Seascape Trials

[Stagecoach]

I scouted out a location this week with the intention of seeing its potential for sunrise/sunset shots where I would be able to make use of the 10-20mm WA (getting low/foreground and possibly smoothing water).

The below trial shots were taken mid afternoon with the light behind and to the right and the SOOC images were pretty mundane and flat so I have enhanced things somewhat in PP.

For these I used both an ND and a GND and as per some previous sunrise shots with the GND there is a red cast to the upper left and right sides so I need to do some trials to determine exactly when this happens as it's not apparent in all shots.

No 1 - 1/6s, f/11, ISO200, 10mm


No 2 - 1/10s, f/11, ISO200, 10mm


As can be seen I have both sandy areas with pools and some dead coral formations with flowing water around but looking at these two I think I have simply gone too wide, any suggestions on how to improve these compositions would be very much appreciated.

Grahame

[Shadowman]

Hi Grahame, nice images. Not much else you can do except change your elevation (either higher or lower) or with the GND filter spin it around to see if you get a better look, might also help with the red intrusion.

[dje]

Graham the second image looks pretty good to me as is. I don't think it's too wide and for non-ideal light you've turned it into a nice image.

The second one is OK but perhaps it is a bit wide. The higher rock on the right side is a bit dominant for me but the alternative might be to move to the left a bit and change the angle. I'm not sure.

You've certainly got something solid to work with there.

Dave

PS. If you go wide, you can crop to some extent if necessary.

[Stagecoach]

Hi Grahame, nice images. Not much else you can do except change your elevation (either higher or lower) or with the GND filter spin it around to see if you get a better look, might also help with the red intrusion.

John, these were both taken with the tripod as low as I could possibly get it which made it just about impossible to compose them properly and I was not going to lie on rough coral but I suspect it may be an advantage to try a higher elevation with the camera pointing down somewhat. This would give the advantage of being able to lose some of the sky and increasing foreground and sea depth.

If I spin the GND round it will not darken the sky, or am I missing something?

Grahame

Graham the second image looks pretty good to me as is. I don't think it's too wide and for non-ideal light you've turned it into a nice image.
The second one is OK but perhaps it is a bit wide. The higher rock on the right side is a bit dominant for me but the alternative might be to move to the left a bit and change the angle. I'm not sure.
You've certainly got something solid to work with there.
Dave
PS. If you go wide, you can crop to some extent if necessary.

Dave, I fully agree about that rock on the right being too dominant and I should be able to change the angle to reduce it and retain the pool.

I’m planning to have a very early morning attempt on Sunday, weather permitting as the tide condition will be about the same.

Grahame

[Shadowman]

John, these were both taken with the tripod as low as I could possibly get it which made it just about impossible to compose them properly and I was not going to lie on rough coral but I suspect it may be an advantage to try a higher elevation with the camera pointing down somewhat. This would give the advantage of being able to lose some of the sky and increasing foreground and sea depth.

If I spin the GND round it will not darken the sky, or am I missing something?

Grahame



Dave, I fully agree about that rock on the right being too dominant and I should be able to change the angle to reduce it and retain the pool.

I’m planning to have a very early morning attempt on Sunday, weather permitting as the tide condition will be about the same.

Grahame

Hi Grahame, regarding the filter, I was thinking it might help shift the red cast.

[ShaneS]

Nice location Grahame and I will follow your progress on these shots as we have very similar coastlines to work with and I'm a sucker for a good seascape. I don't think that you went too wide

My thoughts on #1: I want to suggest that you shift your viewpoint to the right but then you lose the impact of the distant island I think. As others said maybe the elimination of the coral formations on the right and shift your position to the left and hope for some lovely foreground pools like you have in this one.

On the second shot I think that the distant island would look great dead center horizontally if you are lucky enough to get clouds like that. I also agree that more foreground and less sky might have more impact.

You could always try a multiple shot pano with a few portrait oriented shots and see what happens when you go really wide and stitch the shots!

Good luck on Sunday!

[deetheturk]

Hi Grahame,

I like both images and I like the red cast, thought it was natural when I first looked

Keep at it bud you look like you are going in the right direction

Cheers David

[IzzieK]

Hi Grahame...at least with this post, no one will accuse you of disappearing with me. I did not see that post of David but I was informed about it...

Anyway, I like both shoots. The treatment you did there with the GND is excellent to say the least...if I were to choose between the two, I'd be dumbfounded -- OK...#2 but just slightly. BTW, what is that little orangy thingie on the rocks there? I think though it doesn't diminish the shot, it is still a cutie...different. If you remove that little bit, I might missed it simply because I saw it there earlier. Love the clouds in both. 'Remind me to use my GND that has been doing nothing for quite sometime in my filter collections from old film school anyway...
Cheers....

[bnnrcn]

Hi Grahame I like #2 as it is , very nice shot. IMO where you took #1 is a promising place. You can try different angles , different focal lengths and different compositions with that pool and the stones. I would certainly get as low as I can or may be lie down to shoot there. If you shot those with a usual tripod, a tabletop tripod might be more helpful because it gets lower than a usual tripod.

[Stagecoach]

Nice location Grahame and I will follow your progress on these shots as we have very similar coastlines to work with and I'm a sucker for a good seascape. I don't think that you went too wide

My thoughts on #1: I want to suggest that you shift your viewpoint to the right but then you lose the impact of the distant island I think. As others said maybe the elimination of the coral formations on the right and shift your position to the left and hope for some lovely foreground pools like you have in this one.

On the second shot I think that the distant island would look great dead center horizontally if you are lucky enough to get clouds like that. I also agree that more foreground and less sky might have more impact.

You could always try a multiple shot pano with a few portrait oriented shots and see what happens when you go really wide and stitch the shots!

Good luck on Sunday!

Hi Shane,

For some time I have been looking for foreground features other than plain golden sand or mangroves and they seem pretty rare in the accessible areas reasonably close to me. If I'm lucky enough to find a washed up tree trunk they always seem to be at the wrong angle as well.

I will try your idea with the second shot, introducing more foreground and less sky.

Grahame

[Stagecoach]

Hi Grahame,

I like both images and I like the red cast, thought it was natural when I first looked

Keep at it bud you look like you are going in the right direction

Cheers David

Thanks David, I'm sure there must be a way to remove the cast in post I will have to experiment, it does not particularly bother me other than I know it's not natural.

Cheers, Grahame

[Stagecoach]

Hi Grahame...at least with this post, no one will accuse you of disappearing with me. I did not see that post of David but I was informed about it...

Hi there Izzie, I saw it

Anyway, I like both shoots. The treatment you did there with the GND is excellent to say the least...if I were to choose between the two, I'd be dumbfounded -- OK...#2 but just slightly. BTW, what is that little orangy thingie on the rocks there? I think though it doesn't diminish the shot, it is still a cutie...different. If you remove that little bit, I might missed it simply because I saw it there earlier. Love the clouds in both. 'Remind me to use my GND that has been doing nothing for quite sometime in my filter collections from old film school anyway...
Cheers....

The little orange thingy is a leaf, a fish would have been good. I chose that day specifically because of the clouds as it's absolutely no use shooting scenes like this in bright sun, the GND allowed me to balance the exposure better between foreground and sky which was still quite bright. I'm slowly learning what can be obtained in cloudy rain threatening weather. Here's the SOOC, pretty bland.



Grahame

[Stagecoach]

Hi Grahame I like #2 as it is , very nice shot. IMO where you took #1 is a promising place. You can try different angles , different focal lengths and different compositions with that pool and the stones. I would certainly get as low as I can or may be lie down to shoot there. If you shot those with a usual tripod, a tabletop tripod might be more helpful because it gets lower than a usual tripod.

Hi Binnur, I used a Manfrotto with a central column that can be bought out through the top and it allows the camera to be positioned around 12" off the ground but I'm thinking of converting one of my old ones for very low work specifically in rough areas with sea and sand.

Grahame

[FootLoose]

I like the composition of the 2nd shot, Grahame. My only suggestion - for a variation - would be to get up earlier and shoot it at sunrise.

[FrankMi]

Looks like an excellent location to explore expanding your vision through multiple views Grahame. I feel there is a point somewhere between the location of the first two shots that could be magical.

[Brownbear]

Hi Grahame,

Nice images. I don't have any useful advice to offer (as I'm still struggling with my own landscapes) except for my personal opinion/preferences.

I especially like the 2nd image for the beautiful composition. I love the way the rocks and the clouds both lead to the island on the horizon. If it were my image I would crop it below the first set of rocks in the foreground, leaving the grand sky, and try and post process the image to brighten the image a bit, and lighten and darken select areas to bring out the drama in the clouds.

[ShaneS]

And so many of the folks here are jealous about the golden sand bit...

For some time I have been looking for foreground features other than plain golden sand or mangroves and they seem pretty rare in the accessible areas reasonably close to me. If I'm lucky enough to find a washed up tree trunk they always seem to be at the wrong angle as well.

...but I completely understand The sandy seascape seems to be the one shot that can become quite formulaic and everyone seems to snap them so finding something different can be a challenge.

I like your idea of scouting out the areas though and have been doing a bit of that myself lately.

[Stagecoach]

I like the composition of the 2nd shot, Grahame. My only suggestion - for a variation - would be to get up earlier and shoot it at sunrise.

Thank you John, yes my plan now is to get to the location prior to sunrise, all prepared with an idea of compositions. From my limited experience of pre sunrise shots here shooting time is limited somewhat and I'm not programmed too well for 4 am starts in the morning

[Stagecoach]

Looks like an excellent location to explore expanding your vision through multiple views Grahame. I feel there is a point somewhere between the location of the first two shots that could be magical.

Thanks Frank, I'll see if I can find that magic

[Stagecoach]

Hi Grahame,

Nice images. I don't have any useful advice to offer (as I'm still struggling with my own landscapes) except for my personal opinion/preferences.

I especially like the 2nd image for the beautiful composition. I love the way the rocks and the clouds both lead to the island on the horizon. If it were my image I would crop it below the first set of rocks in the foreground, leaving the grand sky, and try and post process the image to brighten the image a bit, and lighten and darken select areas to bring out the drama in the clouds.

Hi Christina, I too find it a struggle but very much fun which is the important thing. What I do find a challenge is that whilst my bug shots all have very minimal PP and I can generally compose them as I want without cropping my vision is not the same with land/seascapes and I do not yet recognise what can be achieved in PP which seems so important with them.

I'll have a go at the mods you suggest, which will be good practice for me.

Grahame