Lava Rock & Sand (Mono)

[ShaneS]

So much lava rock and sand in Hawaii but how to best capture both its ruggedness and grace? It is something that I attempt to do in this image and I would greatly appreciate hearing your thoughts.



Does the image appear straight to you? I'm pretty sure my camera was level when I took the shot and have tried a couple of rotations this way and that but any which way it still seems a bit crooked to me. This could be an optical illusion due to the downhill slope of the beach?

The image above is an attempt to pull some detail out of the sand by adding contrast but below is a version with a softer look to the sand. Do you have a preference? Would something in between work better?

[Mike Buckley]

I like the way the lava takes on almost the appearance of an abstraction that implies motion. Very nice!

I prefer the detail in the sand. Otherwise, the large portion of the image has too little interest to hold me.

I don't think you need to be concerned about whether the image looks straight, as I don't think there is a "straight" or a "crooked" in this scene.