Seascapes - Early Morning

[Stagecoach]

Here's a couple from today's early shoot at the location I scouted out earlier this week. Arriving 1/2 hour before the slightest bit of light the weather did not appear too promising but then that first small bit of clear sky and eventually the pink appeared.

No 1 - 15s, f/11, ISO200, 10mm


No 2 - 2.5s, f/22, ISO200, 14mm


Whilst I came away with a number of shots I'm pleased with I have an even greater number that are not sharp enough to use and have not yet diagnosed the reason why. I'm suspecting tripod movement, rubber feet on slippery wet surface but also need to check on focus distance/aperture of all the bad ones. I have never managed so many OOF shots during early morning long exposures before.

I did not use an ND filter this time just the GND filter as I have found out I get the red cast on the upper corners when both are used together. Intentions were also not to smooth the water too much but to try and show movement.

The PP work for these I'm finding quite challenging and trying not to overdo it, but learning and practice is what it's all about

Comments and suggestions welcome as always.

Grahame

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured.

[Brownbear]

Hi Grahame,

I especially love the 2nd image for the gorgeous sky and water, and beautiful composition. Absolutely gorgeous!

Thank you as always for sharing the details. Very helpful to read.

[ShaneS]

Grahame;

I really like #2 but have a question for you...if you shot it at 14mm you must have more to the left/right that you cropped out to get the aspect ratio shown? If so, I would really love to see a wide version particularly more to the left so so the water meets the rock in the lower right hand corner.

It is a beautiful scene with lovely muted colors and I think that you got the amount of movement in the water just right with your 2.5 second exposure.

So sorry about your focusing issues and I hope that you sort it out before your next shoot.

[nikon66]

Wow, beautifully done, long shutter speed, good though.
Beautifully done.

[Stagecoach]

Nicely captured.

Thank you John

[Stagecoach]

Hi Grahame,

I especially love the 2nd image for the gorgeous sky and water, and beautiful composition. Absolutely gorgeous!

Thank you as always for sharing the details. Very helpful to read.

Hi Christina,

No 2 is my favourite so far from the bunch, mainly due to the colours and water movement but there's something that nags me about the sky colour not seeming to match with the water colour, a PP re-visit is on the cards.

My target now is to sort just a few and spend more time with the PP work, try and think what I could have improved with them and plan the next outing to the location.

Grahame

[Stagecoach]

Grahame;

I really like #2 but have a question for you...if you shot it at 14mm you must have more to the left/right that you cropped out to get the aspect ratio shown? If so, I would really love to see a wide version particularly more to the left so so the water meets the rock in the lower right hand corner.

It is a beautiful scene with lovely muted colors and I think that you got the amount of movement in the water just right with your 2.5 second exposure.

So sorry about your focusing issues and I hope that you sort it out before your next shoot.

Hi Shane,

I have checked the original and there is no cropping on it other than very minimal horizon correction. The perspective may be due to the fact that I did not have the camera real low but angled slightly down to limit the sky area.

A wide version is a possibility by just cropping the bottom so the rocks meet at the left and right corners but it will then put the horizon on the centre plus lose some of the action but may be feasible? I must condition myself to start thinking more about composition on site, quality rather than quantity

Speeds of around 1 to 3 seconds seem to retain a reasonable bit of movement and it's quite noticeable how the swells start building up soon after sunrise.

Having investigated the fuzzy images further I'm convinced tripod movement, there was nothing unusual with settings.

Grahame

[Stagecoach]

Wow, beautifully done, long shutter speed, good though.
Beautifully done.

Thanks Steven, it's an area where some further experimentation with shutter speeds is on the cards.

[bnnrcn]

Hi Grahame , super images I don't know why everybody likes only #2 but I like them both.

IMO rocks are a bit too much in the FG in #1, so I would crop to the end of the little curve on the lower right side. I loved the colours .

I like the composition in #2 as it is . I would actually make the colours look stronger and more vibrant but it is just personal preference. I'm reading a book about landscape photography and the author has very very colouful images in the book. I also watch some videos about landscape photography and filters from time to time and people try to make the colours really vibrant and strong in those videos. May be I'm impressed by those images and that's why I find the colours in #2 a bit pale

[ShaneS]

Grahame; Oh, if I had a dollar for every time I got home and said this to myself!

I must condition myself to start thinking more about composition on site, quality rather than quantity

I moved it around in the light box a bit and I wonder if you would get that pano effect by cropping out even more of the sky so you just see the row of fluffier clouds and none of the grey/pink at the top? For some reason I like that better that cropping off what you refer to as the 'action' and then the fact that the water doesn't meet the rocks as I first suggested doesn't seem as important to the composition. Sorry to be wishy washy...I only wish I could see things clearing the first time around but it takes me a while sometimes

This is an interesting exercise in thinking about a scene and I hope that you don't mind a little brainstorming over your image and the various possibilities.

[Brownbear]

Hi Grahame,

I love the image as is and the colours seem perfectly beautiful and natural as is. Perhaps I have yet to see pink water in real life. I also love the image with the crop as suggested by Shane for more emphasis on the water and the prettiest line of clouds which make a border.

FYI I like the 1st image (with less sky) but I'm in love with the colours and the water in the 2nd image (a wall hanger for me).

[Stagecoach]

Hi Grahame , super images I don't know why everybody likes only #2 but I like them both.

IMO rocks are a bit too much in the FG in #1, so I would crop to the end of the little curve on the lower right side. I loved the colours .

I like the composition in #2 as it is . I would actually make the colours look stronger and more vibrant but it is just personal preference. I'm reading a book about landscape photography and the author has very very colouful images in the book. I also watch some videos about landscape photography and filters from time to time and people try to make the colours really vibrant and strong in those videos. May be I'm impressed by those images and that's why I find the colours in #2 a bit pale

Hi Binnur, I fully agree about the need for cropping some of the rocks in No 1, there's too much of them with little interest. Cropping as you suggest leads the eye more from the left bottom corner along the water channel up towards the brighter top right. I'm going to redo this one and also get rid of some of the blue cast, a bit too much

I am very wary of pushing colours too much, not just because that is not how it was but I consider it can affect the mood which was a cool still very early morning awaiting that first bit of warmth from the sun which is what I wanted to capture. As you say it's very much down to personal preference, but it's good when you have an image that you can treat in different ways.

Grahame

[FootLoose]

I think these are two excellent captures, Grahame. The light in the first one is spell-binding, and I love the subtle wave motion around the rocks out in the the water. I would be tempted to make a large crop on this one, to focus attention more on those rocks and the beautiful dawn horizon. Maybe a cut just above the large hole in the rock towards the lower left of frame. That probably shatters guiding ideas about centres and horizons etc, but the people who proposed those principles didn't see this photo.

In the second shot, I like the way that big flat S-curve along the shoreline leads the eye out to the horizon. I think you have achieved your aim with soft water - just right for my tastes. The only nit-picky issue I have with the sky is the fault of nature, not the photographer. The sky changes rapidly from a very pale colour to blue above the cloud. The clouds have blocked the transitional zone. I think the solution to make it look more "natural" is to add a teensie bit of contrast to the bright area just below the cloud, just to add a little bit more colour and detail in there - probably with a gradient filter.

I look forward to more of your photos from this area, Grahame. Every dawn is different.

[Stagecoach]

I think these are two excellent captures, Grahame. The light in the first one is spell-binding, and I love the subtle wave motion around the rocks out in the the water. I would be tempted to make a large crop on this one, to focus attention more on those rocks and the beautiful dawn horizon. Maybe a cut just above the large hole in the rock towards the lower left of frame. That probably shatters guiding ideas about centres and horizons etc, but the people who proposed those principles didn't see this photo.

In the second shot, I like the way that big flat S-curve along the shoreline leads the eye out to the horizon. I think you have achieved your aim with soft water - just right for my tastes. The only nit-picky issue I have with the sky is the fault of nature, not the photographer. The sky changes rapidly from a very pale colour to blue above the cloud. The clouds have blocked the transitional zone. I think the solution to make it look more "natural" is to add a teensie bit of contrast to the bright area just below the cloud, just to add a little bit more colour and detail in there - probably with a gradient filter.

I look forward to more of your photos from this area, Grahame. Every dawn is different.

Greg, thank you for the comprehensive comments of which I fully agree with. I'm going to restart these two from scratch as having just done an 'Auto' in ACR (just to see what it came up with) my immediate reaction was that I'm not spending enough time in ACR getting things to my liking, or more simply determining what I can achieve in ACR.

I'll work on these today taking note of all the help so far.

Grahame

[NorthernFocus]

A couple of lovely scenes, Grahame. As you mention I'd spend a bit of time playing around in PP to try different levels of lighting on the rocks and poking around to bring out the most of the colors in the sky. Nicely done.

[deetheturk]

Very nice Grahame, I like both images and would have been more than happy if any of them were mine!

Well done bud, David

[IzzieK]

Grahame...I like both.... I love the PP of the filtered skies. I also like that you got that heart shape on the rock (LHS)in the first shot though...Oh NO!!! Mickey Mouse left his mark when he visited that place!!!

[Stagecoach]

A couple of lovely scenes, Grahame. As you mention I'd spend a bit of time playing around in PP to try different levels of lighting on the rocks and poking around to bring out the most of the colors in the sky. Nicely done.

Thank you Dan, playing around with PP is where I'm struggling simply because there are just so many options available. Bugs and critters are so easy to do, I have a long learning curve coming with these.

[Stagecoach]

Very nice Grahame, I like both images and would have been more than happy if any of them were mine!

Well done bud, David

Cheers David, I have to admit I'm pleased with these and can already feel another 4 am start is on the cards in a few days.

Grahame