Bracelet Bay

[Rebel]

The weather is still terrible, although there is hope for tomorrow

Anyway, I had to get out of the house as I felt cabin fever coming on!

I headed for one of my favourite little bay's in Mumbles, which is a suburb of Swansea and a very nice place.

Not my usual style by any means:

[rtbaum]

Isn't it ironic that the worse the weather, the better the photo. Good job capturing the moment.

[Brownbear]

Gorgeous image, beautifully composed. I find the warm tones on the rocks in the foreground interesting.

[Wavelength]

Excellent

[mknittle]

Beautiful image Matt

[Geoff F]

Despite the conditions you have some nice crisp surf there. Looks good, although the clouds seem a fraction on the noisy side. I think I would try a bit of selectively applied extra noise reduction on them?

[Rebel]

Thanks all.

Despite the conditions you have some nice crisp surf there. Looks good, although the clouds seem a fraction on the noisy side. I think I would try a bit of selectively applied extra noise reduction on them?

I had to bump the ISO up to 2500 to set a high enough shutter speed to freeze the waves as I wanted, I am working on a less noisy version

[bnnrcn]

Very nice composition Matt

[Shadowman]

The only problem with bad weather is heavy winds and uncontrollable moisture on the gear, otherwise its a shooters delight if you can capture enough of its glory. You've done well here as usual.

[Ndukes]

I like it Matt. Very nice especially given the weather conditions these days. You have captured it well.

[Donald]

Like others, I like it.

I'd be tempted to do a slight, subtle, bit of dodging on the lighthouse, just to lighten it up a bit and provide a focal point to help take our eyes to the back of the scene. Just a thought.

[IzzieK]

I am with Donald here...I noticed the lighthouse too and agree for it to be lightened up a bit as a break to the scene.

[JohnRostron]

Like others, I like it.

I'd be tempted to do a slight, subtle, bit of dodging on the lighthouse, just to lighten it up a bit and provide a focal point to help take our eyes to the back of the scene. Just a thought.

I am with Donald here...I noticed the lighthouse too and agree for it to be lightened up a bit as a break to the scene.

I must disagree. If Izzie did notice the lighthouse, then it does not really need anything done to attract your attention to it. I see the lighthouse as an incidental feature. OK it is there; it is part of the scenery; but it is not really part of the composition.

John

[Donald]

OK it is there; it is part of the scenery; but it is not really part of the composition.

You might disagree with my suggestion, John, but you can't say it's not part of the composition. If it's in the frame, it's part of the composition. Everything in a frame should be there for a reason. If it doesn't have a purpose in the composition, it shouldn't be there.

[Shadowman]

I think the lighthouse fits well within the composition, in fact you could crop this image in half (keeping the left side intact) present in portrait mode and the light house fits well with the stormy seas.

[Sam W]

Hi Matt - This is another awesome photo. I was wondering if you were seeing a purple hue in the upper vignetting? It may be my uncalibrated monitor. If it is there, you might consider adjusting it more toward the color in the central part of the sky. I like how your framed the image. I saw the lighthouse right away.

[JohnRostron]

You might disagree with my suggestion, John, but you can't say it's not part of the composition. If it's in the frame, it's part of the composition.

This is a moot point. I would argue that if the photographer was consciously aware of the lighthouse and decided to include it, then this was part of the composition. If, however, he did not notice it at the time of taking the picture, then it was not part of the composition. Only Matt can answer that. I suspect that he was aware of the lighthouse because he was familiar with the site.

Everything in a frame should be there for a reason. If it doesn't have a purpose in the composition, it shouldn't be there.

That is easier said than done. Large objects like lighthouses tend to stay there whether or not you think your composition would benefit from them!

Just my opinion!

John

[Donald]

I would argue that if the photographer was consciously aware of the lighthouse and decided to include it, then this was part of the composition. If, however, he did not notice it at the time of taking the picture, then it was not part of the composition.

One of the basic lessons of composition is to know what is in your frame. How often do we tell people to look round the edges before you press the shutter? The common mistake of the snap-shooter or person starting out in photography, is to concentrate on the main subject and not be aware of what's in the background. I suggest that Matt is far too experienced and good a photographer to make that very basic error.

But I'd have to take issue with your thinking that if he didn't notice it it's not part of the composition. It is, because it's in the picture.

That is easier said than done. Large objects like lighthouses tend to stay there whether or not you think your composition would benefit from them!

If you don't want them in your picture, then you don't include them. I'm sorry, John, but to suggest something is in the frame just because it happens to be there whilst you're actually trying to photograph something else, is not artistic composition. I don't think it's helpful to people perhaps starting out to leave them with the impression that having something in the frame just because something else looks nice and the object in question just happens to be in the way, is an acceptable approach to composing an image.

[Rebel]

Thanks for the feedback / views everyone!

As it happens, I was planning on brightening up the lighthouse to make it more visible. It looks as if it has generated some good debate which I will read through later when I have a bit more time... I'm off to watch the football now