Reflections Under Ice
by gminish

Comment by dani1989:
Great photo!
Why did you put that high aperture?

Reflections Under Ice
by gminish

Comment by Silver Fox:
I've been to Valdez three times in the past two years and you've captured the beauty that I've seen every time that I've been there.
Absolutely beautiful photograph! Congratulations! !

Reflections Under Ice
by gminish

Comment by jmsetzler:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

This is a lovely photo... The snow is beautiful and I love the way it contrasts with the blue sky. The reflections on the water always add an interesting element to a scene like this one... Since you won first place this week, I'm gonna be 'picky' with my critique :)

There are two things I would have done slightly differently with a photograph like this one. First of all, I would have made sure the horizon line between the mountains and the water was perfectly level in the frame. This one is very slightly tilted down towards the left. This tilt is very minor and probably went unnoticed for the most part. You can quickly rotate this in photoshop to correct it... I don't really believe the 'rule of thirds' applies to horizon lines in landscape photos. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt. In your case, you have something interesting to see on both sides of the horizon. When this is the case, you can usually toss the 'rule of thirds' out the window :) Secondly, I think I would have lowered that horizon in the frame just a tad so that the horizon line did not split the center of the frame. Someone commented that it would be nice to see a little more sky and a little less foreground... I'll have to agree with that comment completely.

This is definitely a beautiful photograph. Keep up the great work and I look forwared to seeing more of Alaska from you in the future :)

John Setzler

Reflections Under Ice
by gminish

Comment by BadPigg:
me , stupid , I go home now.

Message edited by author 2003-01-21 23:02:23.

Reflections Under Ice
by gminish

Comment by gminish:
Thank you all very much for your extremely generous comments!! I noticed there were two main themes in the comments. Rule of Thirds and 'ice or not'. Here's both stories. This was a full fram shot and I even shot a few frames both up and down to fit the rule, but all of them lost a key element, the symetrical cloud reflection. It was a tough decision, but I chose to break the rule and keep the symetry. As for the ice....it was really ice...which is why the reflection didn't have the clarity there that it did in the open water part. There are a number of rivers that run into the port and the fresh water floats on top of the salt water so we occasionally get some thin ice...although it's actually rare. Once again, thank you so very much!

Reflections Under Ice
by gminish

Comment by ChrisW123:
Congrats! I thought this one might win. :) Good job!

Reflections Under Ice
by gminish

Comment by autool:
Congratulations on your win, it is a wonderful shot of an extraordinary place. Thanks for sharing a part of your beautiful state.

Reflections Under Ice
by gminish

Comment by mariomel:
Absolutely wonderful. A well deserved win. I told you that you would win. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Reflections Under Ice
by gminish

Comment by Gordon:
vrey clean and a great win

Reflections Under Ice
by gminish

Comment by Marklane:
Lovely! Congrats on your win!