Sea Dragon Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

I stumbled across this sculpture while at an outdoor art exhibition on Pender Island near my summer cottage. It is evidently a sea dragon. Curiously sea dragons have not played much of a part in Western culture, though land dragons of course are replete in ancient lore. However, the situation is different in Eastern mythology.

Chinese dragons are strongly associated with water in popular belief. There were four major Dragon Kings, representing each of four seas - the East China Sea, South China Sea, Indian Ocean, and Lake Baikal. For centuries many Chinese villages, particularly those close to the ocean, had temples dedicated to their local "dragon king."

For my part, I just enjoyed the view down Boundary Pass, looking toward Vancouver Island. In retrospect, I now see that my dragon was guarding the waterway.

pablominto, peter1892, ChrisJ, jhm, carper, bertolucci, Henryk_Bilor, papagolf21, coco, Rossignol, weswang, bakes888, plimrn, riclopes, feather, jafadabret, PJE, Cricri, Paolo, fayeulle, leo61, Tue, MLINES, PixelTerror, Emile, Scharan, kermit350, cam, danielswalsh trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

pablominto (43386) 2006-07-08 11:21

Hello John,
Amazing clarity of colours!
Beautiful seascape as backdrop for the sculpture, in an interesting composition...
I also notice this very nice sky with wonderful fluffy white clouds!
Greetings,
Pablo -

peter1892 (1681) 2006-07-08 11:25

Hi John - nice shot & the idea behind it is very good - the Dragon guarding the waterway. So having the dragon dominating the frame. The background is really beautiful, the colours & DOF are excellent.

Fis2 (48696) 2006-07-08 11:36

Witaj John!
I like the your composition. Beautiful bird! Wonderful place. Good colours and sharpness. Well done.
Nice sunday.
Krzysztof

ChrisJ (72276) 2006-07-08 11:39

Hello John,

I like the superb graphism of the sculpture, against the backdrop of a clear blue sea. Good sharpness & color. Tfs!

jhm (86546) 2006-07-08 11:43

Hi John,

You have excellent placing the dragon sculpture in this picture lovely to left, in background the fantastic clouds at the sky, with in middle the sea and one small island, very well composition, lovely blue colour tones too.
Thanks a lot!

Have a nice weekend,
John

danyy (70671) 2006-07-08 11:51

Hi John,
un paysage très calme, surveillé par un dragon bienveillant. Un lac calme sous un ciel amical, serein. Tu nous offres un peu la même vue que l'artiste a voulu donner à son dragon.
Une expostion excellente même si certains coins paraissent un peu sous-exposés.
Best regards.
Daniel.

carper (68400) 2006-07-08 12:56

it's a nice piece your sea dragon John,
I like the well taken composition, the very nice quality of it, and the nice atmosphere, very good photo.
gr. jaap

bertolucci (12024) 2006-07-08 13:12

Hi John a lovely combination of art and nature here, composed in again a very balanced way. The atmosphere is very pleasing and I like the colours a lot. There's also a source of dynamism - the relation between the static forms of the dragon and the dynamic ones of the clouds, on which we can project a snake, injecting another bit of orientalism in this one. Very well seen & done!
Have a nice weekend,
Bert

Henryk_Bilor (20567) 2006-07-08 14:32

Hello John
Interesting sculpture if the dragon against the beautiful place. Excellent view of the bay.
Regards

papagolf21 (58731) 2006-07-08 14:40

Bonsoir John,
Jolie représentation de cette statue épurée (qui me fait penser à un cheval des mers) d'une grande beauté semblant regarder la mer avec majesté.
Excellent cadrage mettant en valeur toute la composition.
Très bien fait !
Amitiés.
Philippe

coco (29185) 2006-07-08 15:25

Good but...
Hi John.
I like the photo, but there is something that dislikes to me.
Perhaps is the postprocessing. What kind of postprocessing has you done?
I see the sky and I see something strange.

Sorry.

chrisnet (20378) 2006-07-08 16:49

Hello John,
It's a very beautiful shot.I like the composition,colors of sky and water,the clouds are wonderful!
Regards
Christian

Rossignol (2289) 2006-07-08 17:39

In the thumbnail they looked like twiggy branches - but opening up the image can see the unusual sculpture. Very effective, particularly against the rich blue tones of the water and sky. Nice cloud formations too.
Looks like a lovely place, maybe I can relate to it having been born in the Year of the Dragon :¬)
Peter

weswang (18223) 2006-07-08 18:11

Hi John, A nice contrast of the front sea horse art piece with the beautiful scenery of the coast line view in the background. Good contrast and nice clarity. I agree with Carlos about the PP. I think you may have over used neat image to the foreground dark colored grass.

ndb1958 (9249) 2006-07-08 18:39

Hi John,
so you turned back to Canada in your gallery. Nice image of a beautiful land- and seascape. I like the dragon sculpture, even if I thought it was a swan.
Nice composition, perspective and colours.
Have a nice weekend,
Nino

bakes888 (18465) 2006-07-08 20:11

Great capture John. Love the POV, Being able to see through the dragon to the view beyond is a wonderful piece of photo technique. And the view ain’t half bad either. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Paul.

plimrn (20451) 2006-07-08 20:36

Hi John,
I love the way you've framed this splendid dragon against a lovely view of Boundary Passage. Well Done!! Regards, Pat

Graal (61536) 2006-07-09 3:19

Hi John,
good captured place, interesting dragon and beautiful view. Good quality of picture. I like it.
Rgs, Aleksander

feather (51050) 2006-07-09 3:37

The colours and light are beautiful John, with all the little ripples in the sea emphasised. The sculpture has a perfect background which makes it stand out very well.
Kath

riclopes (33933) 2006-07-09 3:47

Hi John,
I love sculptures at open-air and they can also give us very nice shots against the landscape. You made an excellent composition here, with the dragon observing the lovely view. Good depth, great colors and lighting. I love the surface of the sea and the layers of the mountains in the background, along with the cloudy sky. A marvellous image!
Ricardo

rosaline (0) 2006-07-09 5:11

Hi John
Impressive capture of the sculpture. It is nicely framed against the water and landscape in the distance. I particularly like the rich colours and the effect of the clouds and details on the horizon. Nice shot.
Aubrey

jafadabret (42720) 2006-07-09 7:34

John, le paysage est sublime avec l'eau, les montagnes au loin et un ciel fabuleux mais ce dragon vient lui donner un plus qui fait une excellente photo.
Jacques

MarekP (4744) 2006-07-09 7:51

Hi John,
The dragon's silhouette over the sea looks great. I like the colours too and the clouds lovely decorating the horizon. Well done.

Thanks,
Marek

PJE (19697) 2006-07-09 9:50

Well John this Dragon sculpture really makes this photo interesting to view. The see through dragon effect really makes this an interesting composition. One could also imagine that the dragon has created the clouds with his fiery breath. I think the thought I like is how the dragon is protecting Pender Island residents from government invasion and hopes to keep the island in its natural setting! Cheers John!

Cricri (46323) 2006-07-09 12:23

Bonjour John,
Intéressante sculpture de ce Dragon au bord de l'eau, regardent la mer, un paysage et des couleurs de toutes beauté, félicitations
bonne soirée
cricri

markstaples (15670) 2006-07-09 14:10

A beautiful image, the dragon is well framed on the left and it stands out well against the beautiful blue of the sea and sky. The sea almost looks metallic blue. Beautiful.
Best wishes
Mark

greg64g (11193) 2006-07-10 3:25

Hi john

Here the colors are nice wiht this impressive colors and clarity, pov with the dragon is excellent
cheers
greg

Paolo (40826) 2006-07-10 10:24

Wonderful shot John.
you used very well that iron swan in the foreground, with a wonderful view over the sea and the distant mounts!
excellent focus, POV,colours and light.
thanks, ciao

fayeulle (26547) 2006-07-10 12:09

Hi John
When I open the small picture I discovered a pretty picture with blue water and amazing sky. It need me two minutes to discover the iron dragon as foreground, lol ! Strange for this country .
Cheers
JP

jemaflor (41393) 2006-07-10 13:03

Hi John,
Perfect composition, original and well taken, perfect backgroud with this brightness sea to show this sculpture.

Davidwh (3656) 2006-07-10 14:20

Hi John,
You have added a few images since I last looked and they are all again of the highest standard.I like the post-processing you have used to soften things up...very suitable with the calmness of the image.Very nicely composed and with thought.The dragon the main subject but not too overwhelming and allowing a view of the beautiful scenery.Well done!
Regards, david

dsidwell (9745) 2006-07-10 14:28

Hi John, Super use of depth of field here, with so much in focus. The composition is effective, too, with the dragon at the left.

capthaddock (28640) 2006-07-10 16:12

Hi John - really amazing luminosity, the strange sculpture makes a perfect subject for this relaxing scenery, excellent sharpness

izmirli (3495) 2006-07-10 16:44

merhaba john cherrington
interesting sea dragon.wonderful landscape.
very good blue colours and sky.beautiful composition and note. well done.
gürkan akçakır.

leo61 (44344) 2006-07-11 0:30

Hi John!
Good composition with the sculpture at the perfect place.Nice landscape with good natural colors.The surface of the sea looks great.
Regards,Leo

Tue (25774) 2006-07-11 7:18

Hej John,
Great sculpture. It reminds me also a bit of the sculpture at the ships the Vikings used. The dragon stands out wonderfully against the lake and the composition with the piece of land at the right hand side of the photo is good too. I like the relaxing atmosphere. Well captured and thanks for sharing!
Hilsen,
Lars

PixelTerror (89969) 2006-07-11 7:30

Hi John,
Interesting shot and related note, knowing that BC is shifting always more towards Asia it's finally not so surprising to find a dragon here. I like the way it acts here as a silhouette against the sea.
Have a nice day,
Jean-Yves

rbcy1974 (20748) 2006-07-11 8:21

Hello John,
Beutiful sculpture and very well placed in the image in order to give anice perspectve.
Very well done
Regards
Daniel

Stepan (27183) 2006-07-11 17:54

I first thought it was Britanny again, and more precisely, the Loch ness monster !!! I didn't know it moved to Canada !? Whatever, it's a funny composition and I'm impressed by this huge lake, beautiful with the moutains in the background. TFS.
Stéphane

Emile (20202) 2006-07-13 10:08

Hola John.
Interesting sculpture guarding this beautiful seascape, nicely captured, good POV and perspective, excellent sharpness and colors contrast. Well done.

Scharan (13957) 2006-07-13 22:32

Olá John
Foto maravilhosa. A composição é fantástica e as cores simplismente lindas.
Parabéns pelo belo trabalho.
Abraços,
Vera.

AiresSantos (45840) 2006-07-14 10:59

Hello John,
Gorgeous composition with magnificent colors. Excellent POV, contrast and light. I like the Sea Dragon sculpture. Very well seen and done.
TFS and have a nice weekend, Aires

kermit350 (9006) 2006-07-15 3:47

Hello John, it is very mysterious this foreground, or mite and belief often go hand in hand with sailor navigator and superstition, the point of view is excellent under the domination of the dragon, sincerely

gebala (0) 2006-07-19 7:46

hello:)

this is just amaizing photo and with this dragon it looks wonderful:)
i like cropping here and light
exellent one

rgs

cam (8962) 2006-07-21 16:25

Hi John
back from vacation and one of the place we visited was the evolution gallery in Paris,and the special exhibit was on the mythology of the dragon through the ages and the world.It was seen as good and bad depending of the country.
Here,it is a good combination as it fills the foreground without disturbing the view.
The light was good for this outing.
Take care
Charles

danielswalsh (13467) 2006-07-31 20:39

IT'S OGOPOGO!!!!!!!!!

I was quite surprised by your mention of sea dragons not playing much of a part of Western Culture.

What about Nessie in Loch Ness, Morag in Loch Morar, Shielagh in Loch Shiel, Lizzy in Loch Lochy, Champ in Lake Champlain, Wally in in Lake Wallowa, and our very own Ogopogo in Lake Okanagan? ;-)

Well seen image John. Like the composition, the levels are superb, natural colors- and it looks like you solved that noise issue.

All the best buddy,
- Dan

t0mmm1 (5434) 2006-08-01 14:59

Hi John,
I've missed thousands of pictures here at TE, also this was left behind... but no, the amazing sculpture is to beautiful to be left behind. Wonderful shot and the dragon seems like a ink drawing over the blues of the sea and sky. I like it.

Tomi

Angshu (35553) 2006-08-11 3:47

Hello John
The figurine of the dragon is good, but the way you’ve captured it is quite excellent, against the backdrop of the sea & the fluffy clouds in the sky. Indeed it looks like the dragon rules this world & the waves
Regards
Angshu

jmdaoudal (82) 2006-11-04 10:19

The artist has done well here and so the photograph. Nice subject you have found there.
Well done
Jean Michel