My kind of weather Photo

Photographer’s Note

If not for the shelducks that flew into the frame just in time, this would've been just another gloomy, late winter, sunday afternoon shot. There are two Scottish highlander cows further away in the fields, but they're barely visible. This was shot in the dunes immediately north of the city of Wassenaar. You're looking in the direction of the Northsea, which lies about 1 km away. A couple of years ago this area, Berkheide, was still farmer's land (the shack is the only remaining structure), but is now being returned to nature. Highlander cattle, roaming more or less freely through the area, are often used to graze too abundantly growing vegatation away in natural restauration projects.

Perhaps just because it's not all blue and light and colours, but I like this kind of shot.

Thanks for your critique.

Regards, Huub

pepo, sam224, Rinie_Hoff, GerdVDC, carper, Tue has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

pepo (169) 2005-07-20 4:07

You are right about the birds. It looks like they are flying away from the storm. I would suggest to play a bit with the shadows/highlights and see how this view would change. Maybe a crop up to the bridge would be better and increasing a bit the green in ground would make a difference :)

sam224 (5851) 2005-07-20 4:53

Nice winter view Huub. I like very much the birds flying in the upper part of the pic. Good depth thanks to the bridge in front. The old tree behind the house stands out very well in the grey/white background. Well done!

ltkeely (0) 2005-07-20 5:41

Quite an interesting shot, I love weather like this, and the composition of the colours works really well. well done,

danby1 (3689) 2005-07-20 5:49

another good shot from you huub, im going to have to go travelling in holland if these is the sort of views i can expect to see! the ducks in this picture are a masterstroke, and makes the picture 10 times better in my opinion, well done another sucessful typically dutch shot! :)

skeelerik (763) 2005-07-20 7:59

Hallo Huub,
Indeed a bit sad shot cause there aren't such bright colours. But also the sad things can be beautifull. It's a pity you didn't wait 2 seconds for the gees flying a bit more to the left. It would have improved the compo, imho.
CU, Erik

Rinie_Hoff (9332) 2005-07-21 3:31

Hi Huub, I see what you mean, and to a certain extend I agree with you on the weather. I like a cloudy sky very much, it makes it much more interesting, and a dark sky like this, creates extra tension and mood.
I like the way you composed this shot, the wooden bridge taking us into the picture. The birds really make a difference, as if they want to flee from this dark scene.
Very nice.

GerdVDC (836) 2005-07-21 5:53

Het dreigende van de lucht over dit desolate landschap zorgt voor een zeer aparte sfeer, waar ik wel van hou. Misschien had je even kunnen wachten tot de ganzen waren doorgevlogen tot het linkerdeel van de foto, om zo hier voor wat opvulling te zorgen, maar ik ben er zelfs niet helemaal zeker van: het zou kunnen dat ze, gezien hun relatief kleine grootte, een beetje zouden verdrinken in de achtergrond. Om echt een goed oordeel te kunnen vellen, zou je beide versies naast mekaar moeten kunnen leggen. Ik vind het een zeer goede foto.

Groeten,
Gerd

carper (64908) 2005-07-21 12:58

mooie sfeer foto Huub,
prachtige kleuren als die van een schilder,
uitstekende compositie, hele mooie foto, goed werk,
gr. Jaap

Tue (25608) 2005-07-21 17:00

Hi Huub,
Prachtig landschap opnieuw met mooie kleuren, ondanks dat ze vrij somber zijn. Prima compositie ook en leuk dat die vogels net langs kwamen vliegen!
Groeten,
Lars