My background very quickly: I'm a digital cartographer and GIS specialist by profession, but photography has been a hobby for many many years. After being without a serious camera for a while I've recently returned to landscape photography with the intention of actually learning something rather than just taking shots I like!
This shot is from Pescadero Beach, California coast last weekend. I like the location and composition, the light was obviously poor as the setting sun was hidden behind thick blanket of high fog. I'm drawn to poor weather and bleak landscapes anyway so I don't necessarily miss the extra light, although it would probably have added some needed depth. Would love to hear what others think about the composition, the balance of rocks and ocean etc.
Thanks all,
David
My initial reaction is that there is no subject to grab my attention. This spot needs to be revisited when there is a nice Sunset. A dramatic sky is just the subject this needs.
On a more "it's just me" kind of comment, I prefer a more panoramic view for this sort of shot. If this was my shot, I would try it with the bottom 2/3 of the rocks cropped out, cropped right where the upper rock formation is the narrowest and the water is the closest to the left edge of the frame. That would make the panoramic scene that I like.
It's true there's no single identifiable subject, though I don't fully subscribe to the idea that there always needs to be. The water in motion is what I see most when I look at the image and it takes my eyes up through the frame in an S to the horizon and the small splash of water over the distant shelf. A better sky here would have made the shot and I will definitely be going back, but probably for the same composition.
I often find myself in portrait after shooting landscape first. In this case the leading motion from the lines of the rocks conflicted with the wide view and looked to me more natural in a tall shot. Pano just had too much going on in the image. Also focusing in on the more distant rocks the image lost it's only real interest to me which was the lines and texture of the closer rocks plus the near pool of swirling water that starts the eye moving. I was more concerned about the balance of rocks and ocean overall, but thought it actually came out ok in that sense.
Thanks!
Hi David,
I don't see the lack of a subject as an issue, and in this case, the rocks and the ocean are the subject.
The composition is technically fine, with nice layering between the foreground, midground, and background. And the boundary between the rocks and the ocean forms a nice "S", leading the eye through the frame.
I also like the fact that you have used a slightly longer shutter speed, giving a sense of movement.
However, the colour balance seems off, and it reminds me of some uncorrected colour negative scans. It seems a little cold and something I can't quite identify.
Also, you could push the contrast on the rocks some. I imagine the more recent editions of Photoshop have a vibrance slider, or some such thing.
In any case, these criticisms are subjective.
Thanks. I agree, I need to work on the color. I used a cheapish Formatt Hitech 6 stop ND filter and it leaves a cold blue color cast. I actually removed most of it but it can be hard to see the image color objectively relative to the original, so what I think is too warm during edit may actually be just right. I need to switch to a better ND filter set w less color cast. I actually use Luminar 2018 for editing. May go back and work on this a re post for comparison.
One thing is for certain; we each have different viewpoints, but that is not meant as any sort of criticism. On the contrary, it's what makes photography fun AND interesting. I would be quite surprised if the three of us lined up at this spot and ended up with the same shot or even something close. That's a good thing in my book!
I like this moody scene. I'd probably dodge and burn the rocks a bit more to increase the definition.
It's a cool spot for sure. I would kick up some warmer tones on the rocks if possible, Little bit more contrast wouldn't hurt too. It seems there is fade in this photo or is it the fog, that make it a little too flat in my opinion. But I would say overall it's a good photo. Since we all have different tastes, don't take it personally :) in the end it's a good photo!
ok, I've added two more pics here. Little out of order. Bottom pic is the RAW convert to jpeg with no modifications (pretty flat, has definite blue color cast from ND filter). Middl image is an alternate edit going for more clarity and structure. I used masks more to separate rocks from water in adding detail etc. It's still a colder looking shot but I think the white balance is more true now (it was a cool flat light). It's my post processing that I think now the least about in landscape photography so all comments welcome! This was edited in Luminar 20187 btw. The original shot is from a MFT Lumix GX8.