Nikon D7100, f20, .8s, ISO 100 40mm (16-85)
The cove at Dana Point, taken at sundown, the sun behind the bluff. Had to open up shadows and exposure in LR to get the surf highlights at an excetpable level. Would welcome any comments on the result. The cove was at high tide and some waves were crashing pretty strong close to my somewhat protected setup next to a stairway leading down to the beach. Trying to capture an intimate image of the continual interplay and flow between the waves,surf, rocks and sand. Took a lot of shots at this and will post a few more to see what you think. Would like to try for a similar image with better light, maybe during the winter months when the sun goes down south of the point. Thanks for looking.
Comments
7 commentsI like your chosen sutter speed Stephan. It compliment the golden light on the water. I think eliminating the cliff at the top and rock face on the right would really accentuate the beautiful light on the water, sand , and pebbles.
Stephen, this site has some real potential IMO looking at this with high tide and low light. As this is posted I agree about eliminating the protruding rock area on the right. I really like the shutterspeed for the wave action. For me the interest is really from the point area leading back toward the FG larger rocks. That to me makes a very nice scene.
Stephen, This looks like a great location and I very much enjoy the mood this image has. The water looks great as is and probably a longer shutter speed would also work very nice here. As it is you captured the waves very nicely. I do agree that the far right side foreground rock takes away from the nice feel of the image. A comp without that would be quite pleasing I think. You may not have been able to do that because of the rushing water drowning your equipment..
Nick Bristol Lone Rock, WI
Thanks for the comments and crop recommendations, I eliminated the rock column from the right side of the image. I must have thought that this element would make a good frame for the right side of the image. But after the suggestiions, and a second look, I feel that it distracts from the main subjects of wave, surf and beach. I appreciate the feedback. Cool rock profile on the point, right? Some say a man's face, others say a lion's.
I really like what's going on with the water and the larger foreground rocks. The dark mass on the right and the size of the background cliff take away from the rocks and the water, which are the stars of the show.
Stephen, you're not locked into a particular frame. A trick I used when viewing 4x5 negs on the light table was two L-shaped pieces of matte board that I could use to form a rectangle. I could adjust them to see what the crop would look like. You could do a similar thing on a computer screen.
---I just looked at you repost. It's much better, in my opinion. I do like the glow on the water and the action of the waves.
--P
Stephen, I like the view and your ss choice really shows the action in the surf and backwash well. I agree with the others about the nice glow in the water. The repost, without the heavy wall at the right is a good improvement. I'm wondering if you could safely have moved a few feet to your left as that might let you include the full arc of the swash zone while excluding the cliff.
This is a cool wave image, Stephen. The repost works much better but the top of the foreground wall is still visible and somewhat distracting. I think this area as tons of potential, hope you get back to give it another try.