The Wild Pacific

"The Wild Pacific" ... an oxymoron for sure. The Pacific looks quite pacific here. I like the image, but I think it would work better cropped from the top to a 4x5 format placing the horizon off-center vertically.

I really like those "half" sunstars you get as the sun hits the horizon. The comp sets up nicely here Carey, although I like the crop idea, but for my eye I would like to see the photo much darker away from the sun; less HDR like. That would look more like what I would expect to see with my eye when the sun was at that location.

Thanks for your response Jim. I have to say I anticipated some feedback regarding the near 50/50 split of the horizon so I played around with different crops before posting.Here's the 4x5 one you suggested. My preference is still for the original as I liked the drama in the sky and didn't want to cut any of it out but I do appreciate hearing your and others opinions on which looks better.

Thanks John, I did boost the shadows here somewhat in post to get a more HDR look. I took several images of this scene as the sun was going down which I haven't processed yet so perhaps I will do one with a more natural look and post it in the future.

The repost is a distinct improvement IMHO. I think that there is plenty of drama in the remaining sky, and the benefits outweigh the cost.

I totally agree with Jim here. The repost is much better.

Thanks Jim for taking the time again. I agree there still is some drama in the sky. I guess it's just that I had grown accustomed to seeing it in the original version in the months since I took the shot which made me prefer that version but the new look is starting to grow on me.

Thanks Gary for weighing in as well.