Changing Tides +2vts

Igor, I'm loving this one! What a great looking landscape scene and I'm really glad you rushed to get it while the sun was still on the mountains. Wouldn't be quite the same without it. The blue tones are wonderful and very appealing to me. This comp with all the foreground ripples throughout the sand adds so much interest and I'm really enjoying that look. I never realized there was so much difference in detail by clicking on the black arrow instead of just clicking on the image for a larger view until I read one of your recent comments. At least it sure seems to make a difference when I view them that way or is it just me...

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI.

Just love all of the ripples leading to the peaks. Essentially blues and shades of yellow, the mix works well together for me.  Not just if you were able in the short time you had, but  a tighter view of the ripples mixed with the mountain reflection might be interesting as well.  I can see a hint of this mid ground, but looks like it has some great potential for a subject in itself.

Igor, I love those low tide sand ripples, the water color, and the light on the background ridge.  Not sure where in Baja this was taken, but reminds me of the extreme tides around San Felipe that I experienced a number of years ago.  Very effective image.

Gorgeous work, Igor. I love the light across the water, but what I find really intriguing is the way the ripples in the sand channel me back to the BG mountains and the warm light along their peaks. I hate to mention it because no one else did, but the sky looks a touch cyan to me. Either way this is wonderful.

Ed

I think Harry is on to something here, Igor.  My favorite part of the image is the metallic sand ripples.  I sure hope you had time to do some abstract work.  I like this as presented as well. To me this image is about the expansiveness of the fore leading to the lit mountains.  I think I would clone the bits of debris and let the smoothness of the sand stand uninterrupted.  There is a sensor spot  just above the right edge of the mountain.  It also seems a little under exposed, but I do like the understated colors.  Again, the fore ripples are killer.

I don't have any pure abstracts. I have a tighter view of this subject which I took later but I don't like it as much anymore. I find it harsh, almost brutal. It's too underexposed for my taste and the shadows can't be recovered effectively. Two years ago I thought it was pretty good but now it bores me. 

The mass of long thin lines leading from the frame to the distant mountains are a great effect, Igor.  I much prefer the original post with all those leading lines.

Nicely done, the contrast of the warm and cool tones works well here. I agree with Harry, the ripples in the sand are the most interesting element within the scene,I think you should compose to maximize their impact. As an alternate composition, I would suggest trying this as a vertical crop, leaving all of the ripples as presented in the horizontal. I would center this vertical crop around the more prominent peak that is about one third of the way from the left in the horizontal.I think a vertical composition would impart more of a sense of depth as well. The mountains are very nice, and I can see why you shot this as a horizontal, but I think a vertical would really draw more attention to the ripples.

Thank you for the suggestion of going vertical, Ed, and emphasizing the ripples more. I chose slightly more to the right instead and I cropped a bit off the sky.  I would be interested in people's preference. 

Igor,

At least for me, the original is best - it has everything.  Excellent and very engaging near/far composition.  The horizontal frame is perfectly suited for the beautifully lit mountains, and the vertical lines of the ripples are the perfect lead-in for the viewer.  I also like the transition of hues in the sky. (although for personal tasted the cyan could be brought down a tad, minor, minor.)

The vertical is good too, but not as effective as the original post. For this one I would crop in a little more from the right just to eliminate the side of the right side mountain that is catching the light.  The tighter version could work I think, but I think the exposure needs to be raised and a little pop given to the colors - even warming up the light on the mountains. 

First impressions are usually the best and right ones, beautifully captured and presented.

Lon

Thanks for your suggestions, Lon. I applied most of them to the vertical and there was a marked improvement. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. So, I applied the same changes to the horizontal. I was surprised that to me it had lost some of it's genuinesness. It starts to look tawdry, contrived somehow. Now I know that I can subconsciously get attached to something and lose the flexibility to be open. So I will give it more time.

PS There is little I can do with the cyan in the sky as this is how the sky looks in baja near sunset. Reduce the saturation and there is no blue to replace it with (except in the corner). You just get a paler sky.

 

Igor, the section of mountains you included in your vertical re-post was my second choice for a cropping. I think the ripples are the nicest / strongest in the area you chose. My personal preference would be to have the tallest section of mountain dead center in the vertical crop, for symmetry purposes. In your vertical crop, the mountains get lower from left to right. But your vertical treatment is  fine as presented.

Ed. There were several reasons why I chose this crop over your suggested one:

1. I wanted more detail in the water in that middle layer. I didn't want pure sky reflection.
2. I liked that break in the ripples at the bottom rather than all unbroken lines. 
3. The ripples look better on the right side of image than left due to lighting.
4. I liked the ripples converging from the lower two corners.

The distant peaks looked better in your suggested crop. It was a compromise, as it always is in these compositions. To be honest, I didn't put a lot of time into the vertical composition but I had thought of the various pros and cons of the horizontal so I knew where to go.

Original post all the way for me... None of the others come close (IMO) to the wonderful look and feel of the first one. Nick

After looking at the original and the reposts, I vote for the original. It has a grandness and a variety of textures and color that truly show the mood of the day.. The sand ripples really make this work.
--P