Ice Storm Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

An overnight freezing rain coated this tree with a layer of ice. Picture was taken in an open field just outside of Elora, a rural town with a large Mennonite settlement about 100 km west of Toronto.

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Critiques | Translate

jstewart (1081) 2005-02-16 1:34

Hello Conrad: Comments from another Canadian. I see what you are trying to do here - capture the ice on the tree plus the snow on the field. I think you either have to concentrate on the tree and minimize the other parts of the image, or eliminate the tree with the emphasis being on the rest. I really like the patterns of the snow and furrows in the field combined with the misty trees in the distance, so I'd take the foreground tree right out. John

heather10 (0) 2005-08-23 15:16

Conrad, I disagree with John, the above poster. The tree in the foreground is essential to this photograph. Your placement of the tree in the right portion of the image shows you following the dynamic priniciples of the rule of thirds. It makes the image dynamic, and also adds a sense of scale to the background when a foreground image is included. When you do this, it allows the viewer to perceive the distance to the far away fields in behind. Showing the tree also shows the way the ice has encapsulated it and how cold it really was. Without the tree, you would simply have a field covered in snow with no way of knowing there was an ice-storm, so the tree allows for this detail. It is an integral part of the "story" you are telling, and I think you did a wonderful job. This is a beautiful image.