Thanks everyone for all the comments and votes. I knew that early morning was going to be worth it, when I saw the mist over the park.
Basically I adjusted the white balance to a cooler temp. Cropped it. hue sat, curves on the selected swan top lighten. Then inversed selection and neatimaged the water.
I actually thought the centered composition was more zen-like, so that what I went for.
outtake
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Place: 1 out of 329 Avg (all users): 7.6622 Avg (commenters): 8.7750 Avg (participants): 7.4273 Avg (non-participants): 7.8929 Views since voting: 30509 Views during voting: 482 Votes: 222 Comments: 105 Favorites: 147 (view)
Congrats on receiving the blue Alex. You've captured tranquility at it's best. Striking color and the centered composition was the perfect choice. I swear that Park has been a goldmine for you. I'll have to check it out if I ever make it to London.
Congrats mate! Well deserved, this pic went straight for my faves and had I voted I would have given it a 10. Totally agree with you on the composition. Go mag 7!
I'm so glad this won! It was my favorite, and I see it was alot of other people's too :) It is so perfect not only for this challenge -- but just perfect period!
Excellent Alex! A superb edit, gave this a 9 cause I wanted the swan slightly left, but the voters were great to you...well done. It really is a gorgeous shot...Enzo
I love it when the only 10 I gave in a challenge gets the blue ribbon! This is a great example of how good a centered composition can look. Congratulations.
There are lovers of blue hues images. What makes this image more outstanding is the complementary color of orange which is just enough to allow the eyes to wander in peace, hence the object of delightful meditation. Congratulations on your outstanding entry and the Blue, which is a just reward.
Just a quick glimpse through the thumbnails and this one sticks out strong. I love everything about this shot - lighting, reflection, colors, the mist and ripples. Very strong image that suits this challenge just fine. Giving an 8 right now - will be back to bump later. Oh and what the heck - you get a fav right off the bat as well. Very nice work. Back to bump up - but I might be back one more time.
Last minute bump - you get my ten for the challenge!
absolutely beautiful. I haven't been through too many of these shots yet as i'm commenting on all I can but WOW. this could/should ribbon from what I've seen so far. Theres something very emotional about this. It nearly made me shed a tear.
WOW. no words can describe how great this picture is. I feel peaceful just looking at it. I plan on seeing this on the front page here in a few days with a blue ribbon next to it! 10!
I like the way you`ve processed this image..the lighting is very effective..it splits the image into horizontal thirds, dark bottom..light middle and back to dark at the top.
Good work, hope this does well for you.
this has serenity coming out of its ears. it's very gorgeous and lovely. i love the deep blues, the calmness of the water, and the hazy blurry background. there is a slight halo effect around the back and the neck of the swan which is a bit off putting, but that aside a stunning piece of visual art. though, from the ripple in the water it looks like he is reversing.... still, great, moody, tranquil, very zenny. 9.
I think the swan's just a wee bit too central for this image to - wait for it - dislocate the viewer from routine perception. Has zen simplicity but lacks zen detachment (because of the composition's geometry, forgive me, I'm struggling to express something here)
I know nothing about zen, but going with the challenge discription I'd say you nailed it. Beautiful color tones and extraordinary use of the centered composition. Well done!
Superb. It surely is serene and very Zen. A dash of white and ripples really helps in highlighting the serenity of the blue environment. I'd have personally liked to see a bit more of background (water/blue) and an off-centered placement of the swan. Still a lovely photo coming straight out of heaven. Goodluck. 9.
Oh this photo!!! It is exactly what I imagined when I thought of zen photography. . .but I was sick last week and couldn't go out and capture it myself -- I'm glad I didn't even try because I never could have captured it like this! This is absolutely my favorite photo in this challenge, and this is going straight to my favorites folder! I hope to see this with a ribbon matching that beautiful water color!!! :) 10
Meets the challenge in every regard certainly. So over processed as to appear to be a painting rather than a photograph. That said, and precisely for that reason, this shot will probably rank very high, but for me the computer enhanced imagery actually detracts from the sense of harmony and serenity. I also think the composition would have benefited greatly by moving the bird off center. Nice shot overall. 6.
this is superb, glorious and graceful...I love the light and colour...I wish the swan wasn't smack bang in the middle...perhaps the rule of thirds needed to be applied here placing the swan a little further to the left to give it something to wade towards, but that's minor in the light of how gorgeous this shot is 9
Serenity
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