Emptiness, a photo from New South Wales, Est

Photographer's Note

This was taken just before dawn at Narooma Surf Beach. The beach was completely deserted except for me and 2 whales swimming about 50 metres off the shore.

I was going to call this photo "Kensho" but I thought that sounded a little pretentious. Pretentious largely because spiritually I'm a long way off from "self-realisation" or "epiphany". But sometimes, when you're alone in nature, you get that feeling, if only for a split-second. Kensho is a Japanese spiritual term, linked with "Satori". It means "seeing into one's true nature or one's true essence". Kensho describes a more fleeting experience, Satori a more permanent experience and a step towards full self-enlightenment, or Nirvana.

Canon 30D
f/13
1/3 second
ISO 100
28mm
Tripod
ND Grey Graduated filter

brianmcc, tyro, Sonata11, Didi, paololg, macjake, Kielia, bayno, ChrisJ, annjackman, prasun984 trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

Gigidusud (8106) 2012-04-25 5:08

Ciao Cara Lisa,
Bellissima foto di questa splendida spiaggia con una luce fantastica.Mi piace molto!
Buona giornata,un abbraccio.
Ghislaine

BennyV (12793) 2012-04-25 5:11

Beautiful, yet there's a certain bleakness here.
Empty, yet there's a lot of beauty in it.

Greetings from Antwerp, Lisa.

Benny

Jeppo (17623) 2012-04-25 5:12

it's a pit that such a romantic landscape was dedicated to you (and the 2 whales) only!
I like the blue tones slowly fading into Lilla
Hope you had a good ANZAC Day

ciao
jeppo

SnapRJW (18792) 2012-04-25 6:04

An image to lose oneself in Lisa, simple but sublime. The subtlety of colours and tones and softness of the sea against the sky is beautiful. TFS and warm regards Rosemary

danyy (0) 2012-04-25 6:40

Bonjour Lisa,
des lumières et des jeux de couleurs pastels très séduisants. Un grand sentiment de liberté et d'espace, de fraîcheur et d'infini.
Une parfaite exposition.
Mes amitiés.
Daniel.

Vato_Law (12718) 2012-04-25 9:00

Hello Lisa.

simplicity and nature at its best is what comes to my mind looking at this.

The rendering of the waves is great here and makes imagine its relaxing sound when crushing slowly in the sand.

The low light is something like being at a SPA in open nature.

Cheers.
Paulo

Bartleby (12741) 2012-04-25 9:08

Nice layers of soft pastel tones...very soothing Lisa!

Philippe

tedesse (22134) 2012-04-25 9:12

Hi Lisa!
A beautiful morning on the beach. Wonderful point of view and beautiful depth. The wonderful colors of the waking day.
Best regards
Tadeusz

brianmcc (5536) 2012-04-25 11:18

hi lisa,
i've just posted a picture where i too was alone on the beach, however your two whales have just trumped me. the light in this picture is just magical, and soo fleeting at this time of the day. the movement of the waves, the line of sand and the line of cloud on the horizon all combine perfeclty to create a wonderfully tranquil, almost abstract image. the pastel colours are fantastic to emphasise the tranquility.
regards,
brian

PecoBud (3778) 2012-04-25 12:26

Lisa, how sad that you are walking on this beach all by yourself. However, maybe that is how you manage to always capture the most awesome photos. I agree that this photo is so calming and beautiful and captured with fantastic clarity. Wish I was there to share your view!!

TFS.......Your Friend..............Buddy

photoray (4926) 2012-04-25 13:07

ExistentialLisa,

The dreamy waves in blue and the end of another fine day, excellently presented.

For a moment there, I had a flash back to all those Pisces Moments, past, on going, and hope for.....

And I remember reading all those Herman Hesse novels which drove me to action..., my favorite Sidharta.

Enjoy Autumn, exploring and relaxing,
Sincerely,
Piscesray

carlo62 (12666) 2012-04-25 14:09

Ciao Lisa
una foto New Age, romantica e dolce.
Una continua variazione di sfumature e luci.
Complimenti
Carlo

tyro (13149) 2012-04-25 15:52

Ciao Lisa,

A very deep and thought provoking note you have written here - perhaps a little too deep for me but I know what you're getting at. Rather than "self realisation", I think catharsis is what's more needed in my case.

Your title might well be appropriate because there are no really definite focal points here, but I could look at this picture for hours. There is actually so much to see and admire, particularly in those beautiful waveforms but also in the foreground wet sand to the distant horizon and morning sky.

The colours, exposure, contrasts and detail are wonderful!

Beautiful!

Kind Regards,

John.

Sonata11 (28391) 2012-04-25 20:14

Hello Lisa,
simple but a very nice shot of fabulous composition. An excellent framing with great POV and DOF too. Fantastic photo job with perfect result. Thanks for sharing. Like it. Wonderful picture.
All the best,
Barbara

dkmurphys (36857) 2012-04-26 0:06

Ciao Lisa,
I lie the lines of this image. Dynamic empty space. Well taken, enjoy the day.

Daniel

jjcordier (62394) 2012-04-26 4:58

Lisa
La douceur et l'harmonie des tons de l'image contribuent à donner une atmosphère de calme et de sérénité à cette très jolie photo.
Amicalement
JJ

MJR (3173) 2012-04-26 5:17

Hi Lisa

If this scene was an English beach, all you would have felt was cold !

A very simple scene, but well caught. It gives an air of such serenity I can well imagine how your mind must have wondered to higher things.

On a lighter note it must be exciting to have whales passing by your doorstep, I travelled all the way to Hawaii to see them for myself. ( I now realise I only really needed to go to west Scotland, but that's no story... )

hope your week goes well, and work is not overly taxing...

kind regards

CCL

Didi (48938) 2012-04-26 10:37

Hi Lisa
Interesting backlights, I invite you to try a stitch of 3 pictures in a panoramic large version.
It's not so difficult.
Warm regards

Bluejeans (64239) 2012-04-26 11:17

Ola Lisa ,
Beleza esta tua imagem a beira mar como eu gosto ver o bailado das ondas , bonitos tons de azul e com uma bela linha de nuvens no horizonte , parabéns!!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

paololg (31442) 2012-04-26 13:56

Ciao cara Diavolina,
purtroppo per noi occidentali è molto difficile arrivare al Nirvana, la nostra vita frenetica non ci permette di guardare dentro noi stessi, ma ci porta a guardare solamente il lato esteriore della vita. Chi ha studiato un pò di filosofia orientale (io amo molto quella induista) o meglio ancora, chi ha avuto la possibilità di provare la pratica della meditazione per ritrovare se stessi per stare meglio con gli altri, in un piacevole equilibrio con gli elementi della natura, sicuramente apprezzerà maggiormente questa stupenda immagine, e con un pò di concentrazione, potrà sentire il suono delle onde che ti accarezzano i piedi, il profumo del mare, il vento che sa di sale e potrà godere di questa bellissima luce mistica, ringraziando il Dio Supremo per sentirsi parte della natura che ci circonda.
Stupenda immagine, bravissima!
Ciao, buon venerdì!!!
Il tuo Generale :-)

macjake (39235) 2012-04-26 14:49

Hi Lisa
again, i know i've said it a number of times...but you and Tosca would be so happy on photo shoots together. This is a classic Tosca scene!
however, she'd be even happier if there were rocks along the beach.

the title fits the scene and atmosphere very well, what more is there to say - its the calmness and serenity that comes through the most. nice shot.

PS
I see that you used a ND Filter.
Tosca and I don't use any such filters, but we want to try them out.
What do you suggest is best?
the screw-on ones that attach to the lens, or the glass sheets that mount on with the attachments?
any info would be helpful...thanks!
craig

mauro61 (52527) 2012-04-26 14:52

ciao Lisa,
mi piace la sequenza di linee orizzontali dalla spiaggia, alle onde, all'orizzonte.
Colori soft di grande bellezza,
un abbraccio
maurizio

Silvio1953 (98259) 2012-04-27 2:37

Ciao Lisa, affascinante vista di mare, magnifico il moto delle onde, fantastica luce, brava, buon week end, ciao Silvio

Kielia (20477) 2012-04-27 3:55

Dear Lisa,
you are a master of the magic moments! This is another wonderful impression with a fantastic mood. The light is fantastic! My compliments also for the note!
Warm regards
Harriet

eldancer1 (17106) 2012-04-27 9:25

I would title this image "tranquility," and it is even the waves rolling. So peaceful and calm and it looks like a beginning of a beautiful day, a good time to commune with nature. Nicely captured with good details and wonderful lighting. Very well done, tfs.

abmdsudi (26311) 2012-04-27 10:27

Hi Lisa
Lovely combination of soft pastel colorsm The little bit of warm tone adds contrast very well against the mid and fg. I love the layer of clouds with different shades of gray, which seem to accentuate the depth and the motion effect is so mesmerising. This is an image with a very special soft light and 'feel'. Congrats. TFS. Have a great WE
Kind regards

bayno (16241) 2012-04-28 20:01

Ciao Lisuzza,
che nota profonda ...se ne potrebbe parlare per secoli, io per esempio quella che tu chiami self-enlightenment, or Nirvana, io la chiamerei Realtà Umana...ma probabilmente parliamo della stessa cosa. La tua foto è deliziosa, con dei bellissimi colori pastello, una inquadratura essenziale e una bellissima luce, bello anche l'effetto setato sul mare...
buona giornata...
Valter

gus72 (2508) 2012-04-28 21:42

Hi Bambina !!
I am back home after driving 23 000 Km in just under 6 months.Sorry that I was unable to keep participating in Trekearth for a while, I was on the move most the time.
I like the image but I like the note even better...... those magical moments !!!
times to reflect........
Cheers
Gus

ChrisJ (86932) 2012-04-29 2:12

Ciao Cara Lisa,

Wonderful motion blur of the waves with a subtle warm vs cold colour contrast between the blue & orange. I like the muted pastel colours. Makes a nice change from intensely saturated sunsets. Well composed using the rule of thirds & nice reflections in the wet sand. Have a great weekend!

annjackman (13233) 2012-04-29 12:13

Hello Lisa,
The layers of sand, sea and clouds are almost indistinguishable in this beautiful, quiet image that is full of subtility. No real subject but to distract from the emptiness. An unusual iamge in many ways but very successful.
Kind Regards, Ann

prasun984 (5590) 2012-04-29 23:10

Hi Lisa,
Beautiful image! Great light and beautiful color tone! Beautiful the various layers in the sea waves! Congratulations!
Greetings,

Prasun