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Glacier Front and Kittiwakes


Glacier Front and Kittiwakes
Photo Information
Copyright: James Parker (Jamesp) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1252 W: 0 N: 4842] (14380)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2006-07-29
Categories: Birds, Seascape
Camera: Canon 1D Mark II, Canon EF 300mm f2.8 USM IS
Exposure: f/5.6, 1/500 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Date Submitted: 2007-08-10 1:56
Viewed: 754
Points: 34
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
I am posting this before heading off to Devon for the weekend - our dog is insisting she needs a holiday after being with my parents whilst we were in Tibet! (I have put a picture of us in the workshop - when she was in Scotland)

Today's posting is, again, to a different extreme. I took this from a zodiac using my 300mm 2.8 +1.4 converted - hand held. I liked the way that the kittiwakes gave sime scale to the immense ice front.

The very 'blue' is very old and pure ice - ice reflects the blue wavelengths of light, appearing to be blue.

Svalbard is an archipelago lying in the Arctic Ocean north of mainland Europe, about midway between Norway and the North Pole. It consists of a group of islands ranging from 76° to 81° North, and 10° to 35° East. The archipelago is the northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway. Three islands are populated: Spitsbergen, Bjørnøya and Hopen. The largest settlement is Longyearbyen. The Svalbard Treaty recognises Norwegian sovereignty over Svalbard. With the 1925 Svalbard Act, Norway chose to make Svalbard a part of the Kingdom, and it remains one of four special entities whose status is recognized by international treaty in the world today.

Tidewater glaciers are glaciers that flow into the sea. As the ice reaches the sea pieces break off, or calve, forming icebergs. Most tidewater glaciers calve above sea level, which often results in a tremendous splash as the iceberg strikes the water. If the water is deep, glaciers can calve underwater, causing the iceberg to suddenly explode up out of the water. The Hubbard Glacier is the longest tidewater glacier in Alaska and has a calving face over ten kilometers long. Yakutat Bay and Glacier Bay are both popular with cruise ship passengers because of the huge glaciers descending hundreds of feet to the water. Yesterday there was an accident in Hornsund, when a tourist boat was passing bemeath the ice front and a large amount of ice fell onto the boat, injuring 17 passengers. Although I visited with the same company in 2006, we kept well away from the ice fronts.
Mikolaj, PaulH, gracious, ridvan, SunToucher, gannu, ramthakur, marhowie, dew77, hester has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

Hello James! Wonderful perspective. Beautiful colors. Great effect!

It's a very effective and simple composition, and you're right, the kittiwakes do give a good sense of scale to the towering glacier.
I imagine that shooting handheld with such a heavy lens you needed as fast a shutter speed as possible, and hence a wide aperture. Even so, I'd have preferred it if the sea and birds at the bottom of the frame were a bit sharper, which would have needed a smaller aperture. Probably wouldn't have been possible though, especially shooting hadheld from a moving boat.
Aside from the DOF issue, I like this a lot, although that dust spot in the middle of the sea really needs to go!
Good work John.

Cheers,
Ben

  • Great 
  • PaulH Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1033 W: 26 N: 2998] (10820)
  • [2007-08-10 2:16]

Hi James,
A very impressive sight indeed, wonderful blue hues and very imposing looking. The gulls add alot of movement.
Did you hear about the ice cliff that calved in Norway this week, injuring a boat load of too close British tourists??
Paul

a very nice picture created by the nature and so well seen by the photographer.

hi james,

you made the right cropping and framing here!
very special ambiance!like it!
tfs
caroline

Hi James
very impressive indeed! that is probably the best available BG of all times!
Really nice
Tfs
Tom

Hello James,
What a specticular view of your different extreme, and it's true that we do not see this often!
the wonderful blue hues looks extremely beautiful!
thanks for sharing and happy holiday
cheers
Tony

  • Great 
  • ridvan Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 556 W: 0 N: 1138] (5140)
  • [2007-08-10 11:23]

selam, excellent shot and very good composition nice pov and bg with splendid colours.good details presented
Well done !
Regards ridvan

Hi James,
The lines and texture in the ice is awesome. The blue tones are so beautiful especially the real dark blue. I like the fact that you showed the gulls in the photo as well, because it really shows how little they are thus how huge the glacier is. The DOF, even without a strong FG element is still superb. Must be the sea leading the eye. Superb work on the exposure.
TFS, and have fun in Devon.
Niek

  • Great 
  • demeve Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 514 W: 8 N: 1099] (4072)
  • [2007-08-10 23:11]

Hello James,
You are very fortunate to be able to all those beautiful places, I envy you my friend.. and I thank you to share to beautiful images with us. This is a very beautiful picture, I love the colors of the glacier.. Well done

Everton.

  • Great 
  • Mana Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1714 W: 24 N: 4988] (16346)
  • [2007-08-11 5:30]

Hi James,
Breath-taking scene and such amazing blue colours of the ice. The effect is majestic with the birds flying around. Excellent POV to portray this atmosphere and ambience and very nicely composed. Kudos.
TFS.
Sumon

  • Great 
  • gannu Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 927 W: 4 N: 2317] (10792)
  • [2007-08-11 10:30]

James, Lovely shot. what a picture effect you have done. The landscape shot is fantastic. Ganesh

James, thanks for sharing the lovely picture of you and Coco through your workshop. I adore Coco; she is so pretty!

The mind-boggling scale of this picture leaves me stunned with pleasant awe. The birds do it very nicely.
Your pictures of unusual locations from all over the world add tremendous value to TN.
Thanks for showing another great image.

Hi James.
Wonderful image, amazing sight. The kittiwakes give a great perspective of how huge the ice front is, majestic.

Kathleen

Hi James,
I think the vertical frame works very well here..A dramatic solid look, with the gulls giving a sense of scale.
Nice mixture of old & new ice, with the texture, form, and color well seen..
And add 10 points for Coco as well :)
Howard

  • Great 
  • arfer Gold Star Critiquer [C: 2731 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2007-08-14 18:28]

Hello James

This is very artistic looking,the blue of the glacier has the look of a modern art painting.The kittiwakes give a very good sense of the enormity of the glacier.Very good POV with sharp focus and details.TFS

Rob

  • Great 
  • dew77 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5171 W: 297 N: 4050] (13069)
  • [2007-08-14 23:24]

Hello James,
Beautiful capture.Nicely exposed and composed.I liked lighting,exposure and your informative note also a lot.
TFS..:-)

  • Great 
  • hester Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1471 W: 18 N: 2981] (10944)
  • [2007-08-15 10:55]

Hi James

That blue colour is amazing. I have seen blue ice in glaciers but never this blue. It is stunning. The Kittiwakes show the scale of the scene. Great shot

TFS

Karan

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