Vancouver BC sunset

[retired2AZ]

Constructive comments welcome
Focal Length 18mm
Exposure 1/100
F Number f/6.3
ISO 125

[Digital]

Carol, you did not post the photo.

Bruce

[retired2AZ]

Thanks... it shows it is good to upload, but doesn't... sorry.

[retired2AZ]

Now it is posted. Please take a look and give suggestions. Thanks.

[Digital]

It is a very nice photograph.

Bruce

[dje]

Hi Carol

You've got some nice light in this shot. One suggestion I have is to crop a fair bit off the right hand side so that the sun is centered in the picture, thus making it a portrait orientation. It looks a bit un-balanced to me as it is and there's not a great deal of interest in the right hand side anyway. Also I'd add a bit of Local Contrast Enhancement to give it a bit more "pop" - using the Unsharp Mask with a setting of about 40 and a pixel radius of about 200.

Nice work, hope to see some more.

Dave

[retired2AZ]

Dave, Thank you so much for your comments. I am going to post another version to see how it works. I think it makes a stronger image. Thanks.

[dje]

I think it makes a stronger image. Thanks.

I think so too Carol. Very nice.

Dave

[terrib]

I thought it was nice to begin with and I really like the edit. Great job!

[P2O2]

Hi Carol,

I support dje in what he said but I suggest other settings. First of all the sun is dazzling in such circumstances as presented by your image so you should keep the item unchanged.

Secondly, there's another item you'd like to stay with - panoramic view or landscape format. Do cropping but keep landscape format. Just move the right side of the picture closer to the right side of the first right clouds' "tooth". The one leaning over a deep notch and including it in new image. This should diminish the excessive right area.

Thirdly, keep the clouds color of that evening.

I have downloaded the image, it was dark. I use GIMP so I did make the following changes. I moved gamma slider to 1.25, then did tone mapping (not necessary) with blur set to 100 and opacity to 90. Next I did "merge down" and used unsharp mask but with decidedly lower values - radius 0.5 and amount 0.80. How the values translate to Photohop options I do not know.

Doing what I said above I changed your picture to be closer to reality than your latest (the second) version which is ugly to me. Blue unreal clouds, orange and dirty gold hues of the clouds and the sun rays which do not match with the color of reflections found on sea waves. The items are just falling apart.

Any picture must have cohesive items in it. For me at least.

My regards

[Donald]

I, too, think the re-work makes a much stronger image, particularly as the composition now picks up and strengthens that glorious reflection on the water.

I'm not sure what P202 (much better if we can have real names) means by making your picture closer to reality, given that 1) he/she was not at the scene at the time of the capture, you were and, 2) you may have chosen not to make an image that conveyed what you saw ... and that might be quite different from what from what the scene actually looked like at the time.

One of the problems that photography still has is that an awful lot of people think its purpose is to faithfully reproduce things as they are.

I think that, with that second version, you have yourself a very fine image.

[MrB]

Regarding your image, Carol - for me your second version has improved on the original, but I also think Dave's suggested crop might be even stronger.

One of the problems that photography still has is that an awful lot of people think its purpose is to faithfully reproduce things as they are.

Things we see around us often have an extraordinary inherent beauty, or some other quality that makes an emotional impression on us. Therefore, to attempt "to faithfully reproduce things as they are" (given the constraints of the medium) should be viewed as one of the possible valid and laudable approaches to the subject. The real problem, in my opinion, is that there are some people who seem to want to impose their views on others, as though theirs is the only correct approach to photography.

Philip

[retired2AZ]

Thank you for your comments. I am going to try your suggestions. I appreciate your frank appraisal and suggestions.

[P2O2]

One of the problems that photography still has is that an awful lot of people think its purpose is to faithfully reproduce things as they are.

I deeply and eagerly crave for the Great Division in Photography for "naturalists" and "artists". Put me on the first list.

BTW, not "faithfully", rather naturally with a pinch of personal emotions at least.

Regards