Winter in the swimming pool

LaFoto · Jan 28, 2006

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Arch · Jan 28, 2006

Looks way too cold for me! Like the colours on number 3 and the perspective on the last one. Nice shooting :thumbup:

LaFoto · Jan 29, 2006

Believe me: it is way too cold to be in the open air part of the pool - but the indoors part is very warm and my daughter spends half her life in there

.
I had to take these through the fence, no one can get "inside the outside" right now.

LaFoto · Jan 29, 2006

OK, forget the first four.
Any thoughts about the last?

Rob · Jan 29, 2006

I think you've done really well with the depth-of-field in the image and the off-centre subject is great. I do think that an incy-wincy bit more height and maybe a bit of the edge of the pool would add as to a non-swimming person it's a bit tricky to see it as a launch-pad (or whatever they're called).

And.... black and white!

Interesting shots though!

Rob

marty · Jan 30, 2006

The last one for me depicts the loneliness of a swimming pool at this time of year in the north! (our pools are all full

)

It needs a loch ness monster type of creature to come up out of the water.

LaFoto · Jan 30, 2006

Another reply. Yippieh!
And I thought this thread would die a horrible death of getting the worst view:reply-ratio this board has ever seen (1:40

).

It was my idea to show the lonliness and emptiness of open air pools at this time of the year HERE, where I am... and I was attracted by the colour the water had taken by the setting sun. Makes it look murkier than it otherwise would, when the light-blue tiles of the pool walls would shine through.

Therefore: no black and white version of this to be had, Rob :greenpbl: - the colour has a meaning to me.

But you say it is hard to recognise what you are seeing here.
Is this why no one replies to this?
I was already considering putting up an all desparate "SPEAK WITH ME"-sign here.

Tell me (well leaving aside the first four if you don't like them):
Do people who don't go swimming in pools fail to recognize what they see?
Is it not obvious that the sharp object in the front is one of the starting blocks (of which you see a couple more on the other end of the pool - which, by the way, is an Olympic sized pool, i.e. 50m long)?

Rob · Jan 30, 2006

LaFoto said:
But you say it is hard to recognise what you are seeing here.
Is this why no one replies to this?
I was already considering putting up an all desparate "SPEAK WITH ME"-sign here.

Tell me (well leaving aside the first four if you don't like them):
Do people who don't go swimming in pools fail to recognize what they see?
Is it not obvious that the sharp object in the front is one of the starting blocks (of which you see a couple more on the other end of the pool - which, by the way, is an Olympic sized pool, i.e. 50m long)?

They aren't bad shots by any means! Perhaps it's difficult because you know so much about swimming and you spend so much time there... if the swimming pool were either run down, or full of people, there would probably be more of natural interest.

Although it's pretty straightforward to see that they're starting blocks, they could also be fishing stools (I'm mad I know) the way I'm looking at them. A person preparing to dive would make the shot awesome, but at the moment there's just an air of calm about the picture, no message to do with swimming, unless you know the area. Perhaps a shot further back showing slightly more snow would give more of a context for why it's deserted - that'd really make it look cold.

Oh, that's the other thing... red colours give warmth, so maybe the red is making it look warmer and thus confusing the message? Try a PS blue filter (if you've got a PC up to it yet?!).

Rob

craig · Jan 30, 2006

Beautiful work!!! The tones that you see are always excellent. Very La foto!

LaFoto · Jan 30, 2006

Rob, it is hard to find anyone brave enough to break and enter into an open air pool for me just so he'd do a head jump in there for the sake of my photo at -7°C. Not that I tried, but I just feel it would not have worked. No one would have come forward.

And I was restricted in positioning myself by a fence and a steel revolving door through which I poked my lens to take these ... I might have tried to CLIMB that door - may have brought about some stares as to why that granny would want to climb into the outdoors pool area, but well... I might have tried that. Decided against it for no apparent reason :greenpbl:

The other three photos I took along with this one are these (and the idea was to show the DESOLATION of an open air pool in the middle of winter):

...but I don't feel any of these last three is as strong as Photo 5.

Am I all wrong?

(Plus all three of these very downsized pics have focus issues

)

Rob · Jan 30, 2006

LaFoto said:
Rob, it is hard to find anyone brave enough to break and enter into an open air pool for me just so he'd do a head jump in there for the sake of my photo at -7°C. Not that I tried, but I just feel it would not have worked. No one would have come forward.

You don't have those nutty pensioners like we have in the UK breaking the ice on New Year's Day??

I like the last three actually, more context!

Rob

LaFoto · Jan 30, 2006

Rob said:
You don't have those nutty pensioners like we have in the UK breaking the ice on New Year's Day??

Not in my immediate surroundings, I'm afraid. No

Rob said:
... more context!

... = less solitude and desolation?

(And I realised I did post the one that includes all of the lifeguards' "hut" in the first series ... thought I had left that out since it is not all sharp... :roll: )