Seascape for critique

Phate

Phate

Phate

Caporegime
Joined
1 Nov 2003
Posts
35,691
Location
Lisbon, Portugal
Hello all,

Not posted anything for critique for a long time but I am feeling especially pleased with this one, and I am always looking to improve. So lets have at it!

Yesterday we visited Praia do Magoito, a beach in Sintra. As we approached the temperature dropped and for what should have been a gorgeous sunset was interrupted by this enormous moody grey/dark cloud which I actually welcomed and relished. Coupled with it being high tide, there was a light mist in the air...some really special conditions to shoot in.

Anyway, here it is.

JLE01092-3.jpg


Tech details:

Olympus E-M5 Mark II
Olympus 7-14 f/2.8 PRO shot at 7mm
f/8.0 for 20s
ISO100
Nisi 10 Stop with a Lee 2 stop hard grad. (Lee is borrowed)

Looking forward to any and all feedback.
:)

Thanks
Jake
 
Lovely image and well done, the only thing I would be tempted to do is clone out that small bit of seaweed/rope in the lower centre of the screen which looks like a hair on the image (plus the very tiny white spot, again centre and a couple of rows from the bottom).
 
Thanks GSXRMovistar!

I see the bits you mean :) thanks for pointing those out! I try not to clone tooooo much as I find myself getting obsessed :o :D - but can take a look!
 
Maybe look at getting a 6 stop ND. Something like a 2sec exposure for that image will show more detail in the waves on the beach but also give a sense of movement to them, especially if you take the image as the waves peak and start receding.
 
I like it, especially the colors. Agree with the first comment. Personal opinion, I never think sky cropped to leave a 1/4 or less works that well. Under 1/3 is ok however. I realise you can't do much about it with that image as the rocks in the sand are quite a large foreground object :D
 
Thanks guys, tonight I will post a screenshot showing the full image outside the crop borders, would be interesting to see what you think with what is available :)
 
Phate said:
Hello all,

Not posted anything for critique for a long time but I am feeling especially pleased with this one, and I am always looking to improve. So lets have at it!

Yesterday we visited Praia do Magoito, a beach in Sintra. As we approached the temperature dropped and for what should have been a gorgeous sunset was interrupted by this enormous moody grey/dark cloud which I actually welcomed and relished. Coupled with it being high tide, there was a light mist in the air...some really special conditions to shoot in.

Anyway, here it is.

JLE01092-3.jpg


Tech details:

Olympus E-M5 Mark II
Olympus 7-14 f/2.8 PRO shot at 7mm
f/8.0 for 20s
ISO100
Nisi 10 Stop with a Lee 2 stop hard grad. (Lee is borrowed)

Looking forward to any and all feedback.
:)

Thanks
Jake
Click to expand...
The ojkh way I could improve yahg would be to shoot wider as the foreground subject takes up a lot of the frame but other than that.its excellent
 
For me, I would have used a fast exposure and captured the details in the sea, that would make it far more interesting than the over done long exposure sea scapes that are very flat and unimaginative. This is especially important in this instance since the horizon is dull.

Biggest critique would be the composition. The band of ricks points strong to the top right of the image, almost taking my eyes outside the frame. But there is nothing at the top right to look at. This then creates a lot of dead space on the top left, and there is no easy way to direct the gaze back there
 
Liking the LE shot Phate :)

You asked for critique:

As subtle as it is the thin red band of sunlight really makes this image for me - you've got a fantastic tonal range here with good leading lines and there is sharpness and definition on the rocks and sand in the foreground.

Personally speaking I would like to have seen the shadows lifted slightly on the cliffs to the left of your composition - but it would have to be subtle, too much and it will appear over cooked. That is the only part of the entire composition that I feel really lets it down. Having said that it still does not detract from the fact you've caught a cracking LE seascape there ;)
 
And said:
Maybe look at getting a 6 stop ND. Something like a 2sec exposure for that image will show more detail in the waves on the beach but also give a sense of movement to them, especially if you take the image as the waves peak and start receding.
Click to expand...

Yes a 6 stop and possibly even a 4 stop at some point is on the long list of filters to get...so many! I do agree that a 10 stop can at times be overkill.

D.P. said:
For me, I would have used a fast exposure and captured the details in the sea, that would make it far more interesting than the over done long exposure sea scapes that are very flat and unimaginative. This is especially important in this instance since the horizon is dull.
Click to expand...

If I am understanding you correctly, you mean a fast exposure with no motion blur at all?

If so, then ultimately, this wasn't the mood or look I was looking to achieve. However, I agree totally with your comments on the composition. :)

Sonea Fifer said:
Liking the LE shot Phate :)

You asked for critique:

As subtle as it is the thin red band of sunlight really makes this image for me - you've got a fantastic tonal range here with good leading lines and there is sharpness and definition on the rocks and sand in the foreground.

Personally speaking I would like to have seen the shadows lifted slightly on the cliffs to the left of your composition - but it would have to be subtle, too much and it will appear over cooked. That is the only part of the entire composition that I feel really lets it down. Having said that it still does not detract from the fact you've caught a cracking LE seascape there ;)
Click to expand...

Thanks for this, really appreciate the feedback! I am a big fan of that pink/orange glow from the sun creeping through the horizon as well. I tried to emphasise this a bit during the processing stage. I shall try to work with the cliffs a bit to make them more noticeable but not stand out!

For those who have been mentioning the composition, here is a screenshot showing the full captured image, all discussion welcome surrounding this. I've played with the crop quite a bit, and find myself somewhat undecided on the whole subject!

fullshot.jpg


Cheers!
Jake
 
Phate said:
Yes a 6 stop and possibly even a 4 stop at some point is on the long list of filters to get...so many! I do agree that a 10 stop can at times be overkill.



If I am understanding you correctly, you mean a fast exposure with no motion blur at all?

If so, then ultimately, this wasn't the mood or look I was looking to achieve. However, I agree totally with your comments on the composition. :)



Thanks for this, really appreciate the feedback! I am a big fan of that pink/orange glow from the sun creeping through the horizon as well. I tried to emphasise this a bit during the processing stage. I shall try to work with the cliffs a bit to make them more noticeable but not stand out!

For those who have been mentioning the composition, here is a screenshot showing the full captured image, all discussion welcome surrounding this. I've played with the crop quite a bit, and find myself somewhat undecided on the whole subject!

Cheers!
Jake
Click to expand...

There's not much else I feel I can add to what has already been said Phate - you know what you're doing and you know how to achieve the end results you're after.

Looking at your crop - the only thing I would suggest is try to picture your next shot (if circumstances allow) in your minds eye before you take it and then there will be no need to crop and no loss of information ;)
 
I really like the colour and tones but confused by the composition. Why did you shoot it at 7mm and then crop it so heavily? To me that suggests you just pointed it wide without knowing exactly what you were going for. You’ve lost a lot of resolution too where you could have just zoomed.
 
Sonea Fifer said:
There's not much else I feel I can add to what has already been said Phate - you know what you're doing and you know how to achieve the end results you're after.

Looking at your crop - the only thing I would suggest is try to picture your next shot (if circumstances allow) in your minds eye before you take it and then there will be no need to crop and no loss of information ;)
Click to expand...

You're right - The composition is my biggest challenge when approaching these scenes and locations. I am feeling minor improvements each time. When I approached this scene in particular I got fixated on the look I wanted. I need to take a step back and rereview once I am in position and ask myself a 2nd time.

olv said:
I really like the colour and tones but confused by the composition. Why did you shoot it at 7mm and then crop it so heavily? To me that suggests you just pointed it wide without knowing exactly what you were going for. You’ve lost a lot of resolution too where you could have just zoomed.
Click to expand...

Quartz said:
That's a good point. I imagine the image we see is not the full resolution image but has been significantly cut down and compressed.
Click to expand...

See above. :)
 
I like the photo how it is. Never a fan of photoshopping stuff out, although I can understand the point. You'd never know when to stop removing all the blips and blobs.

Looks awesome!
 
My critique would be as follows;

Technically, there's something off with the whole image - I think it's down to a loss of contrast in the outer 2/3rds of the image circle, when I looked at the technical details it's says it was shot at 7mm!, I don't imagine a lens exists that will produce an even amount of light transmission through the image circle @ 7mm, there are only a couple of lenses at 16mm which will do that. Especially in darker scenes where the light falloff will contribute to the loss of contrast.

For me the crop has the wrong dimensions, images like this are either suited to a more square 5x4 ratio, or a super-wide panoramic 6x12 or 6x17 ratio, the image as presented doesn't work for me with that crop.

The rock is nice, but that's where it ends for me - I like the stormy element, it has atmosphere - I just think it's missing the mark for me personally.

The brutal truth is, there are lots and lots of shots like this - of a rock in a foreground with blurred misty water, in order to stand out they have to be technically perfect as a baseline, to standout they do take a lot of effort.

If I were to approach this shot - I'd do the following;

  • Shoot longer, 14-16mm minimum
  • Shoot an almost square crop
  • Portrait composition
  • Position the camera looking more out to sea, removing the shore on the top left
  • Low angle near the start of the rock, focusing on those nice patterns in the sand
  • Have enough sky to make it look gloomy
  • Maximum 5-6 second exposure, don't want to turn the sea to mist so much.
  • Shoot to scale - get the crop right in the camera as best you can.
I don't mean to be too harsh, just being as honest as I can :p
 
Re the crop, I think you've done pretty well given the subject matter. I agree it doesn't quite work fully, but that's mainly due to the rocks being such a long and narrow foreground subject, they're just awkward.
 
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