I really love this picture. Very tragic. This looks like a holiday gone completely wrong, a holiday in hell. A pool with no water in it. Big fences around it as a barrier between the sea in the background and the small, safe, controlled environment of the hotel pool? Or maybe it's a municipal pool. And I also wonder how much fun visitors are allowed to have there with all the warnings, No diving and no running. The empty lifeguard chair doesn't predict much water fun either. As I said, a very tragic image of something that should exude fun. The saturation of the colors contributes very much to the atmosphere you want to convey with this picture.
First of all, a big thank you to everyone for your comments. It’s really appreciated.
To put some context to the photo, it was taken in early February of this year. This is a municipal pool located in the west end of Toronto on the shoreline of Lake Ontario. Due to our winters, all the outdoor pools close down and get drained. It was a cold, cloudless but bright day and the pool had a sad feel about it. I had considered taking the shot from the other side as there seemed to be some interesting options but there was too much background distraction to get a decent photo. Usually, my edit of choice is black and white and that was what I was originally thinking with this photo. However, due to the sky and light, a bnw edit didn’t work for me and the cooler colour palette seemed a better fit.
In case you’re interested, the camera was an Olympus OMD EM 5ii with a Panasonic 20mm f1.7.
The reason I suggested this photo to Marcel for this post was because I had mixed feelings about it and I was interested in what others had to say. All of your feedback has been very helpful and now I’m considering doing a small project around this theme.
I like how I don’t know if that’s the ocean in the background, or just wide open fields, just somewhere in the Midwest. Which makes it even more isolating and lonely. I like it!
I am drawn to the verticals. That is the strength. But the contrast is missing. The tonal quality is not there for me. Perhaps in b/w with contrast, or deeoer blues.
Sorry to be a dissenter but to me this looks like a snapshot rather than a composed, well executed photograph. Maybe it would work in stark black & white, with a dense cloud.
Cool pic, Mark. I have a number of questions about when and where it was taken. The lines are great, and it has so many details that would be easy to overlook unless you're taking a close examination like we are here.
this is the type of image that i like. i love the photo, i love the colours, the shadows. if i have to be picky, i would say that the photo could benefit from photographer taking a small step to the right. in this case the pool edge on the foreground will be paralel with the photo frame and the pool ladder will have the handle evenly showed. great photo mark, well done! the sadness of the place is captured very well
@darkrooms and @lynnfraser1 thank you both for your comments. It’s interesting to hear your perspectives. I’ll follow up later today with more context around the photo.
I really love this picture. Very tragic. This looks like a holiday gone completely wrong, a holiday in hell. A pool with no water in it. Big fences around it as a barrier between the sea in the background and the small, safe, controlled environment of the hotel pool? Or maybe it's a municipal pool. And I also wonder how much fun visitors are allowed to have there with all the warnings, No diving and no running. The empty lifeguard chair doesn't predict much water fun either. As I said, a very tragic image of something that should exude fun. The saturation of the colors contributes very much to the atmosphere you want to convey with this picture.
First of all, a big thank you to everyone for your comments. It’s really appreciated.
To put some context to the photo, it was taken in early February of this year. This is a municipal pool located in the west end of Toronto on the shoreline of Lake Ontario. Due to our winters, all the outdoor pools close down and get drained. It was a cold, cloudless but bright day and the pool had a sad feel about it. I had considered taking the shot from the other side as there seemed to be some interesting options but there was too much background distraction to get a decent photo. Usually, my edit of choice is black and white and that was what I was originally thinking with this photo. However, due to the sky and light, a bnw edit didn’t work for me and the cooler colour palette seemed a better fit.
In case you’re interested, the camera was an Olympus OMD EM 5ii with a Panasonic 20mm f1.7.
The reason I suggested this photo to Marcel for this post was because I had mixed feelings about it and I was interested in what others had to say. All of your feedback has been very helpful and now I’m considering doing a small project around this theme.
I liked this image. The washed out palette of the pool adds to the sense of end of season that I'm getting from it. Love all the lines in the image.
I like how I don’t know if that’s the ocean in the background, or just wide open fields, just somewhere in the Midwest. Which makes it even more isolating and lonely. I like it!
The ladder in the foreground does the picture, imho: it anchors the eyes. Not sure what the story is but the lines work very well.
I think it wants to be summer but it’s actually winter
I am drawn to the verticals. That is the strength. But the contrast is missing. The tonal quality is not there for me. Perhaps in b/w with contrast, or deeoer blues.
Interesting symmetry and color.
Sorry to be a dissenter but to me this looks like a snapshot rather than a composed, well executed photograph. Maybe it would work in stark black & white, with a dense cloud.
Cool pic, Mark. I have a number of questions about when and where it was taken. The lines are great, and it has so many details that would be easy to overlook unless you're taking a close examination like we are here.
this is the type of image that i like. i love the photo, i love the colours, the shadows. if i have to be picky, i would say that the photo could benefit from photographer taking a small step to the right. in this case the pool edge on the foreground will be paralel with the photo frame and the pool ladder will have the handle evenly showed. great photo mark, well done! the sadness of the place is captured very well
@darkrooms and @lynnfraser1 thank you both for your comments. It’s interesting to hear your perspectives. I’ll follow up later today with more context around the photo.