Rider in the mist

Phil-D said:
I'm with Nick on this @Nick Livesey . My first though was to want to see the image without the cyclist and for me, it makes it a lovely image without him in it :)

Also, in the first, what's the white speckles over the image? Rain or hail? Its very noticeable behind the cyclist, above the tow path and in front of the boat :thinking:........It doesn't seem to be there in the 2nd image.
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It was a misty rain blown on the wind. Kept coming and going and within ten minutes had turned into proper rain.
 
viv1969 said:
Not in my opinion, no.
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Ruth, I wasn't saying your opinion was wrong :) I don't think I'd dare! :D

It was more asking why you prefer it with the cyclist and why you saw the cyclist as the main anchor in the image, I was interested in knowing why you though that.
 
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Harriers9 said:
It was a misty rain blown on the wind. Kept coming and going and within ten minutes had turned into proper rain.
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Thanks, I did wonder but it wasn't obvious with the sunshine :)
 
Nick Livesey said:
To me there is a conflict there already as I want to look at the boats and that atmospheric mist/smoke rather than some bloke on a push bike to which my eye is drawn.

I find the boats in that lovely setting offer a very romantic ideal of what it must be like to spend time on them, it's timeless. The intrusion of the cyclist just kills it as I get taken to place I don't want to be, a place where grown men ride bikes in very safe environments and still feel the need to wear helmets and silly leotards.

I'd rather not be the cyclist (who probably earns 35k a year in a soul destroying office and needs to get home to his demanding wife and child before breakfast), I want to be waking up on that boat, woolly headed and stinking after quaffing a flagon of scrumpy, having talked long into the night with a buxom wench...

But maybe that's just me :D
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Yet the image tells just that story and that is what makes it so good.
 
Phil-D said:
Ruth, I wasn't saying your opinion was wrong :) I don't think I'd dare! :D

It was more asking why you prefer it with the cyclist and why you saw the cyclist as the main anchor in the image, I was interested in knowing why you though that.
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I personally feel that with the heavy mist around the cyclist’s head (from the narrow boat chimney, no doubt – but could just as easily be breath vapour), his position on the bike, and his reflections in the numerous (and deep looking) towpath puddles creates a nice contrast between his personal exertions and the seeming tranquil scene around him.

Without him in the image, it’s just another pretty canal / towpath image.
 
viv1969 said:
I personally feel that with the heavy mist around the cyclist’s head (from the narrow boat chimney, no doubt – but could just as easily be breath vapour), his position on the bike, and his reflections in the numerous (and deep looking) towpath puddles creates a nice contrast between his personal exertions and the seeming tranquil scene around him.

Without him in the image, it’s just another pretty canal / towpath image.
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Thanks, there is a lot of people saying they prefer it with the cyclist in the image but no one explaining exactly why they thought that :)
 
I really like that, and definitely needs the rider in it. Have you thought about trying black and white too? Just a quick 'auto' black and white layer in PS and it would look great. Maybe worth entering into this year's Landscape Photographer of the Year Living the Landscape category (when it opens in May/June)
 
Love the atmosphere you have capture !
Personally I like the one with the cyclist in best.
Lovely shots though !
 
I really don't mean to be rude to anybody.
If the cyclist had never been in the photo, would anyone have said "you know what would make this a great photo, if there was a cyclist on the towpath".
Sometimes I think a photo should just be appreciated for what it is. For me this is a great photo of a moment in time, that will probably never be repeated with all these elements in it, the smoke from the chimney, the cyclist, the mist, the rain and sun.
 
Just to add to the bike / no bike discussion. In the photo with the bike, it is too big and dominates and distracts from the boats, which I love. However, the no bike picture is missing something, I feel and it may be utterly pointless, but the perfect picture would be with the bike along side the first large puddle, this would mean he was smaller in the picture, you get to see more of the boats and he would still be on lines of 3rds if a bit is cropped off the top of the frame. I don't suppose you have another photo lurking somewhere.

Just my 2p's worth.
Pete
 
"Awesome" shot Philip, really nothing more to be said. Looking forward to seeing some more of your work.(y)

George.
 
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