Lots of nice entries; here's my thoughts:
@mtbdudex What a great moment: sunrise going from a peek to full-blown glare. That misty field is about to dry out! This photograph certainly captures for me what I remember of gentle summer mornings in the midwest of my youth. Not sure whether I think the lens flare adds or subtracts to the image; I’ll wager as you submitted this you think at a minimum it doesn’t detract
@goldmac2006 The hills, the birds pumping and gliding, a clear day looking mild rather than heating-up. Certainly idyllic in a “I could get used to this” kind of way
@Janichsan Sunflowers are summer. A nice capture against a crazy-blue background. The little bit of brownish vegetation in the corner either grounds the picture (so that it doesn’t feel clinical or like a product shot) or distracts from its story; not sure
@C0ncreteBl0nde What’s more summertime than by the water? The smallish boat suggests we’re inland on a lake or calm river, and invites exploration. Your photograph reads to me as “high key” which is challenging for me but certainly a way of treating photographs in a summertime fashion; one feels like the bright light is washing out our own vision. I like the layers of old dock, boat, near vegetation, far shore, far mountains — it feels geologic. If I were working on this photo I might tone down the contrast; the blacks feel stark especially vis-à-vis the hazy far mountains; on the other hand, the treatment gives it the quality of an old photograph
@iPhone-Guy Sunflowers are summer; this version shows a flower in context. Don’t mind the right edge is cut off, but the blemish on the petal jumps out at me. Background blur also feels a touch jumpy to me, unfortunately a quality of the lens /aperture rendering, a bit of bummer because the idea is great
@mollyc What’s more summertime than by the water? I’m guess we’re at the beach; maybe at the outfitters or a little seaside shop. People bicycled down to enjoy their time by the sea. Strong summer light washing the white painted surfaces is balanced by the palm trunks and fronds … the stairs invite us up on to the boardwalk. I like that both sides of the photo are cut off — left, the stairs; right the bikes — because it implies the scene goes on and on
@someoldguy What’s more summertime than being by the water? I see we’re at the beach, the sea’s horizon curiously still hidden. The pavilion/picket parallel is nice, the tripartite layering (fence, huts, sky) is in tension with the half land / half sky composition … maybe seeing the sea would complicate the picture more, and make it less successful. As with many things, suggesting is often more compelling than telling
@oblomow What’s more summertime than a hyper-realistic sculpture with real seaside props / clothing in the corner of an art gallery or museum, where the wood floor could be sand and the white walls could be the glare of summertime sun? Reminds me of the work of
Duane Hanson. Great art. As a photo, a clear, “realistic” capture (not a composition that wants a some part blurred), as a contest entry, cheeky and fun
@Snowlover What’s more summertime than endless amount of green grass that’s not going to mow itself? I certainly spent a lot of my youth behind a Toro, and summertime was of course peak season for keeping that grass in check. I’m a little concerned where the operator has gotten off too; if we’re out of gas he didn’t take the can with him
@OldMacs4Me Summer is for flowers, in my book. Loving the open petals out in front of the others getting ready to open themselves. Lush
@piatigorsky Wow, doesn’t that look inviting! First off I’ll complain: you need to straighten your horizon so that I’m not distracted and can concentrate on hazy hills merging into an inviting sea. Also a little thrown by the elongated sun; maybe its a wide-angle distortion, or maybe it’s haze … again, these distractions take me out of this lovely moment
@richardallan Just a lovely image. Great layers, with the foreground little grassy mounds echoing the distant shore. The deliberate don’t-shoot-the-sun (or did it already set?) choice makes the photograph stronger, in that subtle gradations of color and light can live together. Love the detail of little tuffs of grass tips popping up in front of the foliage in shadow; this picture has a great scale, from small to limitless expanse
@Strider64 Peek-a-boo! or maybe it’s you that’s been spotted. Summertime certainly can have all kinds of surprises underfoot
3rd:
@mtbdudex
2nd: (representing very different ends of the summertime spectrum)
@oblomow and
@richardallan
1st:
@someoldguy
