bend at the knees, Santa Fe River, High Springs, Florida. I do my water work out of a square stern canoe (Gennoe) with an electric trolling motor. On this trip I forgot the battery, so I spent my time exploring near the boat ramp, instead of traveling to parts unknown.

-- Larry Korhnak (lvk@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu), August 20, 1999

Answers

Larry, this is a beatiful photograph. I especially like the contrast between the dark spiky things in the lower right corner (what the hell are those things ??) and the mist in the upper part of the photo. Only applause from me.

-- Karsten Hansen (karsten_hansen@brown.edu), August 20, 1999.

I forget not everyone's from the south. Those "dark pointy things" are cypress knees and are part of the root system of the cypress tree. They stick above water presumably to supply oxygen to the root system below the water, although this has never been proven. Last week's post "low water" has a better view of the cypress root system. An old post "high water mark" has actual cypress trees.

-- Larry Korhnak (lvk@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu), August 20, 1999.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. I have a limited capacity for appreciation of B&W, but this one grabbed me and shook me immediately. The sense of motion in the flowing water anchored by those beautifully rendered cypress knees and foliage in the corner are killer. The diffuse but rich detail in the hammock behind the spring add immeasurably. Would it be better in color? I tend to nearly always think that way when I view b&w nature shots, but here I'm not sure this could be improved upon.

-- Peter May (peter.may@stetson.edu), August 20, 1999.

Larry- This photograph is absolutely beautiful. Congratulations. And I absolutely think that color would ruin it. I wish I could "see" in B&W this way but I find that I am so used to color now that I have trouble going back. One of the appeals to me is that you can make familiar things look new.

-- Lanier Benkard (lanierb@leland.stanford.edu), August 20, 1999.

Larry: Beautiful shot! Like Peter, I have a very limited appreciation for B & W, and tend to think that the image might have been better in color. Now, I wish I'd taken some time to explore some of those rivers on my last trip down there!

-- Steve Kaufman (skphoto@xyz.net), August 20, 1999.

Larry,

Took my breath away. Thank you.

Looks like something out of a fantasy. Did you ever read much J.R.R.Tolkein?

Cheers,

Keith

-- Keith Clark (ClarkPhotography@spiritone.com), August 20, 1999.

J.R.R.Tolkein reference is the best! Do you have one of those elves on the next frame of this film?

Thank you for posting this fascinating image.

-- Michael Kozhevnikov (mkozhev@lucent.com), August 20, 1999.

Larry, this is beautiful. I too love the flow of the water. I almost feel as if I am in a canoe moving down this river in the swamps. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to wipe the sweat off my brow. : )Donna

-- Donna P. Bollenbach (cassidy@icubed.net), August 20, 1999.

I third Peter -- I'm not usually much of a B&W fan, but this picture is phenomenal. Gorgeous in every way.

-- John Sullivan (sullivan@spies.com), August 20, 1999.

Larry,

Just lovely. I especially admire the contrasting elements. Light at the top, dark at the bottom; soft(mist) at the top, hard (glass like water) at the bottom. And especially the way the water way curves around. Well done.

-- Paul Lenson (lenson@pcigeomatics.com), August 20, 1999.

Awesome picture of cypress knees. On my monitor, the whole pic comes out like a 3D shot.

-- Buster Ulmer (BusterFla@aol.com), August 21, 1999.

Nice shot Larry. It's got near and far focus, good light, and a nice composition. I'm always a little mystified when folks say they "don't usually like black and white". I don't usually like to look at light and forms but in this case..good job. Rollei TLR?

-- Mike Green (mgprod@mindspring.com), August 21, 1999.

It is a little hard to critique a picture when the only words that come to mind are "great shot!" I'm also one of those who doesn't care for B&W as a rule, but this is the second or third time that you have proven to me that it can be as intriging as color at times. By the way, what shutter speed? I've never noticed this much flow on the Santa Fe, so I assume it was a long shutter speed, but I haven't really spent much time there either, so are there places where the water flows with this much force?

-- Brad (bhutcheson@iname.com), August 21, 1999.

Larry the composition and contrast are both excellent, wonderful sharpness and detail.Regardless of color or black and white a great photo stands on its own merits.I feel that if this photo were in color it would lose its strength.

Hunter

-- Hunter (hunterj@c2i2.com), August 21, 1999.

Larry, IMOH this is the best shot you have posted. Many have been ho-hummers but this is in its own class. To bad though, because you now have to maintain a higher standard...:)

Cheers

-- Bill Wyman (Bill.Wyman@utas.edu.au), August 22, 1999.

W - O - W
My favorite LK yet!

-- mike clemens (mike@eagleriver.com), August 24, 1999.

I agree with the comments above, except for the water, it does not flow, it blurs (cottoncandy effect) even though it is slight. What was your shutter speed, as I have stated elsewhere I have found the best shutter speed for moving water to be 1/60 for conveying movement w/o the candy effect, if that was your intent, great. You might try a faster speed to see if you like the effect. Pat

-- pat j. krentz (krentz@cci-29palms.com), August 27, 1999.

This is one of the best images I have seen posted on this forum. It delights and inspires me. Thank you.

-- Paul DiBiase (paulcanada1@yahoo.com), August 28, 1999.