Ruby Beach Reflections
by Vance Gese
Haven't been around much on NPN for the last several months and for that I apologize. Have really been questioning where I want to take my work, what it means, and other such nonsense that I can't seem to articulate very well. I'm sure everyone on NPN has gone through similar periods at some time in their artistic endeavors. Enough of that boloney.
My wife and I spent a week camping along the Olympic coast at Kalaloch Beach in July. This is an image made one evening at Ruby Beach. The sun broke through the clouds for a brief period at dusk illuminating these Sitka Spruce trees reflected in a pond just behind the beach. Was really quite amazing. Would appreciate any and all feedback on this image.
I did have to clone out the 7 or 8 people as well as their tripods and packs that were scattered about the logs on the far side of the pond. Hopefully there isn't an errant leg or head still visible somewhere. Was neat seeing other folks enjoying the beautiful sunset this evening and I'm sure many came away with some wonderful pictures. Their presence, though, was a little distracting in my image; hence the cloning work.
4x5, 210mm, Provia100F, 2 stop GND filter,warm polarizer. Flatbed scan, Tony Kuyper's always remarkable masking techniques.
Large image is a bit better.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions and comments.
Comments
28 commentsI've been going through a similar phase for months but I believe its not such a bad thing. Sometimes we just have to reboot.
It looks dramatic, but I would tone down the reds and work on the upper half. The real sky needs some contrast and the same clarity as the reflection.
I resemble this remark to a "T".
--P
I have been there too with my photography...and all in recent months. I'm looking forward to a fall color trip and trying to get a grip on things. Cheers...
Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI
Keep on Shooting
Amen!
Re stagnation, I think it hits all. But I thought of an article written by Mike Stacey about that thinking stuff ...!!
This is very pretty, sublime, and peaceful. I also see God's handiwork in images like this. It's a privilege to witness and photograph scenes like this.
There are a lot of intersecting lines on the left side of the image where the logs in the water intersect with the tree reflections. It competes a bit with the right side of the image, but it's not too much IMO.
Good job cloning out the other photographers. I didn't notice any remnants. People can definitely get in the way of shooting sometimes.
Photography, as the fox says "Some days chicken, some days feathers". Stupid saying.
Photography is a means to meet hot chicks. Duh.
On to brighter things though, like your beautiful coastal image. A wonderful scene, I love the reflecting pool and I recall the tremendous amount of driftwood and logs on these Olympic beaches.
I do want to touch on what others have, but perhaps from a different angle. Hard to say if the reds are too red in the trees, that's always a matter of taste. To me though, it looks like there was too much shadow recovery going on in the trees. Not saying you tried to bring out the shadows, but that's how it's looking to me. Compared to the nice darks and contrast in the reflection (someone mentioned the sky, but I think the trees is what needs some tweaking. But then as I've thought about it, there are other factors too, like the sea mist, which becomes more apparent the further you get down the beach. I dunno... but if it were mine, I might drop the darkest darks a little bit in the trees.
Thanks for posting!
Lon
That is some gorgeous light, and a wonderful composition. I have no issues with this. Love it just the way it is.
Chris
Thanks again.
Gary.