If you ever have the chance to see the beach of Sankt-Peter-Ording at the German Northern Sea coast you shouldn't miss it. The beach there is so immensely broad that you could think to stand in a dessert. Wikipedia says it's up to two kilometers wide (and 12 km long).
This huge area of sand means that on a colder day you hardly see anybody.
I tried to convey the feelings you may have at this beach in my photos. Feedback welcome (also technical feedback).
lonely beach scenes
You capture that sense of vastness well, especially with the tiny figures. The horizontal format emphasises this more, obviously, but the vertical image also "works" for me.
I prefer the first; the colour image is a little bland; somehow the colours don't add to it - and I generally prefer colour. However, this is a personal stylistic choice, and your image is probably a pretty accurate reflection of how it looks in reality.
I'd be tempted to increase the contrast in the first to emphasise the appealing clouds, the beach texture, and that stark tiny figure, but this gets further away from reality.
I like the feeling in your second picture. I think the softness in the blue and sand tones enhances the loneliness of the picture. It is a little bland as Chris points out, but I like it. I would say the person could be a bit bigger. They are so small in the shot that it is almost just a blemish.
Thank you both for your comments. It sounds, I got most things right. I'll think about your suggestions.
Actually, I think 1 and 3 are not as successful as 2, even though I shoot primarily B&W. In those two you've given the weight to the sky and minimized the effect and vastness of the beach. Everyone knows the sky is vast. Increasing contrast in the clouds would also help to do the same, draw attention away from the beach. On the other hand I think #2 is great. The beach just goes on and on. I wish the human were a little larger but I'm looking on a laptop. I'm sure in a nice sized print, the human is fine.
Dear Paul,
thanks for your comment. I see your point.