Photographer's Comment: Past Sunday, it was a beautiful day. It was 15°C warm – exceptional for these time of the year by us. The area where I live now, thousands of years ago it was full sea. There are many vestiges to see of the former sea. I am satisfied with my new biotope and I hope that I can make many photograph of these “Old Sea Landscape”. I live on these moment on a “Dune” and these photograph is “My new glass window”

Tags: day beautiful Sunday Past 15C warm exceptional these time year area where live now thousands years ago full sea There are many vestiges see former

Viewer Comments:

By johnwillems (2008-02-14 19:00:04 ): Thanks Katio!!

By ktapio (2008-02-14 18:05:26 ): Thanks John that is nice of you to say. Although I have been married to an American for at least 26 years now, still have poor English. I am originally from Lebanon. :) katia

By johnwillems (2008-02-14 16:58:32 ): Katio, I found Your critique very funny with the "AHA". I place your critque on my website/portfolio (first photograph). Can You let me know from the country You are from? Thanks again. Friendly from Johnny.

By johnwillems (2008-02-14 16:54:27 ): Ian, thanks very much for Your nuanced description. I do appreciate it very well; Yes, some of our members are "rebels/artists" and I think it is good for our club here on the web. Thanks again and look also foreward for your wise words. Friendly from John.

By leachy (2008-02-14 10:06:41 ): this is what i like about photoworkshop and many of the images that are submitted and many of the photographers (ARTISTS)that are active. look beyond the stuff "in the way" and look at the scene beyond!!!!!! i know for a fact that if i submitted this image at my local photographic society for critique it would be marked down because it does not meet the standards of the purists. that is also why i post images on this site that i don't submit at home because the paople on this site are more free thinkers. carry on john!!!!!!!! you are an inspiration for artists who try and think "out of the box"

By johnwillems (2008-02-14 03:08:26 ): Thanks Carlos, a reply on the wright moment. it give me courrage!! Maybe was these photograph a (re)action on Your very great "Happy-New-Year-War-Photograph". Friendly from John.

By karmal (2008-02-14 02:56:34 ): Well John, while there is a "joyeux" war going on in Macau, I'm happy that in your place you are enjoying a peaceful and contemplative (not depressive) melancholy. As usual, in your pictures I enjoy the mood and the symbolic (i.e. non-obvious) approach. And that's what i like in this picture. Carlos

By johnwillems (2008-02-14 02:49:16 ): Paul, I can agree with Your explanation. The title and the explanation from me don't give a good description from what I feel. I had not the intention to make a photograph of birds, but only, I want let see a peacefull image. It is a question of copywriting. I take attention of Your valua remark and I shall try to give other explanations in the future or maybe, tomorrow for these photograph. Thanks again Paul, for Your time and I do appreciate You. Friendly from John.

By pwfiol (2008-02-14 02:30:45 ): I never really thought about the title you gave it. Titles can be anything, so I usually ignore them unless they tell of a location that I'd like to know about. They don't even have to resemble the image. I was talking about your comment which, at least to me, sounded like it was supposed to be about the image. You were discribing an area that did not show up in the image. If you were trying to discribe the "feeling" of the area and that was why you shot there, and this image is what you saw that day, that did not come across. You talk about, "vestiges to see of the former sea" but there is none of that in the image, so to viewers no matter who they are, they do not get any connection. I would say that when you want to add that info, I would start out with saying what your intention in the image is, and then say why. Then telling about the area would mean more. As it is now it is like you are showing one thing and talking about another. There is a connection in YOUR mind, but that doesn't come across in the comment. That's mostly why I do not even try to get into doing that. If it's not done right then it just makes it confussing.

By johnwillems (2008-02-13 23:32:22 ): BTW Paul, I read your short B&V and what I appreciate very much from You is that 50% of ALL Your sales from your fine art photography goes to the children’s charity projects. That's very, very GREAT, and that's very important. From John.

By johnwillems (2008-02-13 22:52:39 ): Hi Paul, a very welcome to the PWS-Family. I don’t have the intention to made a stockfoto or a commercial image with the posted photograph. My inspiration-source is nouveau-art. I think, for this reason you don’t understand my title, and these is important for me, for the viewer “maybe” not so important. All comments are very welcome, if they can makes the photograph better. The question is sometimes: did the viewer understood the photograph. I think, Your comment is intresting but these shall not make the photograph better. You have a total other view on photography – I do appreciate it – but Your view is more classic. I do like more photography with a modern view on the things in our life. Thanks again to take a view and I do appreciate Your comment very much. Friendly from John Willems.

By pwfiol (2008-02-13 21:49:06 ): If a comment does not match the image, I would skip the comment. The pic here shows one thing and you talk about something totally different. Where does anyone see an "old sea landscape" in this shot? I would only talk about the image. What you SAW there and what you tried top do with it. Then you may get feedback from people as to how to make it better the next time. As for this shot, it is an ok snapshot, but there is just too much in front to really see the ducks very good, and I think that is what the point was, so all you ends up with is a so-so image. If you have a longer lens, use it. Get past all of the foreground junk and zoom in on ducks that are close together. The small ducks in the back don't help the shot especially since you can only really tell that one of them is a duck. The hard part of shooting water birds is having them together so that the shot looks good. When they are all spread out, the shot suffers. When you can't really see their heads it gets worse. But the worse part of this is all of the dark branches that don't add to the shot. They take away from it.

By johnwillems (2008-02-13 19:45:42 ): Thanks Jim. Your comments are always very correct and very nuanced. So, we all members can learn from these beautiful & good comments. Thanks again Jim, to take a look and Your time for all the reply's for the many members of PWS. Friendly from John.

By Jim915 (2008-02-13 18:51:50 ): Well John's comments made me curious so I visited your b&v images and your portfolio. Impressive work.

By Jim915 (2008-02-13 18:42:49 ): I like this very much John. Framing the ducks with the tree branches is a good compositional technique. But you've taken the idea a step further here by creating a curtain that appears just slightly pulled aside as if someone is looking through their window while trying to remain unseen. Your mechanical technicals such as exposure, etc. are all well executed. The pale green in the water works wonderfully as a background for the brown tones. The small wakes created by the two FG ducks perfectly imparts a sense of motion.

By johnwillems (2008-02-13 02:15:18 ): Thanks Andrew for Your posted & appreciated comment. I visit Your portfolio and it may be said it's very Prof. You have a great passion for photography. I do also like Your abstract-photography, these is very modern, and Ido like that. The light in the background of the photograph made by meself, is the light from the sunset (reflection/mirror in the water). So the trees are very black/dark, but I did like it, and the frame looks very abstract/dark and it gives a "lourd" mood in contrast with the peacefull waterbirds. It wasn't not so simply to make the composition of the birds and the trees together, the birds are "moving" & "swimming". The lense 70-200 mm (IS)gives a nice blur in the foreground. Not so simply to explain the mood in English for me but my language is Flemisch (Dutch). Thanks again from John Willems.

By johnwillems (2008-02-13 01:48:00 ): Thanks Linda for Your time and that You appreciate the image. Response on photographs is also imortant for everyone. Friendly from John.

By adykeman (2008-02-13 01:07:05 ): I like the framing you created with the trees.

By LindaJames (2008-02-12 18:12:44 ): Beautiful shot. It's like looking through a curtain to the soft colors of the water. Well captured.

By johnwillems (2008-02-12 17:32:50 ): Indeed Lynn, it was indeed a peaceful moment when I made these photograph. The nature was so calm, it was a wonderfull moment. Thanks again for Your nice reply. Frienly from John.

By lynnrider (2008-02-12 17:26:30 ): What a peaceful view you have! I really like the softness of the colors reflected in the water, and the sense of motion created by the trails made by the ducks feeding. Very nicely done John!

By johnwillems (2008-02-12 11:30:27 ): Thanks Katia for Your nice reply. The photograph is shoot in the very late afternoon/begin evening, less or more sunset. Friendly from John.

By ktapio (2008-02-12 07:56:12 ): Aha, the light and composition, the mood and texture, wow! All put together to capture an inviting image to look at for long time. Thanks John it is a pleaser looking at your art work. The colors are great. Was it a morning or evening shoot? katia

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