The fstoppers community is one of the few communities I've found where other photographers will take the time to give constructive advice. Instagram and Facebook are great places to share, but it's rare to get the in depth critiques you'll find here. With that said, any advice on this shot is welcome!
This is a blend of two images, with a 10 stop ND filter to slow the water and clouds down.
Thanks in advance!
I Cannot offer any critique about the blend as I myself have not even scratched the surface when it comes to blending and technically the photo looks good to me though I do have a compositional complaint though. Nothing wrong with the composition as such but I would like to have seen all of the drift wood in the frame. My eye is constantly drawn to that part of the image at the bottom right which is distracting me from the rest of the image. Of course this is just my opinion, Someone else might prefer the drift wood as is. Its all a matter of personal taste really. On the whole it is a very good image in my opinion. I love the shutter speed and use of filter here. You have slowed it down just enough to give a very dream like effect.
Thanks Chris! Didn't even notice that I had cropped out that piece of the structure. Will definitely keep that in mind on the next images I capture.
It's unfortunate to me that the right side of the shot looks as if the horizon itself suddenly bends upward. I had to look closely to see the land mass due to the near color match of the water and the distant shoreline. Also, some interesting lighting in the foreground to highlight the cool wood structure and rocks would have really made this shot for me. I can't tell if it's the sunset, or the foreground elements that are the subject. It's a pretty shot though.
Thanks Mike for taking the time to comment! It's funny, I'm so familiar with that part of the land that my mind doesn't pay attention to it but now that you mention it I can see how similarity in color to the horizon makes it look like the right side of the image is bent. On the subject, definitely good feedback. I had composed the shot before the sky lit up, and ended shooting it this way. With the way the sky lit up, it would have been a better image without that structure. But on a day with a less dramatic sky, I can see how the structure would be a good foreground subject. Thanks again!
Still a nice shot Jay. Good work.
Hi Jay, welcome to fstoppers :) I'm going to nitpick here a bit. I think it's a nice shot but there's a few things that bother me. On the left hand side of the beach, it looks a little soft and lacking detail. Also there appears to be some haloing around the driftwood itself and the sea seems a bit different on the right of the photo by the hilly bit. Maybe your mask didn't select these bits when you blended the exposures. The horizon looks a bit odd to me as well, it looks a bit curved - but that might just be me. The composition feels a bit cramped and the driftwood kind of dominates it all. All subjective though!