La Spiaggia Dal Chiaro Di Luna
by zeuszen

Comment by justine:
Magical! Very good.

Progression
by zeuszen

Comment by Polar7:
Love this almost monochrome shot. Perfect for this challenge.

Airs
by zeuszen

Comment by zeuszen:
The effect visible in the background is due to slow panning (with the lines being waves or wavelets).

Blue And White
by zeuszen

Comment by zeuszen:
It's straightforward: Neg Art (in camera), light or no crop (I don't remember), no excessive sharpening (I swear! ;-).

The final effect is, IMO, a result of what was there at the time (I isolated this cloud, because it struck me as unusual) and the NEG mode. The image marked the beginning of a series of cloud/sky shots taken on the same day and in the same manner.

As anyone can see from my portfolio, I have little interest or affection for what we call 'digital art' or extensive processing that alters the natural image. On the other hand, there are some subjects which, at times, strike me as 'dramatic' when viewed with the naked eye but less so when banned by the camera. It is then that I've been known to 'fumble' a little with whatever I can think of to get something that can at least match my interest.

I realize that the colours and hues in this shot are less natural than they appear 'artificial' due to the chosen mode, but I accept this (here), since it is so obviously a negative. When this is not or less the case, I'd prefer to convert to grayscale.

Blue And White
by zeuszen

Comment by Pedro:
I can't wait to get home and look at it on a decent monitor (this laptop just ain't cuttin' it). This is just abstract enough to make it look *almost* surreal. I love it. the General is correct about his sharpness observation, but I don't think that it's a negative, given the surrealism that I get from it. I think i would like to see some slightly richer hues as well, just because the negative sky looks a little peachy to me (I'd prefer the Vanilla Sky, but then I'd have to digress much further :))
Beautiful image. please post the method to the madness.

Pedro

The Thirteenth Moon
by zeuszen

Comment by jmritz:
Interesting story. I had no idea that was behind the photo. That definitely makes it a sacred place. I had an impression of fall and that lonely tree with the city in the distance made me think of the battle between nature and humanity. Almost as if nature is in it̢۪s (fall) and mankind is overwhelming it. The story makes it even more poignant

The Thirteenth Moon
by zeuszen

Comment by GeneralE:
I kind-of figured out that it was a long shot of a city from some shoreline, but didn't recognized the specific location. Must be because the couple of times I've been at Jericho Beach (staying at the youth hostel there) I never got down low for that kind of view.

I've wanted to take a shot across the beach with the ski run in the background -- I think it's just to the left of your shot here.

Thanks for the background info -- I think finding out all this "regional" knowledge is one of the most interesting things about participating here.

The Thirteenth Moon
by zeuszen

Comment by ScottK:
Bummer. I wrote about a 100 word critique on this one, but somewhere the critique and my vote were lost. :( To sum up, I loved the image, the lines, the tones and the contrasts. I would have liked the tree not cut off, but it wasn't a big deal. I spent nearly an hour trying to figure out the title (based at least somewhat on your "interchange" in the rant forum), and honestly didn't find anything related to the description you gave. But I did find several wicca, wizardry and new-age references to 13-moon cycles/systems, though nothing that seemed to relate to the image. I tried to give you a 6 - but it didn't take. Nice piece of work.

The Thirteenth Moon
by zeuszen

Comment by Neuferland:
Not sure what you mean by the title but this shot is a bit, not sure what it is but something about it nags me. I'll try to figure this out before the end of the challenge, LOL! I like the expansive nature of the shot and the tree on the left looks very desolate. The city (?) on the right is what I think is getting to me. It's so sharp and clear, as is the foreground. AHA! it's the DOF that is bugging me. It seems to me that the city should be a bit more blurred or the front should be. *WHEW* Glad I figured that out. I started at a 6 on this but am going to a 7

The Thirteenth Moon
by zeuszen

Comment by Shelley:
Great perspective . It does look "out of this worldly"