Recommendations on seascapes

[ClaudioG]

So..im puttin images of my 1st attempt at seascapes from last year here. i would seriously appreciate some help and advice on seascapes for sunsets and sunrises.

The reason i ask is that i am going to the coast again in February and would like o be better prepared.

I just got the 10-24 tamron lens for my nikon d5100 for a bargain. i know its not greatest lens but i got it at a steal...i have a polarizer and some filters

Sunrise is at sea here and sunset inland...can i get any advice from you? here are some images from last year and hopefully seeing them will you to help me improve .

Thank you in advance












What im looking for is better composition ideas...less PP and basically sharper images..although i did use my 18-55 kit lens here most the time...and hoping the 10-24mm tamron is a little step up

[Mark von Kanel]

You could try some silhouette work on larger rocks, ive had some pleasing results with that sort of thing
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[Shadowman]

From what I can tell from these images sharpness isn't an issue. Moving towards the 10-24mm lens you'll already have to make different composition choices; as the UWA will require you to get closer to your subject for obtaining foreground interest. Try adding more leading lines, lower your angle of shooting, and remember that with an UWA lens your horizon line will now be less prominent. Try comparing some horizon shots with your 18-55mm lens at both ends of the focal range and see what is needed to make your compositions more interesting.

[Mike Buckley]

Your images are so nice that I would be very proud to have made any of them. The only thing I can recommend is that you view lots of seascapes to determine the characteristics that you admire with an eye for including the same characteristics in your own images.

Sharpness is also not an issue for me at least at the small sizes displayed here.

[NorthernFocus]

My only advice is to keep shooting. Nice set and look forward to what you do in round 2. The only one of this set that I'm not keen on is the second. It simply doesn't have any real defining characteristics. All of the others are excellent. No doubt other more versed in landscape than I am will have some suggested tweaks. But IMO you should simply go back and do more of the same.

[dje]

Nice set Claudio, I particularly like number 4 for the composition and light. I'm at odds with some of the others in that I think the images could do to be a bit sharper. I notice that you have used f/16 for all of these. This may have been deliberate on your part to slow down the shutter but at f/16 on a crop camera, diffraction will start to cause some softness. The alternative is to get an ND filter which will then allow the use of a larger aperture - say f/8 or f/11 which should give sharper results. Judicious use of sharpening in pp is also important of course.

Also pay careful attention to what you focus on, consistent with the sort of DOF you will get for a particular aperture.

Dave

[Mike Buckley]

I've gotta disagree about the diffraction issue. Any diffraction can easily be overcome with sharpening during post-processing when viewing the image at a distance that is reasonable relative to the size of the print or the display on a monitor.

[dje]

I've gotta disagree about the diffraction issue. Any diffraction can easily be overcome with sharpening during post-processing when viewing the image at a distance that is reasonable relative to the size of the print or the display on a monitor.

Mike we might have to agree to disagree on this !

I did acknowledge above that sharpening was important and also the latest techniques such as de-convolution sharpening are quite good at compensating for diffraction blur if applied well. However I like to get the images as sharp as possible before pp and minimise the possibility of sharpening artefacts. Viewing conditions are important but to me, the above images look a little soft on my 24" monitor at normal viewing distance and un-magnified.

Dave

[Brownbear]

Hi Claudio,

A beautiful set! I'm in especially in love with the 2nd image... the light on the sand in the foreground leading to the misty water is just extraordinary!

[Stagecoach]

Hi Claudio,

Hopefully you are going to be as pleased with that new Tamron 10-24 as I have been since recently purchasing the Tamron 28-75 and the 70-300.

The first thing that struck me with all these images was apparent softness but looking at them more closely I'm not sure. Whilst I try and use somewhere near f/11 on whatever lens I'm using for this type of scene many I have taken at f/16-f/22 to assist with water smoothing but have never had any concern regarding diffraction when viewed at these resolutions or had to apply what I would consider additional sharpening from my 'standard'.

Composition wise, you have done a good job with these although No 2 lacks a bit and all I can really suggest is that with the 10-24mm get closer to the rocks and ensure your focusing is going to get them sharp. To do this may mean your tripod is in wet sand and this is not too stable for long exposures so beware.

I have found that many (most) of my seascapes similar to these have been taken with the sun even if under the horizon being out of frame.

Keep shooting, you will soon find what you prefer most of all.

Grahame