Swamp Land
by Wildpurple

Comment by roz:
from the other photos i've seen this looks like a ribbon winner to me .. most likely blue .. but just so you know .. i'm not a good judge of what is going to do well .. ;)
i'm LOVING the reflections .. you've totally nailed this ..
i'm a sucker for reflections .. :)
ps.. just came back to have another look .. it's not just the reflections that grab me it's the gorgeous lighting too ..

Swamp Land
by Wildpurple

Comment by Dennisheckman:
Overall a very interesting image for the eye to travel through. The array of colors and textures are pleasing and not over processed. I think a slight vignette would be an asset here and maybe a lighter upper center to take the eye to the center of the image.

Coming back to add more: I think a crop off the bottom would be a good thing. I say that since I think you intended the tree trunks to be the main subjects. The eye goes to lighter areas of the image first, then it travels around to find other things. The bottom part of the image is the lightest and has basically nothing there to look at. The more interesting part is in the water from the middle of the image and going to where the tree trunks start. A 16:9 crop would be good here, or even a square crop would work too.

Swamp Land
by Wildpurple

Comment by JulietNN:
Personally, I think this is pretty good, myself, I would have cropped it where that sunshine level starts, so just a short amount of the trunks can be seen and the rest water shadows. Maybe just a little contrast and a tiny bit more of saturation on the water, but other than that cropping this reminds me so much of ursula For a Free Study, I would have given this a 5/6 for now, it is an 8

Message edited by author 2020-04-01 00:30:56.

Swamp Land
by Wildpurple

Comment by PennyStreet:
Wonderful reflection! I'm liking how you choose to make IT the subject by cropping off the trees at the top. Really nice.

Swamp Land
by Wildpurple

Comment by glad2badad:
I like this. Although I think I would have gone total abstract and cropped it just before the shoreline and only shown the reflection.

Swamp Land
by Wildpurple

Comment by streetpigeon:
It's wonderful how the upper realism morphs into abstraction in its reflection. Many reflections have this quality, but this transformation is just right -- departing from faithfulness to the original yet not muddied beyond recognition. The colors are muted and lovely. Because of the proportion of upper to lower the subtle blues of the sky are gently introduced. This lower half of the image alone would do beautifully as a fabric.
Personal favorite of the challenge.

Swamp Land
by Wildpurple

Comment by JakeKurdsjuk:
This would get a 5 from me because it forces me to ask the question "What are they trying to show me and why do they want me to see it?"

There are certainly some interesting elements here, particularly in the way the ripples interact with the reflection, and I get that this is what you're trying to capture. But there's no "And then what?" Others may have said this but this would work much better rotated 180 degrees, giving the "trees" an abstract, painterly quality. As is the lines of the trees lead your eye up to the dark and incomplete shoreline where I have to wonder if I'm missing something in the woods?

Otherwise be careful with the interplay of dark and light areas. The shoreline is too dark and high contrast. Let me see some of the details in the darker areas as textures add interest.

There was definitely something here you could have done something with. It just falls flat for me as is.

Swamp Land
by Wildpurple

Comment by RyanW:
looks safe to me - given our current culture.... no people, no gators... sign me up

Swamp Land
by Wildpurple

Comment by mariuca:
Very melodious. Must be in the South somewhere

Swamp Land
by Wildpurple

Comment by GeneralE:
Interesting contrast/transition between the near-abstract of the foreground reflection and the stark lines of the tree trunks at the top.