Boomer Lake Sunset Photo

Photographer’s Note

i may live in one of the most incredibly boring places on the face of the earth.

Stillwater, Oklahoma is the home of Oklahoma State University... and little else. Certainly very little of photographic interest, particularly from a landscape perspective.

As a result i am left with either the choice to whine about how incredibly difficult it is to try and take pictures in such a boring environment or the choice to get out and at least make some sort of effort to take some pictures, working with what i have.

i spent much of the fall and winter training for a marathon. i chose to drive to a lake on the north side of town named Boomer Lake for much of my training, as it has a 3-mile trail around it and was at least somewhat pretty. i brought my camera with me many times, and took pictures when i was done running. One night i saw this cloud hanging low over the horizon as i neared the end of my run. The combination of the low cloud and the clear atmosphere left me optimistic that i would get a nice sunset. After playing around a little bit with whatever i could find that was at least slightly interesting, the cloud lit up brilliantly, resulting in this picture.

leo61, tcht, sabyasachi1212, photographer123, riclopes, singuanti, banyanman, jmcl, pboehringer has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

umbrellaphotos (1901) 2007-04-07 1:02

Sam,
A very pretty shot here. The colors and the clouds are remarkable. I like your composition and your metering is great.

Nicely seen and captured,

Brian

leo61 (42886) 2007-04-07 1:02

Hi Sam,
Marathonman!
Will we see you in Peking next year?
This cloud and light was worth to take this shot.Fantastic blue and orange tones and good reflections at the calm water.
Have a nice easter weekend,
regards,Leo

batalay (20704) 2007-04-07 1:28

Hello Sam,

I like this magnificent sunset you've captured, and indeed presented as two photos for the price of one. The composition and exposure are first rate, and your are using an excellent camera.

I believe, Stillwater was one of of 5-6 sites I visited while giving lectures when my book, 'Math and the Mona Lisa,' was released 2-3 years ago. It was a windy flat place, but full of friendly people,

Warm regards,

Bulent

Green smiley tomorrow

tcht (7280) 2007-04-07 1:28

Hi Sam
lovely work. impressive colours and I like how you divided the frame up with the trees. also like the softness of the clouds, probably thanks to the large aperture setting.
Happy Easter,
CheukHin

sabyasachi1212 (19528) 2007-04-07 2:26

Hi Sam,
You call this 'Somewhat Pretty'? WOW! This place is simply amazing well lit up by the colours of setting sun.
With Greetings from India
Sabyasachi

stevep (556) 2007-04-07 2:49

boring, but with glimpes of extreme beauty; I grew up in a similiar place in no-where-town ontario, canada -- so i can at least sympathize with your plight.

Well, with this photo, you've definetely made the best of it!

not much to critique on photos such as this -- just attracted enough by the warm colors in the thumbnail to come and leave some points for a beautiful view.....

take care Sam,
steve

lilylambrouille (310) 2007-04-07 2:55

très beau couché de soleil, avec de belles couleurs et un bel effet miroir !
TFS
charlène

danyy (68040) 2007-04-07 3:38

Lumières et couleurs exceptionnelles Sam,
un moment décicisif de toute beauté, bien cadré, avec l'inclusion des reflets.
Excelletn week-end.
Daniel.

hatti52 (12654) 2007-04-07 4:31

Hello Sam,
wonderful shot.
burning clouds and reflection excellent
well done
regards

marietom (31780) 2007-04-07 5:14 [Comment]

Show Comment

photographer123 (5722) 2007-04-07 11:59

HI..
I dont know how I criticize it..it simply wonderful..you created a painting through ur lens..good work..I think you one element in the upper right side made the photo better,anyway beside this its a nice shot...SUBIR

gilou530 (34739) 2007-04-07 16:14

salut sam
couleur de feu saturée pour cette photo, un cadrage et une photo magnifique bravo
amitiés
gilbert

riclopes (32865) 2007-04-08 6:28

Nice to say the least, Sam. This is an icredible beautiful photo and you sure can full us all, saying how wonderful is the place where you live, instead of being so honest about it - the fact is that we all tend to apreciate more the places we visit than the places we live in. Fantastic colors and great vertical composition. Love the sillouetted trees and that big portion of sky on top. Keep them coming!
Ricardo

sadeik (3159) 2007-04-10 18:19

Great sunset colour and lovely tree line silhouette. Maybe just a wee little to much sky above the trees but an excellant image.

Simon

singuanti (15240) 2007-04-10 22:42

Hi Sam. When I was your age I used to think the same thing about my hometown. But as you've shown here anything with the right light can turn spectacular. The reflections and colors are both awesome. Excellent shot Sam!

jinju (14265) 2007-04-10 23:43

Hi Sam,

lovely colors in the sky make this a really pleasant photo to look at. The reflection is quite good. Good final result. Hope your marathon goes well

harras2000 (708) 2007-04-11 14:53

Hello Sam!
THIS landscape isn't boring at all (at least during the sunsettime) The strong orange colour in the sky mirrored in softer tones on the surface of the lake looks very impressive to me.

Kepp on running :)

Daniel

banyanman (7716) 2007-04-25 5:15

It's amazing what you can find in 'boring' places, Sam - you have proved that the beauty of nature is all around us if we care to look. I have to disagree with Simon about there being too much sky at the top - I think the top third provides the perfect balance and contrast to the bottom two-thirds. Excellent work. Cheers . . . David

jmcl (13721) 2007-05-04 2:07

Hi Sam,

I love the shadowed trees against the wondrous tones you have in the sky and water .. a fire in that lake .. very well done.

take care,

John

tibervince (781) 2007-07-17 9:23

Hello Sam,
wow! Colors saturated to the maximum and what a splendid result. Very attractive picture indeed. I love the reflection. Great work!
Vincent

pboehringer (770) 2007-08-04 14:45

Hi Sam, I think we can start doing a contest of who lives in the most boring landscape. You in Oklahoma or me in Fresno, California. At least you explored this opportunity quite well. Interesting choice with the vertical framing that gives a different view compared to the usual horizontal landscape in such situations. I wonder how it would look like with a long exposure to get movement in this clouds. Just a thought ...
Regards, Peter