "new" spirit but I still have some reluctance in finding such scenes... Bad habits are hard to break, don't you know... ;) I love the sense of space here. The images breathes, makes me open the window of this forced air office. Feel the frozen grass smell, the chill on my face, the bird's tuneful symphony. At that centered tower... and that ant! Perfect! This is a photo. A great one.

nerve (10231) 2007-02-27 3:19

yes, clouds in bw definitely give more drama here, good one.
bw.

sleon (9402) 2007-02-27 3:24

Hi Sasa
This shot really does give an overwhelming sense of space and vastness. The colour version is very nice but the mono treatment makes it much more dramatic, even foreboding. The presence of the person is important to emphasise the scale and give a feeling of isolation. A stunning shot.
Regards,Susanna

RGatward (20108) 2007-02-27 3:39

B&W certainly a goo dchoice, the sky is spectacular, are you using a polarizer, or is that what a Canadian sky really looks like in winter.

GG_Poland (722) 2007-02-27 4:22

Hi Sarolta

I like it very much. lovely light, sky and composition. I don't even want to see that in colour :)

best wishes
Grzegorz

TravelerNL (3011) 2007-02-27 4:35

Hello Sarolta,
The B&W version indeed looks much more dramatic, especially in the sky. I like the low horizon here. The central position of the structure works well here in the B&W version.
Well done,
Harko

riclopes (35577) 2007-02-27 5:01

B&W no doubt about it, Sasa. This is so good.I know that Canada is famous by its vast open spaces but this reminds me more the salt desert of Bolivia, or something. Amazing sky and beautiful three sillouettes in the center of the composition. Everything goes to that center and I love that. Really good shot!
Ricardo

fishrwoman (48) 2007-02-27 6:44 [Comment]

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dkeus31 (27739) 2007-02-27 6:54

Hello Sarlota,
Yes, the BW with its enhanced contrast gives a more dramatical view, I love the place let to the sky and this diagonal right clouds.
Regards
Didier

cbrman (21685) 2007-02-27 7:11

Hello Sarolta,

Une ciel tout à fait impressionnant et la solitude avec laquelle tu as traité la personne du bas de l'image font de cette photogrpahie une très bonne réussite.
Je trouve que la version couleur aurait toutes ses chances également ! Elle est splendide.
Bravo !

A+

Dominique

vapours (8264) 2007-02-27 7:19

Wow how is that sky. Your colour version shows something nice and peaceful, the black and white flips that around and shows a much more dramatic scene.

Had a great time with Mike on Sunday, of course, the day came to a close at the pub.

eleparc (24063) 2007-02-27 9:17

impressive sky! is that really snow? I am impressed! it looks like a secluded beach...

Dpbours (222) 2007-02-27 10:05

Hi Sasa,

That is beautiful....

First I thought, 'Hmm, that sky. Should be a way to improve the distortion due to the desaturation'... So I took your colour picture and started working on it. But after an hour in photoshop, I have to admit... You're picture is beautiful and there is no way to make it better in any way. That happens when something is perfect.

Cheers, Dennis

bombilla (3406) 2007-02-27 10:17

Well, we're all alone, aren't we. Not a choice we make, just the cold facts. Stems of some fragile matter that blow around in the eternal desert, imaginary space between earth and sky, space we create because we desire to separate our molecules from the rest of the universe, space we create because we desire, period. This delineation of matter, differentiation we call consciousness, was to be our salvation from nature's obsessive reclamation of that which exists, its inexorable liquidation of all that is solid, its 24-hour-a-day fire sale on everything in stock. What a great idea. A cosmic brainstorm. Like the collision of an asteroid against a planetary body. A great shock to the system. A storming of the universal Bastille. Liberation. License to roam. The ecstasy of choice. Wind in your hair. Freedom. A landmark idea. Except . . . except. There we stand. All alone. Shivering in the cold. Good picture of it, Sasa. -Hugh

faubry (35447) 2007-02-27 10:20

hello Sasa, freedom but dramatic sky....peaceful image, i like this human here, very great work
take care
francine

Paolo (41258) 2007-02-27 12:06

Empty land!
that's is really empty land!
excellent use of the black and white and great work on the contrast on the sky.
the construct exactley on the middle is a great idea in that image, cause in a so large...nothing is, with the children, the only presence!
excellent picture.
thanks, ciao

syd1946 (1167) 2007-02-27 12:11

I like this one Sasa,
Never ending field of depth,the man so small...like a dream...

Thomas

michiels (4170) 2007-02-27 12:30

hello Sasa,

I also prefer the b&w. What a view, we can only dream of it here in crowdy Belgium, there is always a house or buildings standing in the way ! I like the dramatic touch like you say and the "grandeur", the people walking there are really small. Teaches us also to remember the power of the nature !
many greetings, inn :)

Charo (51290) 2007-02-27 15:50

Una foto genial, muy especial.
Saludos
Charo

KevRyan (22956) 2007-02-27 17:04

It's an amazing experience when you look at a photograph and feel yourself breathing the same air and feeling the same inner vision and objective realisation and excitement as the photographer .....when the possibilities reveal themselves as an obtainable result ......you know what I'm saying Hobbit......one thing though.....something you may already do ...spend time looking for the black and white as a photographer .....not so much as a designer......challenge yourself this way.....just work with the black and white option......not the designers option but the photographer's choice......your black and white/toned images are superb......but what about your black and white photographs? You are amazing!! Perhaps you are a truly ambidextrous/bi-visualiser.......my appreciation goes through the roof dear friend!

........hey have you had your first good sized exhibition yet and if not why not?

bw Kev

Furachan (0) 2007-02-27 17:28

I can well imagine this one blown up huge in a gallery where it certainly belongs. It is shots like these that show up the limitatons of our thumbnail culture ;o) Again simply the best tones
imaginable, tota mastery of contrast. It doesn't get any better...
bw,
Francis

MKING (3054) 2007-02-27 19:36

I miss those snowy vistas, there's an immense, if stark beauty to such landscapes-- the snow is indiscriminate and a think blanket of it in the city returns everything to some primitive state, it's such an extreme transformation for my eyes.

And that sense is carried here too out by the river away from the city-- the watchtower suggests that this place is a popular swimming spot in the summer yet in the winter the river freezes over, again such a dramatic change. And that is also emphasised by the dark brooding sky against the snow and ice. I miss that and it's been less than a week.

Can't say I miss the temperatures though-- as I walk around London I am actually perspiring in the +10C "heatwave"! I am now scared of skinheads and hoodies, not the breeze... :)

brevbrev14 (140) 2007-02-28 6:58

Hi Sasa, a wonderful image!!
great composition with the space of the sky....a painting sky....
really i don't like central composition normally...but here it works perfectly!!
great great as usual!!!!
ciao mia cara amica!
Valeria

sc07 (1292) 2007-02-28 7:31

Hi Sasa!
Oh..one of the most beautiful sky ever!! Fantastic composition, "cinematographically" dramatic atmosphere! Very impressive! And I am very pleased to see the Man exactly like the human being really is: so small, so meaningless, lost in the middle of the universe of which he doesn't even imagine how big and eternal it may be. (Hope my English not too poor here...otherwise, my words are meaningless)
Seb

robiuk (10807) 2007-02-28 16:59

Hi Sasa,
here I can't decide whether I like better
the ground part or the sky. But it's not
about dividing them two but feeling how
they interract together and finding your
own place in this vast vista... or maybe
just standing still and doing nothing -
- just admiring the view.
Lovely b/w conversion!
Robi

bantonbuju (51815) 2007-03-02 3:07

indeed most spacious, most amazing landscape...overwhelming sky...how tiny can be a model? well, come on guys, come and see this...
------
one may find quite similiar landscapes when heading east of poland...less attractive are those in central poland, where the land is very flat...
this photo shows what i always think about canada..endless space...
tc, j.

nicoz (1979) 2007-03-02 6:00

Wow it looks cold and desolated! There is so much space in this photo, I almost get lost. The tiny silouhette makes the photo for me. Without is there wouldn't a definite scale, there wouldn't be a touch of life lost in the immensity of the photo.
Good photo!
Nicolas

bertolucci (14052) 2007-03-02 11:14

Exquisitely and hauntingly beautiful, Sasa! So atmospheric, such a rich set of tones. The triad of the person, the structure and the pole adds a kinda existentialistic touch to it. Damn, I'm in awe!
Have a fine weekend,
Bert

jammer79 (2722) 2007-03-02 22:55

Dramatic, excellent, minimalistic!! This one is so very well done!
I did enjoy watching it.
cheers,R.

ninaL (21348) 2007-03-03 14:02

Hi, Sarolta.

Really impressive vue, with unusual POV...
Big sky, long beach, very well, all that...and people are so little, lost in the nature...Dramatic mood.

Best regards.

Grazyna.

andante (7092) 2007-03-03 14:25

I remember looking at this one while in the office, but never had the chance to comeback and comment on it. The sky is very dramatic, I can see a series of shots just like this one on a NY show. The small silhouetted figure walking towards the adds a storyteller qulity to the image. Great capture!

Regards,
Enrique

AnimeshRay (9089) 2007-03-03 14:49

And this one is just extraordinary. The vastness of the sky and earth, the essence of Canada, are evoked with utter economy of the frame.

delnaja (2056) 2007-03-04 9:31

dramatic atmopshere... lost in the wide landscape... Terrific result!

recepyuksel (18640) 2007-03-07 11:35

Hello Sarolta,
sky is really amazing here,
best choice the sky-ground ratio
best wishes...

everlasting (19680) 2007-03-08 14:03

So exquisitely beautiful, Sasa, so atmospheric, so much space, not too mention so much snow. The sky is amazing anchored by the lone person. Brrr................

Endy (1025) 2007-03-10 23:47

I was naviguating throught your picture and I saw this one. What a beautiful and dramatic sky. This sky accentuates the loneliness that I feel when I see this picture. By the way, it is a good choice to desaturate this image because it increases the spaceousness that you are talking about.

ALSOM (6616) 2007-03-14 7:34

The large space left to the sky gives all the power to the central, tiny & fragile construction. Such opposition along with the b/w adds drama to it. We should not forget the greatness of mother nature. Very cool.

Alain -

scalerman (26900) 2007-03-26 2:28

Sarolta: I'm inclinded to think you work in the design business or at least have your feet in it someway. The graphism of your stuff betrays a careful, composing eye. Have a good week, c

starbug (6924) 2007-03-30 7:43

hi Sasa, it is the one time I prefer your colour version to b&W:-) but I suppose it all has to do with the longing for colours after the winter. while the b&w screams with coldness and overpowering powerlessness against the heartless nature of winter, the colour glorifies the eternity of the blue heavens. and even the tiny figure, and the undefined structure become less lost, and more sheltered under the blue.
have a great weekend
A.

Polonaise (5802) 2007-04-05 14:23

Stunning perfection and visual thrill.
I believe the only one that can compete with Claire's how far….
Impeccable beauty of land of cold…

Bow my head..

g.

arturo (31) 2007-05-22 9:37

Hi Sarolta,

this is a striking black and white convertion...lovely proportions and a dreamy sky...cheers, arturo

paprika-jancsi (2349) 2008-03-25 12:35