Morning Has Broken..., a photo from Hai Phong, Red River Delta

Photographer's Note

Halong Bay, Vietnam

Taken during the same session as this picture. A similar shot BUT different angle, POV, and "action".

For this shot, I squatted in the ground to go low. I wanted to get as much reflection in the water. I also put the nearer boat in the middle and include a distant one to show perspective. I also move around to get a different angle.

Life is like that. We need to sometimes go down to get a better view of life. WE also need to "stray" sometimes to get more perspectives in life. It does widen our horizon and enrich our experiences. We shouldn't be threatened by stressful situations. Like the mist in the picture, such a challenge in life is a positive stress, a eustress.

Auto adjustments, USM, adjust saturation, straightened the horizon, added a slight "cooling" filter.

raytheron, orme, ChrisJ, jrj, cool_s15, nwoehnl, carper, Eagle78, Kenny10pin, eleparc, summer89, sunny, Jeppe, mortimer, magnier, MLINES, MarieAnge oznaczył to zdjęcie jeko użyteczne

Critiques | Translate

Frankp (143) 2004-04-27 22:40

This is very nice. The lighting is great creating an early morning mood. Good composition as the reflections balance the boats. Exposure is on too as there is enough color in the boats to contrast with the fog and gray mountains in the background.

Beautiful photo.

Cheers and keep shooting.

spence (65) 2004-04-27 23:03

Very calm and lovely effect with the fog and the reflections Manny. Exactly the right amount of detail in the boats to make them interesting but still a bit mysterious. I like that you caught the lively activity of the people - it contrasts nicely with the tranquil surrounds. I like your philosophical note about life too! :)

elena (1054) 2004-04-27 23:06

beautiful poetic photo, your notes are great too, as someone said, those chairs are all over the world!!! i like this version with more reflection on the water, and the contrast between dark boats and foggy atmnosphere is unique. most of all i admire your dedication: 6:00 am photo sessions...

raytheron (589) 2004-04-27 23:48

Great photographs are made, they don't just happen, and this photo of yours proves the point, Manuel. All the thought and effort you put into making this image really show. You have created yet another masterpiece! I wish I had such a lovely setting nearby; living in the 'burbs is not the best place for a landscape freak like me! Well done; everything works perfectly here.

bgladman (1153) 2004-04-28 1:57

I like this shot Manny. A simple image of a world so different to many others. Nicely composed and the cool colours really add to the atmosphere. Well done

orme (7219) 2004-04-28 3:04

Beautiful shot, Manuel. You were right to go for the low angle - the reflections are great. I like the way you captured the man fishing(?). The mountains and the boats, in the misty background, finishes the composition off nicely. Well seen. nice note.

ChrisJ (171888) 2004-04-28 3:47

The separation of the 2 boats in this image is better, the mans' posture is better, the lighting & colour (more cyan) are better, & the inclusion of more foreground water highlights to separate the boats from the bottom of the image is better.

The downside is that the womans posture is not as good as the previous shot, the contrast is a little too strong, & the 2 ships in the right hand side background are minor distractions which contort the mood, imho.

Overall, a big improvement Well done !

jrj (34843) 2004-04-28 4:05

Very good this shot Manny, and yes, shooting from alow angle works well in very many situations. Still for me what makes this pix very interesting is the sharp capture of the boats against the very misty background. I like rhis very much..

RGatward (20108) 2004-04-28 4:13

A very similar view to the other, but I think the point of view works better with the previous one. I glad you posted this though, I thought I'd comment on the other, but I must have been out of points when I saw it.

cool_s15 (4050) 2004-04-28 4:27

Another beautiful scene from Vietnam with a bit of fog behind in the morning. Wonderful atmosphere here, Very well captured.

agpires (0) 2004-04-28 4:48

Beautiful atmosphere, with this fog which blurs the bottom and calm water. The composition is superb and the exposure perfect.
And accompaniment note is as beautiful as the photograph.

nwoehnl (122) 2004-04-28 6:16

Another beautiful bayside morning scene where all the efforts described in your note have paid off. I like the amount of detail that is visible of the activities on the two boats. The amount of water in the foreground is well chosen, and the reflections look like an abstract sketch of what happens on the boats. The perspective you got is also fine, not only from the staggered appearance of the two main boats (and reflections) in front, but also from the hazy landscape and harbor details in the background. Great shot, Manny.

Added into the "song title" theme.

carper (96) 2004-04-28 6:56

Great Manuel.
Realy great photo, exelent composition and colours, it's jus perfect, fantastic job, well done.

clodreno (0) 2004-04-28 8:49

Very nice shot Manuel. I like it as much as the first one. May be it would have been better a little bit closer to avoid the first 2 cm ..I would cropped them. They are unecessary for me.
Did you used the 50mm?

Eagle78 (1933) 2004-04-28 8:53

I´m really amazed with the mood you managed to create with these two images Manuel! The light levels are stunning giving your wonderful composition a lovely moody feature..a favourite for sure :) Wonderful note too..keep the good work!

Darren (6823) 2004-04-28 10:01

I think this is perhaps the best of your Halong Bay shots Manny. For me, it seems I can connect with the action and the people in some way, where some of the other shots were more detatched. Hope that makes sense in some way. Your composition is very nice as are the subdued tones. Nice shot.

Kenny10pin (19301) 2004-04-28 10:08

great shot again, I love these kind of boats they are very good and definetly fascinating, it is like a mobile home, the clothes on the line are amzing here

Well done

piozac (2065) 2004-04-28 10:15

I like your boat series Manuel. Yhis one is also very nice. This mist make them very moody.
Well done!

summer89 (5422) 2004-04-28 12:02

Wonderfull photo Manuel,

I like this composition with soft colors.
The water it's magical.

Well done

hdl (7035) 2004-04-28 13:56

Beautiful scene; nicely captured. Great work.

papagolf21 (152607) 2004-04-28 14:46

Photo artistique Manny. J'aime beaucoup. Rien ŕ ajouter ŕ ce qui a déjŕ été dit.
C'est superbe.

cmartos (242) 2004-04-28 15:39

Again a magnific image in the boats serie. A beautiful and very nice shot, although I think I prefer the first one, which is closer and has a better angle for my tase. Nice catch again Manny.

avigur_11 (22553) 2004-04-28 17:34

Such a great shot, Manuel, not less then the other one. wonderful mood.
I don't like the palstic cahir, but it is not so important. I like the fog and the hanged laundry. Great shot.

sunny (3069) 2004-04-29 5:47

I love these superb compositions of Vietnam, with the fog as a background and the emerging boats from it, looking like ghosts, Manny! :) Excellent light, reflections and captured motion. Excellent shot!

Jeppe (18654) 2004-04-29 14:10

Oh one more great shot from this lovely place - and nice to see this great song title used here - I fully agree.

You presented this floating homes very excellent for us - surely not a common one around here. Thanks for one more Manuel.

ephemere33 (9743) 2004-04-30 16:07

super, super, scęne de peche aussi vivante que dans un film, les reflets donnent une ambiance toute particuliere, je l'a trouve vraie de vie cette photographie, magnifique manny....vraiment bravo et merci de nous faire partager tes talents.....
ephemere33

eleparc (24063) 2004-05-08 15:34

i could relate it at once to your previous post! just taken a few seconds apart i guess? huh? just read your note! wow! 200% agreed to! one should never be afraid to kneel down to stand up again stronger afterwards...exactly my philosophy of life! this photo is superb as usual! i do not quite agree with claude in the sense that those 2 cm allow you to show the whole shadow of the boat and IMHO it is worth it and complete the overall image. This is only my opinion...
points later Manny:-)

am catching up with the missed smileys...

jkos (981) 2005-09-22 16:30

Nice shot. Very good lighting abd
contrast. I particularly like those
pictures that translate traditional
way of life in diferent parts of the
world.
Joel

biero (12) 2006-04-05 20:32

Mmmmmm beautiful picture Manuel, bravo et merci.

rubisheikh (77) 2007-05-02 17:04

Hi Manuel,
Very nice shot,Ilove this picture detail nice colours and beautiful composition.
Reflection on the water is really beautiful,TFS
Best wishes.
Regards Rubi