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Cecilia Lim | all galleries >> Galleries >> life > A Dance With Nature
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01-JUN-2005 Lac Bacalar, Mexico

A Dance With Nature

Young boys spend the day in bliss swimming and jumping off the pier into the waters of Lac Bacalar, Mexico.


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Jean-Luc Elias18-Jan-2011 19:29
Outstanding capture! BV
Ken Zaret22-Mar-2009 18:56
great shot. in addition to the initial attraction of the boy's unusual pose, lines of different types are drawn toward the same point, the center, enhancing the dynamism of the image. Beautiful reflection tones too, on the boy's shoulder and the roof of the hut.
Guest 27-Jun-2008 18:09
Wonderful just wonderful
Guest 07-Feb-2008 15:01
I'm not english speaking and it is difficult for me to explain what that incredible picture tells me...but I feel so peaceful looking at the jewel !!!!
Thanks for sharing !
Guest 19-Apr-2007 07:36
what a wonderful image! the kind of picture that makes me smile and glad for a fresh new day. apart from the technical excellence that Phil has discussed here, the image is just so "pleasing" to the eye and that is what makes it special to me...
pep26-Jan-2007 21:21
I can't believe how beautiful this picture is. I don't know anything about masters of photography, but I totally agree with Phil douglis' comment: the work of a master. Voted
Guest 20-Jan-2007 18:42
Beautiful light and composition.
Guest 13-Nov-2006 12:03
Brilliant! Not a care in the world.
Thierry Lucas11-Oct-2006 17:20
Beautiful composition, Cecilia.
Guest 24-Aug-2006 23:42
Such a lovely photograph, Cecilia, so filled with abandon, grace, and the marvelously unihibited ways and athleticism of children. It's like a moment in modern dance, or ballet, with this perfect child's face and chest illuminated by the great bright sun, the clouds marching along in opposite direction to his trajectory, the limpid water with reeds leaning "off stage" and happy compañeros taking it all in. It reminds me of a quote from Anne Sexton: "So while I think of it, let me paint a thank you on my palm for this God, this laughter of the morning...the joy that isn't shared, I've heard, dies young." Bravo, Cecilia! This is a classic piece of fine art, one that I'd like to have hanging in my house.
TS. Bok26-Jul-2006 10:01
Superb shot! Looks like some shots in the Nat Geo magazine. :)Well done.
Cecilia Lim04-Jul-2006 15:55
Thank you Phil for your wonderful comment on this image! It means a lot to me coming from such a great photographer like yourself! I didn't realize that I had broken so many composition rules. All I knew was that I wanted as much emphasis on the sky as I did the water to create an infinite sense of space and freedom. And the next step was to freeze a moment that captured the boy's energy and spirit as he leapt off the pier. I tried many times,mostly unsuccesfully. But as I reviewed the images one year later, I found that this boy's elegant pose suspended in mid-air embodied everything that I experienced that day watching these boys in this beautiful place. I never gave much thought about what is meant by "rules are meant to be broken". But by pointing them out to me as you did here, you've taught me that ultimately, it is the expression that counts.
Phil Douglis04-Jul-2006 02:00
What a treasure, Celia -- it is the work of a master. You violate two of the so called "rules of composition" here with great effect. Your image is essentially divided in half at the horizon line, a no-no in academic and camera club circles. Dividing a picture in half creates static presentation, which you will use here to great advantage. You also have a merger -- the child is hanging by his neck right on the horizon line. Another no=no, right? Wrong! It is because of those two "errors" that this image gains all of its surrealistic power. The static horizon and merger have entrapped the child and strung him up between sky and water forever. You have created a surrealistic image of pure, uninhibited joy, snared by both your composition, and your use of time. You have turned a "feel good old swimming hole" cliche into a fantastic (in every sense of that word) image that goes well beyond reality, and into the realm of the surreal. And to think that this image has languished in your files unpublished for a year!!!!