4,000

[Arthur Morris]

Most every image that I have posted on BPN has been pretty much a brand new photo, rarely created more than a week ago. To celebrate 4,000 I will offer this oldie but goodie. Snow Geese in ground fog at day, "Fire in the Mist."

Canon 600mm f/4L IS lens with the EOS-1n. Fuji Velvia pushed one stop to ISO 100. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/320 sec. at f/5.6.

Don't be shy; all comments on the image are welcome.

[John Hawkins]

Just an awesome picture. I love the color and the fog. As your title suggests, it looks on fire. Congrats on 4000th post.
John

[Keith Carver]

This is one of my all-time favorite pictures from your Bosque collection and I love everything about it - color, intensity, passion, movement. I can almost hear the sound. I would only wish the horizontal structure in the top right was completely masked by the fog.

[Arthur Morris]

The HORZ "structures" are actually rows of phragmites or giant reeds. No structure there. And thanks for your kind words.

[Dave Phillips]

always has been a favorite image for me to admire Artie.....so full of life all the way back into the depths.
Congrats on 4000 and a very successful set of forums.....best on the web for honest critique and a pat on the back when justly worthy.

thanks you sir

[Bill Foxworthy]

A stunning powerful image. Totally awesome. Congrats on 4000!!

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Wow, this is pretty dramatic, it really looks like fire and seems to fit the milestone. :) Thanks for showing!

[Maxis Gamez]

Congratulations.

[Adams Serra]

Hey Artie, Beautiful image as always. congratulations on the 4000th and thank you for helping us out.

Adams Serra

[Gayle Clement]

A photo that always grabs the heart. Beautiful, Artie, and definitely worth seeing again.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Artie,
One of my favorites too. Great choice for the 4000th!

[Dean Ingwersen]

Congrats Artie. One of my favs as well...not one thing amiss for me.

Cheers, Dean

[Ramon M. Casares]

Just one **** of a picture! Congratulations!

[Glenda Simmons]

I love "Oldies"...especially this one!. Beautiful.

Eagerly checking my mailbox for your CD. I need all the help I can get. So much to learn..so little time!

[Fabs Forns]

Maestro, you've been really working hard to reach this point :)

Big congrats and my favorite pic of you of all times. Thanks for bringing it up again, it serves as inspiration.

[Beth Goffe]

One of those truly gorgeous images. Congrats on hitting 4,000!

[Manos Papadomanolakis]

Congrats on 4000th post!!!
One of my favorites too, love everything about it!!!

[Vincent Grafhorst]

Fantastic photo Artie, what a dramatic atmosphere you have captured here. I would not be surprised if you have or will win a grand prize with this image!

[Stephen Keene (Plumviewer)]

Hey Artie :- Before I discovered Birds as Art George Lepp was my favorite instructor by authorship. Long lenses to isolate an image; the rule of thirds; white or light to draw the eye deeper into an image. Well, for me, your Bosque "Fire in the Mist" pulled all those things together in a way which captivated me. Color alone (both the bright and the dark) invoked the "thirds rule" and both bright and dark deepened an image otherwise flattened by the 600. Not just an oldie but goodie, but timeless as well. Every time I see it I say to myself a little thank you to you.

BTW remembering Boston and your PI IPT of some years ago, if you need a caddy in Portland in Oct, you know what to do.

Regards, Plumviewer.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Stunning image!
Congratulations on your 4000th post.
It is amazing how well you composed and created this picture, but for me what is more amazing is the ability to make this kind of images with film! ''Fuji Velvia pushed one stop to ISO 100'' I've read about it a little but I am so glad I started to take shots with a digital camera! I don't think film was made for me, especially with the prices we have here for development. :)

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

This is wonderful Artie. No two ways about it. :)

[Nicki Gwynn Jones]

Hi Artie,
Many congrats on all counts - and thank you so much for this site - I learn so much every day.
Regards,
Nicki

[Lana Hays]

Artie
This always has been......and probably always will be my favorite image of yours. If someone mentions your name.......this is the image that comes to mind. It is an amazing image.....from the dramatic light to the title. All I can do is......drool all over my laptop.

[Doug Brown]

Truly a spectacular 4000th image Artie! Congratulations and thanks for being the driving force behind making BPN the finest nature/wildlife photography website on the internet!

[Daniel Cadieux]

Ah, yes...that instantly recognizable classic of yours! Who could get tired of this image?? Thanks for helping make this site the go-to one for improving one's nature photography and post-processing skills (it ain't just birds, right!!) :-)

[Rod Wiley]

The only thing I don't like about this photo is the fact it's not in my portfolio. Congrats

[Jim Fenton]

Artie...

My simple comment is that I really, really, really, wish that it were mine.

This one is a classic :)

[Philip Lombard]

Artthur, just super, what color.

[Layton E Parham]

Inspirational.

[Raymond Barlow]

a once in a lifetime chance, very well done Artie!

[KK Hui]

Just pure beauty in all respect, Artie!
Congrats!

[Pramod Viswanath]

^^BOWS^^ to you!

[Arthur Morris]

Fantastic photo Artie, what a dramatic atmosphere you have captured here. I would not be surprised if you have or will win a grand prize with this image!

First off thanks to all for their kind words, especially those related to BPN of which I am so proud. This image was honored in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition about six years ago--no big prize, a highly commended or something like that. A few years ago, it did, however, garner a huge honor. It was the cover art for "Light on the Earth," a compilation of 20 years of winning images from the Competition. (We bought five boxes of 20 and still have a few copies left.)

But here is the most amazing part. Though this was the best single image of from four boxes of slides, I viewed (and still do to some degree) that morning as a failure. Seems incomprehensible, but it is true and here is the whole story:

The geese were simply covered with ground fog, good old plain old white ground fog. The sun hit the horizon and voila, fire in the mist. This occurred less than three weeks after I had lost my wife Elaine to breast cancer (so it was early December 1994). I had an IPT with one woman attending. I remember telling her, "shoot! shoot!" as the scene unfolded before us. I finished a roll of the birds just sitting in the water bathed in the amazing light. With ten frames left, I had to decide, wait for a blast-off or finish the roll. I finished the second roll. Third roll; same choice. Finished that roll. Fourth roll; same choice; finished that roll. Bad, bad, bad decision. With the film in my hand I heard a noise like a speeding train as about 15,000 birds took off through the amazing light. I was distraught at the time. But now I am a lover of what is. :) :) :)

ps: I have always felt that the landing bird we too close to the center, but it worked perfectly for the Light on the Earth cover as they folded back the right 1/4 of the image for the inside jacket and thus the bird did finally wind up on the rule of thirds spot... You gotta love it!

[Daniel Cadieux]

I rather enjoyed reading your retrospect Artie. Thanks for taking the time for your insights on this great image!!

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Artie,
This is an amazing shot. Narrative comes from the heart. Thanks for sharing. I had seen this shot earlier when I was gifted your original ABAP. However, can't get tired of this one.

Cheers
Sabyasachi