Wow! Thanks to everyone for the votes and comments. A real surprise to win against such tough competition.
As some dpc'ers noticed I have been spending time on boat subjects recently. This entailed being ready to shoot at 5 in the morning when the sea inside the reef was still mirror smooth and the sun was just starting to colour the horizon.
I took this photograph close to the village of Mahebourg on east coast of Mauritius, close to where I live.
I had two photographs which I had to choose from and was encouraged by family and friends to submit this one.
Post Processing:
* I levelled the horizon.
* Used saturation to boost the purple and pink hues a little.
* Adjusted curves and levels.
* Applied dodging and burning to the clouds, rocks and boat; just enough to enhance the different tones.
* I had to apply a little neat image because I shot at the wrong iso!
Statistics
Place: 1 out of 519 Avg (all users): 7.8311 Avg (commenters): 8.6038 Avg (participants): 7.7880 Avg (non-participants): 7.9494 Views since voting: 22803 Views during voting: 574 Votes: 296 Comments: 123 Favorites: 160 (view)
"A Tranquil Reflection" and your other image "A Perfect Day" are my two favorites images I have seen for a long time. I love the the way you use the camera. You have a true gift, and you must be very proud. Thank you for sharing your beautiful photography to the world. YOU ARE NOW MY FAVOURITE PHOTOGRAPHER.
You can't have a picture like this without describing where it was, the time of day, what post production effects you used, or changes to original. It's like giving someone a thousand dollar bill that has been bronzed, laminated, and put into one of those clear boxes that are solid.
Excellent photo. I love the colors of the sky and the clouds, and the rocks in the foreground, but especially the textures of the boats and their reflections. I hope this one gets a ribbon - 10
Ok, that's pretty amazing. So far, my pick for a ribbon. One small nit, the sky, at the upper left top, "looks" dodged and burned. I don't mind dodge and burn, but you shouldn't be able to tell. I tried looking hard to see if it's somehow natural, but I can't find the matchup in the reflection. One thing I would have considered if I were lucky enough for this capture to be mine: the foremost center rock to me is unharmonious with the other rocks. It's lighter, and smoother, and more of an attention stealer. I think a crop at the bottom to eliminate it, while losing a bit of lovely foreground, would have been better.
What a great illusion! That boat looks as if it is floating in mid-air. I love the way you blended the sky and the water - the way you eliminated the horizon line. Bumping up - to top 15 in my choice.
This lovely images gives the illusion that the boats are floating in mid air. What quiet waters and what a superb reflection like no other i have seen. The light above sinks gently to the rocks in the foreground wherein we do a double take to ground our senses. Speak of an image that moves and then add this low key coloration! Wow! Bumping up.
It`s really nice when you get still conditions that allow perfect reflections...gives a kind of "floaty" feel to the image.
I`ve had a go at this kind of shot myself with some success.
Nicely done.
Thought I had already commented on this....
Colors are gorgous, I love how your boats look like they are floating in the clouds, there isnt a real line between the two. I would maybe like to see some more of the character of the boat come out. Very incredible picture 10
Gorgeous, dare I say Heavenly. I wouldn't change a thing. I really like that the horizon line dissappears leaving a seemless transition into the sky creating a wonderful mood to the scene. And the darkeness on the boat and the rocks adds some nice contrasts to the delicates lights. Perfect in everyway. Bumping to a 10
8 - Very nice. I like how the horizon has almost disappeared. Criticism; difficult, either a slight tweaking to bring out a little more subtle color, or even (maybe, and depending what was there/what you had to work with) a horizontal crop, really 'using' that 'vacant horizon', may have made this even better in my opinion.
What you have created here is an incredible photo with beautiful lighting, excellent tonality and with a wonderful atmosphere. I love how the horizon line virtually disappears. My only critique would be that, IMO the composition would benefit from a slightly simpler elements. I would have excluded the boats in the background (although they are beautifully lit) leaving the solitary one as the principle subject. I realize that this could have been out your control. Outstanding work.
This is just about perfect. A free study's a crapshoot, but this is a ribbon as far as I am concerned. I don't see how to improve it except possibly to burn the foreground in a tad.
erasing the horizon (if that's what you have done) really makes this photo as there is a seamless transitin from sea to sky. The nearby stones feel a bit rescued in RAW but otherwise a fabulous shot.
This is lovely beyond all my imagination. The words that come to mind are those of Forrest Gump: "I can't tell where the earth stops and Heaven begins." Brava and I surely expect to be seeing you finish in the top photos.
A very calm, serene, dreamy capture that the viewer justs gets totally lost and swept up in. One cannot tell where the sky begins and the lake ends. They blend in so seamlessly that one daydreams as one gazes upon the boats thinking, "Do they sail upon the waters or do they sail upon the clouds?" Wonderfully composed and captured.
A Tranquil Reflection
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