Sea Foam Streaks

Gallery: LandscapePosted October 2, 2013192 views10 comments

A long exposure blurs sea foam as a wave recedes back to sea in Ecola State Park on the northern Oregon coast. The scenery is amazing there, but a low cloud ceiling blocked almost everything from view, so I concentrated on what I could see. When I found these black rocks in the sand I envisioned them being the only static objects in an image of movement. The hardest part was keeping the tripod steady as the rushing water cut the sand out from under the legs, something i'm sure you're all familiar with. I'm interested if it works for you all, and any critiques are welcome.

Canon 5d Mark ii, 16-35mm lens, 8 seconds at f/11, ISO 200, Gitzo tripod

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on October 2, 2013 at 12:33 PM

Well thought out. As a technique, good; just not visually interesting (to me).

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Reid on October 2, 2013 at 2:15 PM

Nice streaking and tones in this Thomas. I wish the rocks were bigger but very nice as is.

Registered on January 27, 2013, 65 Posts, 2460 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on October 2, 2013 at 2:40 PM

Love the sense of motion in the large version. The vertical lines work really well. A real nice abstract.

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by Genny K. on October 2, 2013 at 3:02 PM

I like it. It definitely conveys the motion, and I like the colors. Yes, it might be even better with bigger rocks, but I like it as is.

Registered on June 5, 2006, 132 Posts, 2001 Comments

Comment posted by Grant Collier on October 2, 2013 at 4:59 PM

I like it! It's a little different than most shots you see. I might like to see the streaks of water a tad bit sharper or more clearly defined, maybe with something like the Clarity slider.

Registered on July 29, 2005, 73 Posts, 430 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on October 2, 2013 at 6:43 PM

Interesting and nicely done. A bit more contrast might add to the drama.

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Sanjay Sundaram on October 2, 2013 at 10:48 PM

That's very nice Thomas! I like your comp and the abstract nature of the shot. I think a slightly shorter exposure may have kept more texture in the water and adding more clarity to the foam. I like your originality in the shot. Nicely done!

Sanjay

Registered on April 9, 2013, 107 Posts, 725 Comments

Comment posted by Thomas Haney on October 3, 2013 at 10:28 AM

Thanks for the feedback you all. It seems the general consensus matches how I feel about the photo, in that I like it but it isn't quite "there". I tried upping the contrast and clarity, but in the end I tried increasing the blacks to get more separation between the foam streaks and sand, and I think it's an improvement.

Registered on April 7, 2013, 138 Posts, 537 Comments

Comment posted by Bob Miller on October 3, 2013 at 6:05 PM

Nice. I like the lines and movement. The color is pleasing too.

Registered on January 24, 2005, 152 Posts, 405 Comments

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on October 4, 2013 at 2:38 AM

this sort of abstraction hangs very much on having a perfect composition - i like the flow here but feel that if it were centred it'd be even better and you might think about the distribution of your rocks carefully.

Registered on December 7, 2007, 247 Posts, 4792 Comments