Seascapes 3

[Stagecoach]

Having had a 4 am start today and arriving at this location for another go the heavens opened so back home it was. As the sky cleared in the afternoon I could not resist a pre sunset attempt at the same spot so off I went.

No rain but the wind was strong and now I have decided this location is for mornings only at this time of year.

Here's a couple of my attempts, not so appealing with the tide right out. Both taken with an ND and GND.

No 1 - 0.5s, f/29, 18mm, ISO200, 10-20mm lens


No 2 - 1.3s, f/22, 18mm, ISO200, 10-20mm lens


I liked No 2 because of the light reflection in the foreground but feel with both of these they are a bit 'messy' in the foregrounds. Perhaps its time to start trying with a longer focal length here which will also increase the size of the island in the frame.

Comments and suggestions welcome as always.

Grahame

[terrib]

I actually like the second shot best too because of the overall colors and the interest in the very bottom foreground but I am a bit confused about what I'm looking at in the dark areas of the foreground. I can't tell if that is distant rocks the waves are crashing against or if all this is up close. I'm sure it's one of those optical illusions that my brain is not comprehending and once you tell me it will be obvious.

[Mike Buckley]

I would like the second one quite a lot if the bottom was cropped to remove the reflection of the orange clouds.

[Stagecoach]

I actually like the second shot best too because of the overall colors and the interest in the very bottom foreground but I am a bit confused about what I'm looking at in the dark areas of the foreground. I can't tell if that is distant rocks the waves are crashing against or if all this is up close. I'm sure it's one of those optical illusions that my brain is not comprehending and once you tell me it will be obvious.

Terri, this is a larva plateau and what you are seeing in the foreground is the top of it up close and this section being quite level has retained the still water with little movement.

[Stagecoach]

I would like the second one quite a lot if the bottom was cropped to remove the reflection of the orange clouds.

Here's a version with the reflections cropped and a bit off the left side to balance things Mike. This brings the horizon more central and unfortunately there's no more sky on the original, not sure about it.



Grahame

[bnnrcn]

Hi Grahame, I like #2 and I agree with Mike

[bnnrcn]

The crop works fine Grahame. While I was looking at the image and writing my post above, you uploaded the crop already

[Brownbear]

Hi Grahame,

I like the 2nd image cropped as suggested by Mike. The horizon works for me, as do the gorgeous clouds (light)

[Mike Buckley]

At the risk of patting myself on my back, I really like that crop. If you're concerned about the horizon, I would continue by cropping at the top to place it dead center. I would be willing to bet that that's what you were trying to avoid, by that's what makes it for me.

[Stagecoach]

The crop works fine Grahame. While I was looking at the image and writing my post above, you uploaded the crop already

Thanks Binnur, I'm still liking No 2 for two entirely different reasons.

Hi Grahame,

I like the 2nd image cropped as suggested by Mike. The horizon works for me, as do the gorgeous clouds (light)

Thank you Christina, you can't beat pinky orange fluffy clouds.

At the risk of patting myself on my back, I really like that crop. If you're concerned about the horizon, I would continue by cropping at the top to place it dead center. I would be willing to bet that that's what you were trying to avoid, by that's what makes it for me.

Mike I agree that crop has improved it but the more I look at the image the more options I see that I missed which is what this present project is all about.

One area I like in this image is the action in the water and I feel I should have made the crashing waves more prominent within the scene. This could have been accomplished by getting closer, increasing speed to freeze more action by removing the ND, upping the ISO and opening up to around f/11.

This is now my second serious attempt at this location, sunrise and sunset and I'll be back at pre sunrise as soon as my 'coral leg' adaptors are finished for the tripod.

I find it quite interesting, challenging and encouraging that so many variations of the same scene are available depending on time of day and weather. It also gives a good supply of images to practice my PP with.

Grahame

[Mike Buckley]

One area I like in this image is the action in the water and I feel I should have made the crashing waves more prominent within the scene. This could have been accomplished by getting closer, increasing speed to freeze more action by removing the ND, upping the ISO and opening up to around f/11.

Just the opposite, I think you made the action apparent by not stopping it.

When I'm photographing moving water, I stop the action if it is really powerful. If it is tranquil, I use a slower shutter speed that shows the motion. I wasn't at the scene when you photographed it, but everything about the mood in your photograph tells me that the waves weren't huge and powerful. So, I really like the shutter speed that you used.

[ShaneS]

Now I'm late to the party...

I like the latest version of your second shot and think that you got the shutter speed just right I wonder if on one of your future trips you might consider turning the camera to the left so that the island is centered. This would look nice with or without a centered horizon IMHO.

There has been a lot of attention paid to the second image but I think that the coloring of the sky and water is really pretty in the first. I love the action of the receding water in the lower right but think that the shot might have worked better had the wave not been breaking mid-ground. Also is the dark area across the top due to one of your filters or natural?

Capturing and processing these early morning shots is a lot harder than it looks so I give you credit for finding a good balance between light and shadow.

[Stagecoach]

Hi Shane,

Now I'm late to the party...

I like the latest version of your second shot and think that you got the shutter speed just right I wonder if on one of your future trips you might consider turning the camera to the left so that the island is centered. This would look nice with or without a centered horizon IMHO.

Ok, I'll persevere with these shutter speeds as I was not after freezing or making totally smooth

I'll put the Island central on some next trip, this time I had consciously off centred it. Going reasonably wide with this scene gives good scope for cropping the horizon in post.

There has been a lot of attention paid to the second image but I think that the coloring of the sky and water is really pretty in the first. I love the action of the receding water in the lower right but think that the shot might have worked better had the wave not been breaking mid-ground. Also is the dark area across the top due to one of your filters or natural?

Interesting comment. I have had a look at the RAW files and on No 1 I left the WB as shot 6400K, camera was on auto WB. On No 2 I had adjusted the WB in post (I recall by the Auto option) to 7000K. The shots were taken within a very short time of one another so colouring changes are primarily due to WB as I did not touch the colours otherwise apart from minor saturation increase.

My practice has been to use timed shutter and this has given me little control over water action so I think it's time to change to manual press. Not sure it's worth worrying about mirror up, it's not as if there's any real fine detail in the scenes.

The dark area primarily at the top corners only happened in this image and it is the only one I shot at f/29 and the only time I have ever used minimum aperture with this lens. The reason I did was to assist slowing the speed but in hindsight I could of dropped my ISO below base to partly assist. I'll undertake some tests but I'm pretty sure it's due to aperture/focal length with this 10-20mm Sigma. I was unable to fix it in post and that image is cropped significantly at the top.

Capturing and processing these early morning shots is a lot harder than it looks so I give you credit for finding a good balance between light and shadow.

These were far easier to process than the last set because this time I ensured my GND was positioned correctly.

For exposure I'm using manual and matrix metering which is pretty spot on with minor changes based on the histograms and a glance at the blinkies if unsure.

I'm all set for my next morning trip to the location, which means rising at 4 am to look at the weather and now have an excellent set of sea/rock legs for my tripod I'm dying to try out

Grahame

[IzzieK]

Also late to the party here...but like Shane, I love #1 very much because of the mood of the shot. I do not like frozen and smoothed water at all because most of those I have seen lately are too overly smooth and doesn't look natural. Having lived in countries (apart from here) where the sea is just a walk accessible, I find #1's water more natural looking, even #2. The colouring of the sky in #2 is very nice, but I still prefer #1.

Seeing you said you put your camera on a timer, will you be able to wet your feet and put a human element to your shot with you looking out towards the sea....? Just asking...I suppose you can, but will you?

[Shadowman]

Very nice captures, I like the contrasting tones of both.

[Stagecoach]

Hi Izzie,

Thank you for the kind comments, I'm going to have a rework of No 1 to see if I can improve on it. As for the look of the seas it's surprising the difference that can be made by varying speeds and it affects the mood of the entire image. One of the problems I find here is that there is very little natural rock or outcrop like this around to give the foreground interest and I do not want to do plain sand.

I'll see what I can do about a 'selfie' but what I do find is that the time available during these sessions is very short and you are working quite fast to get a reasonable selection of shots to make the driving time worthwhile.

Grahame

[Stagecoach]

Very nice captures, I like the contrasting tones of both.

Thank you John, yes it's the ideal time for playing with the colours with the WB to set the mood.

[Mike Buckley]

Not sure it's worth worrying about mirror up, it's not as if there's any real fine detail in the scenes.

My biggest problem with using the mirror up in a scene like this is that I can't use Live View, look in the view finder or take a fast burst of shots to catch the exact position I want of the waves within the frame.

[ShaneS]

Grahame;

That is quite a difference in the tone of the image for a few minutes and the change in white balance. Thank you for the explanation of the dark portion and your theory on why it happened.

As far as mirror up vs. timer goes I almost always use my remote when shooting scenes like these. I also try to watch the wave action for a bit to get a feel for the timing of the shot to catch the wave action that I want. Still, it is always a bit hit and miss and I don't really think that mirror up would really help. I also haven't used live view much in these scenes and think that would be more a personal preference - I tend to use live view for more focus critical work (smaller scenes) or if I am in a physical position that makes looking through the viewfinder difficult.

I will look forward to seeing your rework of the first image.