Mute Swan in RedHook, Brooklyn

[gahspidy]

What do you think,
Thanks.

[Overbeyond]

Lots of worthwhile "distractions" in this one Gary. I like the swan swimming into or causing a V shape of water around the reflections. A very textured sky but it does make for an interesting reflection as do the metal structures. The mill in the background is also great in itself and has nice colours, almost similar in shade to the colours of the skys reflection.. A nice shot indeed.
I do feel that this could be a great candidate for a b/w conversion as well.
Tom

[Mr Yuck]

That's my favorite shot of the day, well done. As Overbeyond said, the mill itself is good enough as the subject, but adding the Swan gave the photo a new dimension, elevating the photo from the status of good, to amazing.

[Greg McCary]

I agree with the others Gary, The grian mill and reflection are splended. But what makes it for me is how the swan sits at the top of the reflection and how the ducks break up the reflection with ripples. Also how the sky goes from partly cloudy at the top of the picture to solid behind the mill. Also a good choice to use color...
Greg

[Seb]

What do you think,
Thanks.

Gary, this is brilliant. I like the strong duality betwen the swan and the rest of the scene, it feels like this fella doesn't belong there which makes the picture that much more interesting. The color treatment is neat. Kudos.

Seb

[readingr]

Gary

Its all been said.

One really minor nit pic - I would like to see a tad more colour in the swans beak to counter the grey tones of the picture.

Roger

[gahspidy]

Tom, Mr. Yuck, Greg, Seb, Roger, good to know your thoughts on this. This was one of many takes on this scene as the Swan swam by unexpectedly and had me fumbling for my gear.The"mill" in the bg is actually an old Sugar factory (Revere sugar factory) and there is talk about converting it to a entertainment complex, while leaving the domed structure intact.
I have another image from this scene that i converted to b&w, however with this one I liked the soft subtle colors of the decaying structure against the sky and water.
I did brighten up the Swans beak a bit to help it stand out more, but I think increasing it's saturation would help even further. Good point.
Tom, there are many distractions here as you say, and the trick was to make them work together. In many of my other takes, I did not feel I had achieved that
Thanks again for the comments
Here is another scene that looked best in B&W

[Overbeyond]

Gary; Seeing this b/w shot makes me feel that the first one may not be a good candidate for conversion after all. Weird, because I feel the b/w would "warm" the image somewhat and we would lose that cold atmosphere that is created by the icy type colours of the factory. It's nice that the river looks in good shape for the fowl to to be out on.
Tom

[conbu19]

Gary,way to go! Red Hook! Who'd a thunk it! I'm a NYC boy myself and I'm just overwhelmed at the ironic value this tranquil scene has as opposed to the neighborhoods past,way past, history as a tough place to live or work.
Beauty and the Beast, Gary, Thank you.
Steve B.

[drg]

Gary,

The color makes a much stronger photographic statement.I am drawn to the fowl and find the shadow on the water almost looks as if pollution or muck is chasing the swan. The ducks arrangement seems to have been serendipitous and produced a setting from which you made a great photo.

There is a color tone in the sky I'm not exactly sure of, but it may be the size and color caused by the web posting. That swan is almost posing and coming in for their closeup.

Thanks for sharing another intriguing photograph!

[gahspidy]

Tom, I think the icy cold feel of the colored image has alot to do with my post processing. There is alot of desaturating and restoring of colors to achieve a look that I have come to feel represents my style. The harbor is not too bad. There has not been much going on industrial wise here in a long time, but there is alot of developing and restoration ideas going on and coming about.

Steve, thanks for the comments. Yeah, RedHook has always been a tough gritty town, and still looks it, but there has been alot of changing going on. Right behind me in this picture, in one of the warehouses, is a gallery that has been exhibiting art shows for at least 10 years at that location. I have been exhibiting there with them since last year and we get thousands of people attending during the course of the shows, usually a month long each. Beauty and the Beast is a good title for this as well.

CD, interesting notion about the shadow resembling muck from the mill chasing the bird. The sky is basically desaturated and then adjustments made to deepen the darker areas and lighten the clouds to help define them and give a sort of odd look, which is what i like to do.
Thanks for the time to comment

[SmartWombat]

I like the placement of the swan at the tip of the reflection of the building.
You were fortunate to get the geese on the right swimming in a circle ... subtle but they are leading to the edge of the frame and then back which is a wonderful catch !
I agree on saturating the swan's beak, it needs to pop more.

[gahspidy]

Thanks Paul. Good observations, and your comment on the Swans beak, being the second to address that element has motivated me to get to it already.
Thanks again

[gahspidy]

I just read this morning in the paper that they may be tearing down this structure (old Revere Sugar Factory) today to make way for new development. This is sad, as this pier as well as many others relating to the industrial Brooklyn that once was is slowly getting laid to rest.

[Didache]

Wonderful shot whether in colour or in mono - it has all the elements. Just one little nit-pick - are those a few rocks in the bottom right? I would suggest cloning them out (my eye went right to them!)

Cheers
Mike

[swmdrayfan]

Gary,
You are one of my faves here. Your work is a constant challenge for me to get better. Someday, I hope to get in your area code as far as quality images go.
John