Winter fun in the city, a photo from Nordrhein-Westfalen, West

Photographer's Note

‘Cologne/Köln - Winter fun in the city’

Today in Belgium we enjoyed our first day with beautiful spring weather. All day sunshine and the temperature went up noticeably.
Let’s hope many others will follow. I really love spring.

So maybe it's time to show my last real winter picture of this year. Yet one with winter pleasure!
Although, how pleasant is it to skate on a wet piste ? I’m convinced that only the photographer had an advantage here: A wet skating piste provides reflections.
And on TE lots of pictures with reflections are posted regularly :)

The picture is taken on Neumarkt in the old town of Cologne where there is an ice rink (at least there is one during the Christmas and New Year period).

ikeharel, Romano46, Hansaphotos, ourania, Sonata11, Gigidusud, jhm, SnapRJW, adramad, ChrisJ, bayno, jusninasirun, tedesse, ebingul, Cricri, ACL1978, adores, fritzi007 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

ikeharel (38062) 2013-03-04 8:45

Good evening Paul,
Mingled modern houses with old towers in the city old districe, and managed a reflection on the smooth ice surface.
Beautiful and a grand idea. The scater gave extra motion to the photo.
A lovely image well applied.
Ike

lousat (58414) 2013-03-04 8:49

Hi Paul,great choice of point of view to take this scenery and the magnficent reflections on the ice,a lot of bright colors despite the cloudy day and a beautiful composition too.Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

Romano46 (5958) 2013-03-04 8:52

Ciao Paul,
non avrei mai pensato che questa potesse essere la citta di Colonia!
Un lato insolito di questa bella città che in questa foto hai rappresentato ottimamente dando luogo ad una composizione originale e molto ben realizzata dal punto di vista tecnico.
Complimenti
Romano

Hansaphotos (5585) 2013-03-04 9:16

Hello Paul

Wow, what a great winter scene. The polished ice provides amazing reflections of the surrounding buildings. A blue sky would of course have benefited the scene, except perhaps of the blue jacket of the skater, but I fully understand that it was hard for you to influence on that. A well thought composition with the lonely skater, and a fine presentation in this convenient vertical format. Fine work. TFS. Have a nice week.

Best regards, Erling

carlo62 (13522) 2013-03-04 9:17

Ciao Paul
mi piace questa foto, è bello il contrasto tra la staticità dei palazzi e la dinamicità del pattinatore, il tutto addolcito dallo splendido riflesso.
Saluti
Carlo

mjw364 (4036) 2013-03-04 9:26

Paul

A magnificent crystal clear shot and symmetrical reflection punctuated by that blue skater in the middle. Well observed and captured!

TFS

Mike

JFS (32425) 2013-03-04 9:51

Magic shot my friend and great light in spite of the lack of sun. The reflections are splendid and the guy skating gives a good balance to the image.
Thanks!
Juan

cornejo (18696) 2013-03-04 10:10

Hi Paul, nice picture of this interesting place, with some interesting reflections on the ice and a great pov. An interesting with very good image quality and sharpness. Nice good job perfectly done, congratulations my friend. Thanks for sharing this beautiful work.

Good afternoon and happy week.
Warm greetings from southern Spain.
Angel.

rbassin (11381) 2013-03-04 10:42

hello Paul
bonne utilisation de la surface de glace en ville, bons reflets et couleurs agréables.
Bonne soirée
Roland

ourania (13057) 2013-03-04 11:03

Hello Paul,
You've made a superb use of space and depth as well as of the vertical frame. The colourful group of buildings provides a great setting for the scene and for your image. I love the way they and the skater stand out in the homogeneous tones of the rest of the frame, their subtle reflections are so lovely and enhance the sense of depth. You've managed all the parametres of the scene very aptly and your timing in catching the skater at this spot and in this step was great. Congratulations and thank you!
All the best, have a lovely evening,
Ourania

batalay (32930) 2013-03-04 11:26

Hello Paul,

I think you have a classic here. Instead of reflections of a skyline on the surface of water, you have the skater reflected on the surface of the ice, as well as the city skyline. The photo is already gaining the attention of numerous TE colleagues.

Warm regards,

Bulent

parvatibb (657) 2013-03-04 11:33

Hello Paul,
I am longing for ice skating for a long time. And this photo is just great! Superb reflections and excellent contrast of the ice with the pastel colors.
I will be traveling to Nuremberg in 2 weeks maybe I will have the chance for some skating :)
regards
bb

Sonata11 (28748) 2013-03-04 11:52

Hello Paul,
vey beautiful composition of architecture, reflection and this man on ice skating. Beautiful colors, sharpness, clarity. Perfectly well done. Like it a lot. Tfs.
Warm regards,
Barbara

manrezaei (1721) 2013-03-04 12:46

Hi Paul,

Very nice point of view. Great reflections and soft colors. Well done.

Good luck.

Mansour

Gigidusud (8322) 2013-03-04 13:55

Bonsoir Paul,
Une très jolie scène hivernale bien capturée avec un beau contraste de couleurs et de splendides reflets.Excellent POV et cadrage aussi.J'aime beaucoup!
Amicalement,
Gigi.

krzychu30 (9385) 2013-03-04 14:46

Paul,let me Congratulate You such a great image!It´s really excellently composed and it conveys so well Christmas atmosphere-Winter does not look so frightfully here:)I really enjoy this beautiful contrast between so nicely and vivid coloured houses and the ice surface in the FG.And in the end I must mention the ice surface itself-it looks fabulous,so clear and it reflects so beautifully surrounding architecture.Your approach to reflection as a subject of a photo is masterfully!

Wish You all the best
Krzysztof

npecanhuk (54207) 2013-03-04 17:26

Hi Paul!
Interesting and attractive picture!
Everything pleases me here, but special regards to the reflections on the wet ice!
Cheers,
Neyvan

abmdsudi (27098) 2013-03-04 18:45

Hi Paul
I am attracted to the reflections as much as the photogenic buildings in the backdrop, the skater forms a glorious colour combination to brighten up the rather greyish day. Excellent image and you are able to hold its own with the best. Well done, TFS
Kind regards

AdrianWrobel (988) 2013-03-05 0:12

Piêkne odbicie - pe³na ¶wie¿o¶æ lodu

ncosmin (1183) 2013-03-05 1:47

amazing ice surface, nice symphony of merry colors, we can hear the music :-)

thanks and regards!
Cosmin

sandpiper (6095) 2013-03-05 2:19

Hi Paul

very picturesque. Great composition and reflection, with fine buildings to act as a frame.

Chris

jhm (123116) 2013-03-05 3:35

Dag Paul,

Inderdaad we zijn eventjes gestart met de lente, en hoe, terwijl ik hier voor mijn scherm zit is het 13.9° C, en volop zon.
Maar uw winterfoto is zeker mooi, door de weerspiegelingen op de ijspiste, samen de ene persoon aan het schaatsen geeft een extraatje aan de foto.
Ook de gebouwen in de achtergrond maken uw beeld compleet.
Heel mooi foto werk Paul. Bedankt.

Nog een prettige dag verder, en hopelijk al goed te been!
John

maria-v1981 (10409) 2013-03-05 7:57

Hello Paul,
Interetsing photo, with nice, saturated colors and very good composition. Excellent action in the photo too, and it's great to see the people having such a great time.
Have a nice evening,
Regards,
Maria

SnapRJW (19188) 2013-03-05 11:48

Hello Paul - This is a sight I can only dream of. How freeing it must be to skate on this clear mirror-like surface, to twirl and whirl without a care in the world. Your shot conveys this feeling very well. A super winter shot with lovely reflections and despite the grey sky the colours add a liveliness to the scene. Lovely shot. Warm regards Rosemary

adramad (27872) 2013-03-06 7:52

Hi Paul.
A very original and beautiful composition that combines a beautiful series of buildings in the background of the image, the ice rink adds a special charm and dynamism, with the presence of the skater, also adds some curious-looking reflections opacity.
Ideal palette.
Great management of light and sharpness.
Well done. I love it.
Have a nice day.
Best wishes.
Luis.

resat1972 (5990) 2013-03-06 14:12

Merhaba

harika görünüyor
çok güzel bir sunum
yansıma ve insan faktörü çok hoş
tfs

Reşat

ChrisJ (87654) 2013-03-06 23:15

Hi Paul,

I like the subtle symmetrical reflections in the fg ice, as well as the superb sharpness and wonderful warm cold color contrasts between the blue red & orange. Good sharpness and smart choice of a vertical format. Tfs!

claudeD (24601) 2013-03-07 10:33

Hello Paul,

very fine picture from Cologne with an excellent composition and perfect sharpness. I like the reflections in the ice very much.TFS.

WIth regards from Luxembourg

JC

bayno (16407) 2013-03-07 21:02

Ciao Paul,
wonderful action shot well taken, i like the reflection and the colors but i think maybe also the B&W work very well here, perfect exposure and framing and fine details...
regards,
Valter

Graal (89420) 2013-03-07 23:14

Hi Paul,
nice scene and scenery. Good captured place and moment. I like the architecture and reflections in ice. Well done photo and presentation here.
Have a nice day.
Aleksander

jusninasirun (17144) 2013-03-08 5:51

Hello Paul.
You have captured the beautiful spring weather brilliantly against stunning reflection on ice. The red building is a plus with great contrast against the blue jacket.
Thanks and kind regards.
Jusni

danos (74478) 2013-03-09 3:53

Hello Paul,
nice the view of this section of the city with the woman to be skating in front of these excellent houses.
I like the light and the colour management as the clarity of the scene.

Have a good weekeend,danos

Ninello52 (7065) 2013-03-09 9:48

Hello Paul!
Very beautiful this scene with the lone skater on the track that recalls the reflections of the houses on the bottom! Well composed picture, with nice graphics and nice coloring!
Best regards, Nino.

tedesse (22467) 2013-03-09 11:33

Hello Paul!
I, too, this year, I went skating, but that, on an indoor ice rink.
Good POV and composition, with the skater in the lead role, and beautiful architecture in the background.
Yours sincerely
Tadeusz

mesutilgim (68590) 2013-03-09 12:16

Hello dear Paul,
Another perfect capture from Cologne; good chosen format and vry nice reflegtions on ice.
TFS and have a nice weekend
MESU ILGIM

Royaldevon (18339) 2013-03-09 15:52

Hello Paul,

This is a really eye-catching shot.
We see, and always enjoy, reflections but it is rare that we see the reflections caused by ice. This is quite original and sharply captured.
I notice that the saturation is paler in the ice reflections, whereas it is always deeper in water reflections.

Have a lovely Sunday,
Bev :-)

ruisc_pt (10125) 2013-03-10 9:23

Hi Paul
Even so the ice is still there.. with amazong reflections,
TFS
R

elenimavrandoni (5807) 2013-03-10 13:11

Hello Paul, very nice to see an ice skating ring in perfect contrast with beautiful traditional buildings!
Nice color and reflection!
all the best,
Eleni

ebingul (1762) 2013-03-10 13:38

Hello Paul,
Great capture of these amazing reflections on the smooth ice.Human presence adds life to the shot of course.Nice saturated colours.TFS and best regards.
Emin

Cricri (87288) 2013-03-11 5:46

Bonjour Paul
Très joli la scéne avec les reflets, une très belle réalisation, cadrage et couleurs au top
Belle journée
cricri

mkamionka (24806) 2013-03-12 4:26

Hi Paul,
lovely capture. Great idea, the ice skating person adds a nice action in the foreground plus some more color in the low light winter atmosphere. You caught even a very subtle reflection in the ice surface. Nice architecture appears behind. Very original work,
M

jcpix (3784) 2013-03-16 16:18

Hi Paul,

Wonderful timing to capture this solitary ice skater, this really has a sense of enjoyment and adds some life and motion to the scene. Very nice framing here which utilizes the reflection to your advantage and gives a little extra color to an overcast day with low light conditions. The rink looks like a sheet of glass, well exposed with sharp focus. Very nice recognition and presentation, I really like how you've put this together. Bravo! Have a great weekend.

Cheers,

Jason

ACL1978 (6103) 2013-03-19 13:48

I spent part of last winter in Austria and Hungary, Paul, and ran into a couple of these wonderful outdoor skating rinks, something that is not as common in the US (at least not in the same way, set up in such central locations!) This is a fantastic shot of it, with the reflections of the buildings clear in the wet ice, and the lone skater coming through the frame. Thanks!

Andrew

adores (28536) 2013-04-10 16:40

Hi Paul!
I guess I had missed this one. I like it! The buildings in background are very well framed and I like the presence of the woman - the blue colour of the jacket makes her stand out perfectly and the reflection on the ice really adds to the composition.

SWEETFREEDOM (18607) 2013-04-19 9:28

Hi Paul,
good the rflections on the ice and the contrast of colors of the buildings in bg.
regards
Alessandro

fritzi007 (7742) 2013-05-02 13:37

Hallo Paul,
photo and the comments really good, congratulations!
regards
Wolfgang

adidas5nb (1674) 2013-05-05 4:49

well this wet piste is an alien thing to me.therefore it makes the pic more attractive to me.beautiful style of buildings.love the reflection on the ice.great colors light management and timing.
regards
dwaipayan

mcmtanyel (1253) 2013-05-09 10:30

Hi Paul,
I love the reflections on the ice. Excellent light and color management, good composition. TFS.
Cheers,
MT