Photo Friday: Grabbing Attention

As my Bate Island Project has just passed the halfway point, I have come to realize that I have taken a lot of pictures from the same spot. But so many of them seem different, as the light and weather has changed.

You can see the all of the Bate Island Project photos on my Flickr album.

On Wednesday, as I drove to work, a thick fog was slowly burning itself off with the morning sun. Stopping along Bate Island, the view was fantastic. I took my shot, but I took another shot, from a slightly different angle, thinking that I would submit it to CBC News Ottawa climatologist, Ian Black, for consideration during his weather broadcast. Every day, Ian shows weather photos from his viewers and he has shown quite a few of mine over the years.

He showed the photo that evening.

The previous photo that I submitted to CBC News Ottawa was also put on air the day I sent it. It was a photo that I took one morning, during my family vacation, when we were canoeing from Kingston to Ottawa. Before the others had arisen, I stood by the locks at Merrickville and took this shot:

You can see our tent and canoe, a gentle mist rising from the Rideau River, and a bridge, over which several long, noisy trains roared through the night. (Merrickville is not a good spot for camping.)

Within 24 hours of showing that photo on CBC, the photo received more than 1,800 views on my Flickr album and almost 80 "favourite" ratings. To date, the photo has received more than 1,940 views.

Which makes me think: yes, it's a nice photo, but it's certainly not my best. I have other photos on Flickr that I think are much better. What is it about a photo that grabs so much attention? Is it simply timing?

Thanks to all who have viewed and "favourited" this photo, and my other photos.

Happy Friday!