I secretly liked this image, but thought most people would think it was a "nothing shot", just a grab shot of random ocean, with no people, no watercraft, no island - not even a bird.
To my surprise, two people, both art enthusiasts, picked it out of all my images when I offered make some prints for them.
It continues to surprise me how hard it is to tell who will like what, even among people I know well.
This is quite the piece. The layers you've captured here are quite captivating. Not just some cloudy sky above yet another body of water. There's a kind of symbiotic relationship of the textures in the sky with the repeated textures of the ocean waves. The layers from top to bottom then bottom to top, sky to water and back again almost create a seamless composition of tumultuous character. Imagine for a moment if you will, you decided to snap the shot and the ocean was calm, far less interest, right? We've seen countless shots like that, hell I have a few of those. Another plus here, is that you didn't bother showing a long exposure of the water to soften it in any way. This certainly isn't a "nothing shot", there's strong character and mood here, technically it's spot on, and the chosen final composition shows a professional (as well as artistic) understanding of the parts and how to display them. A most welcome respite from the usual focus of "how pretty can we make it" or "long exposure to the rescue."
Brilliant Chris ~
Thanks, Joe! That's very kind of you, and reassuring, as I particularly respect your opinion.
Framing up for me is completely intuitive, a break from my usual "left-brain" self. It's only after the fact that I see for myself (if I do at all) the kinds of subtleties you point out.
As you can imagine, there were a lot of also-ran images where the waves didn't cohere into a satisfying whole. This was the only one. At least there was one this time!
Love the contrast between the intense clouds and tumultuous sea, this is my favorite of what I've seen of yours!
Thanks, Liam! Glad you like it too.