I’ve had this file and three others in the catalogue since spring of 2020. Never quite sure what to do with it. Sometimes it is best with most any image to let it sit for awhile until you are ready for it. I guess I became ready for it last night. Or not.
It’s busy as can be and quite chaotic. There’s not really a way to simplify it. I decided to balance the light in the upper and lower halves which happened in post while keeping in mind that reflections are usually a little darker, or a lot, than the upper part of a landscape. I added a vignette to concentrate attention on the hoop and burned a few hot spots.
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
You may have found an early model for the St. Louis Arch.
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Could be. A lot of architects do ge their ideas from nature…I think.
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The oval in the center really draws in the eye. I’ve always thought that processing was as important as the raw file itself. My exception to that rule was in shooting slides, where you have to take care to get what you want in the camera.
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Shooting slides or negatives teaches us to have more care. Making a dozen images to catch one good one was not very cost effective back then. Of course it still is best practice to make the best possible exposure in camera but the relatively little cost ( the more images we take the less the memory card costs per image 🙂 ) so experimentation is easier to practice. Even when shooting film, if one does his/her own darkroom work, there is still a lot to be said for processing skill as Ansel showed us.
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I agree with Ken; it’s about the oval for me. I think it gets even better if you put the oval exactly in the center of rectangle of the frame; treat it as two abstract, geometrical shapes..
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Thanks, Harrie! I appreciate the suggestion and centered in a rectangular or square frame would certainly add emphasis to the oval.
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Nicely done!
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Thanks, Belinda!
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Busy can be good. This reminded me of the last picture in a post from British Columbia.
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Easy to see why it reminds you of that image.
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I have a number of files that are very much like this. I’m attracted to those chaotic scenes when I’m out with the camera and my eye picks out the dominant shapes like yours noticed the hoop of branches, but when I get back home it often seems like a hopeless cause. It’s nice to see you took the time to work on it. Good thinking to darken the water more than the land and use the vignette. 🙂
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Thanks! They don’t always work, that’s for sure. I can’t remember if I pointed out this YouTube photographer but he specializes in woodland photography and is magic at sorting out the chaos for a cohesive subject. He tends to anthropomorphize his titles which is a little off putting but the photography is excellent. His dog is a major star too. 🙂
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Thanks, Steve, I just watched one – a different one. I like him. I’m not into the anthropomorphizing but I really like everything else – his informality, his apparent humility (or is that just his Englishness?) and his dog! Love the dog! And of course, his work. They get wonderful fog over there.
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Glad that you enjoyed the video. They are all inspirational. He also collaborates with Joe Cornish at times and they have done a two-photographer show. I purchased his book and, aside from the image titles, it’s excellent. Glad to have added it to the library along with the companion book to his and Joe’s show. Meg is a hoot and often steals the show. 🙂
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Honestly, I’m not sure. I might have to let it sit as long as you did. I can see some of what might have pulled you in. That oval is very interesting, and with the log right through it. Hmmmm….
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It was a challenge for sure. Thanks, Todd.
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