Winter reprieve

[LumenLux]

From "Authors Notes" on Beechbrook.com:

God's great nature is always evident outdoors. After five weekends of winter threats (snow), a reprieve to autumn is depicted through this mountain walk. This six-minute show conveys a few of my impressions.

If you get to Beechbrook before the presentation does, you can download here:Impressions

Your comments are welcome.

[Ken Cox]

GOOD STUFF BOB

ken

[cottage]

In my opinion, absolutely your best work 'artistically speaking'. God provided the scenery, and you captured it well. A simply beautiful piece. Thanks Bob!!

Kind regards,

Bill

[neil]

Some great images really nicely put together,

music went well too.

All the Best Neil

[thedom]

I really appreciated your slideshow, really relaxing and beautiful pictures. You have a good eye to catch the beauty of nature.

But in my opinion, about 10 of them could be removed because they are redundant or not as good as the others.

I really like the "animation" of the river.

Thanks for sharing.

[LumenLux]

Thank you each for your comments. Several have caused me to re-watch the presentation myself.

A couple of comments have also come via email. I am a great believer that many readers can benefit from such discussions, so I would like to include the following observations I received.

1. Probably your best work...at least to me. Great choice of music...it went perfectly. My only negative would be the

special effects shots. For me they took me out of the mood for a moment, and the photography and music

didn't need the extra man made effort...at least in my totally untrained mind. It is kind of like

when man tries to improve on Nature's wonderful creations, it usually doesn't work.

Take this with a grain of salt Robert. I love your work and feel just like you do

about the outdoors and the wonders we have close at hand.

Again, great job. It is a favorite of mine.

2. Hi Robert Get rid of the awful jerky title and the video bit in the middle. Other than that the rest is brilliant.

So, in response to the emailed and posted comments, (and inviting further discussion) -

On my PC, the moving title is not jerky, but still questionable worth.

Not to "defend", but just to share my original thinking:

The ice/water surface "flotation" was so intriguing in real life, that I decided to try to portray that same movement. Even though it turned out quite accurate to the real thing, It still breaks the flow of the presentation pace. I know I am still exploring as to where our V5 power is of real benefit. And actually, I guess those two slides effects were just as possible in version 4 anyway.

I thought the title idea might work, but the result seemed too quasi-starwars or something. I'm quite sure I, or somebody could come out with a better implementation of having the title on the (board)walk.

As for the "video", I presume the writer realizes the movement results from a few still images. But it makes me think about our definitions of video and how our eyes and minds handle it. And apparently that movement appeals to theDom as animation but does not appeal to the other photographer as "video" in this presentation of otherwise still photographs.

As for several slides being "redundant or not as good as the others" - I think that is something many of us have to constantly consider. I continue to make the same observation on many presentations of others as well as my own. I certainly hope I always think about it as I put a sequence together. Sometimes, depending on our purpose of the presentation, I either properly justify, or improperly rationalize including more shots than might be "best." Then there is the "fear" that maybe a potential viewer will appreciate Shot B but would appreciate Shot A even more. But not knowing which, I don't want to deprive the viewer of seeing the one that might, to him, be the most satisfying. Finally, I think the yay or nay decision depends partially whether one is looking for the photograph individually or as a component of a presentation. I bet we could hear some good ideas on this from some of our more passionate photographers and AV enthusiasts?

Again, thank you very much for caring enough to comment. It helps us all.

[jfa]

Thanks for the A-V Bob I found it enjoyable to see a world very different from where I live and a winter that we don't experience here. You have a good eye for the beauty in the world of nature.

A few comments follow:

The title was not jerky on my PC and I like the boardwalk opening shot, perhaps it could be redone by superimposing the words on the boardwalk, (fading in and/or out).

I loved the "animated" standing wave in the river, one of the highlights of the show, please don't remove it. Maybe the ice animation could be shortened but it is quite effective and I think you achieved your aim of the ice/water surface "flotation". Perhaps placing it in a different point in the show may ease some criticism.

As for the "redundant or not as good as the others" comment, while the subject matter was good, reluctantly I must agree several images were a little less than technically correct and let the rest down.

Nice effect with the footprints in the snow at the end.

Thanks for sharing Bob and I am looking forward to seeing more of your work.

[Lin Evans]

Magical Bob,

I like it just as is!

Lin

From "Authors Notes" on Beechbrook.com:

God's great nature is always evident outdoors. After five weekends of winter threats (snow), a reprieve to autumn is depicted through this mountain walk. This six-minute show conveys a few of my impressions.

If you get to Beechbrook before the presentation does, you can download here:Impressions

Your comments are welcome.