I loved this shot in color, but it was such an intense sunset that it was more like Las Vegas than zen. So I made it into b&w, and cropped away a lot of the parts that are beautiful in color :-( It was too narrow for our challenges otherwise. I used the hue/saturation in a regular adjustment and with a color adjustment to get the tones. I loved it when I started out, but now I've been looking at it so long, I'm no longer so crazy about it. Hope to get some comments to convince me one way or the other - and to help with future challenges.
After the challenge:
Thank you so much for the wonderful comments and my personal best score so far. I never in a million years thought this would end up in the top ten. Thanks!!
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first of all, i would love to see the color version of this...even though i'm a gigantic fan of black and white.
i think this was a perfect entry for this challenge because it's incredibly difficult to capture "wind" without it being overtly obvious and contrived. the movement of the reeds/grass in the foreground is just soft enough that it gives the impression of movement without the distraction of a lot of blur.
the tones here are excellent -- good contrastiness™ and use of the full range of blacks and whites. the only part of the image that i would change might be the blown out cloudbank, as it draws the viewer's attention there and is pretty "in yo' face." a little burning would draw it back into the rest of the image and restore the balance.
Definitely works in B&W - the tones are rich and quite perfect in my opinion. A wonderful depiction of "zen" and a wonderful photograph! Congrats on the top ten, too - but that's just a side bonus - the shot and your processing of it is the real winner.
WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! That's my girl!!!1 This is a fantastic shot! Congrats on your top 10 finish and the beautiful score to go with a beautiful shot! I'm so proud of you!
Smooth and silky and great tonal strength with an impressive horizon and a sky to complement the soft foreground. Congratulations on your top 10 finish.
first impression: Serene. I like the pp and the dark corners.
Technicals: Good exposure and converted to bring out most of the texture.
Additional thoughts: I see how the clouds could be considered a major element to visualizing wind, but I also like this cropped to just above the tree line. The power of the picture is the imagined rustle sound made by the grass. Cropping makes the picture more intimate and forces the viewer to listen even more carefully to that imagined sound.
A very nice sense of quiet movement, forces unseen. A great use of minimal tone, keeping this a serene shot to the viewer's eye. I love the softness of the foreground.
Gosh this image looks so familiar, I think it reminds of an image I have perhaps seen in a book or gallery. (Note: that's not an accusation of plagiarism). I like the sense of the simplicity and beauty of nature - that kind of beauty (so beautifully presented) cannot fail to uplift.
Striking image. However for this challenge I'm not sure it's a perfect fit. For starters you're trying to convey sound, which you did a great job doing with this image. I can sense the field weaving back in forth in the wind and the sounds it makes. In a challenge that called for "making a photo as silent as can be" you did the opposite. However with that said, this is very zen like and is one of my favorites.
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