Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Dreaming of Summer

We were lucky here in the Northeast, winter was not so harsh this year. We didn't get our usual 100 inches or more of snow for which I am very grateful. But with the arrival of March I am ready to put away my flannel lined jeans (they should be in any list of mankind's best inventions) and put on shorts. As ready as I may be, that is not likely to be practicable for at least another six weeks.

But longing for summer attire made me think of a summer afternoon several years ago when my wife and I made the forty minute ride from our house to Canandaigua, NY. It's a wonderful small town on the northern point of Canandaigua lake; one of New York's famous Finger Lakes. Being from Florida, I feel most at home and relaxed on or near the water so I love being down on the lake during our too-short summers.

Canandaigua Boat Houses
Alongside the city pier there are rows of boat houses. What's interesting about them is that the owners have enlarged and "improved" them to the point that they are rather nice apartments or cottages that just happen to have a covered boat slip instead of a garage. Many of them are brightly painted and decked out in nautical decorations.  I think they are amazing and I took quite a few pictures that day.

This one is one of my favorites.  The colors are vibrant in the bright sun light, the water is not so smooth as to lose all visual interest and the sky... That sky! Puffy white summer clouds in a deep blue sky; when you live in upstate New York a sky like that is something to treasure. I think that all the elements of the picture work really well even though this was one of my earlier attempts. There are several interesting things in the picture besides the boat houses; the two ducks in the foreground, the wonderful reflections rippled by the water, some great leading lines, and the sky. Did I mention the sky?

I did some minor adjustments in Photoshop Elements to brightness, contrast and sharpness. I adjusted the color of the sky to match what it looked like to me that day and I cropped for composition and to move the horizon a little more off the center line. This was one of those times when all the elements came together and the picture I wanted to capture actually showed up on my computer screen when I uploaded them from the camera.

Maybe where you are the temperature has already started to inch its way upwards. You may already be wearing shorts, a t-shirt and flip-flops (my favorite summer wardrobe). But up here, winter is still fighting off spring; yesterday we had 4 inches of snow. But the temperature tomorrow is supposed to be near 60. Which gives me some hope that I might soon dig out my flip-flops from the closet, grab my camera and head for the water.

2 comments:

Gary L said...

Picture makes you want to be there.

WildlifeBernie said...

Postcard perfect!