Posted by Bryan Swan on January 23, 2008 at 4:53 AM
In hindsight I should have shot from further to the right because the rocks in the distance stand out better and I could have gotten closer to the arch, but that just means I have to go back soon. Is the little bright pink spot in the lens flair distracting? I deliberately left it in there because I liked the subtle hint of the flair, but I'd consider toning it down if its too much of a problem.
Posted by Geoff Shapiro on January 23, 2008 at 9:51 AM
Bryan, I think you caught a really good one here. The bright pink spot/lens flair doesn't bother me a bit and IMO even adds to the atmosphere of this scene. I like this very much.
The only nit I'd have is that the FG rocks appear a bit OOF. Personally, I think it'd be stronger if you were to crop up from bottom to just below that central dimple in the FG rock. That would leave enough of it there to retain the nice warm light on the rock yet still omit most of the OOF area.
Posted by Larry Gloth on January 23, 2008 at 12:09 PM
Beautiful scene. The light on the foreground rocks is excellent as is the reflection and silhouette. I agree with the crop suggestion and if that throws it out of balance a bit, I think you could take a little off the top as well. I don't mind the flair. Beautiful sunset. Well captured.
Posted by Marc Dilley on January 23, 2008 at 2:21 PM
Bryan: The color on your foreground is stunning. It all looks perfect to me except I think a short crop off the top would be helpful.
Posted by Bryan Swan on January 23, 2008 at 10:41 PM
Geoff - I'm not sure what you're seeing that appears out of focus, it looks fine to me. I did crop about 1/5 of the frame off the original to get rid of flare artifacts and a little bit of fuzzy area, but it isn't all that noticeable in the original in the first place so I'm surprised you could pick it up here.
Marc - I had thought about cropping a bit off the top, but I rather like the extra breathing room as a way of emphasizing the open-ness of the area. Looking at it again, I think it does need to be brightened a tad though.
Posted by Hans Sager on January 23, 2008 at 10:44 PM
Bryan, great capture! I do agree with both Geoff and Larry about the need for a crop. The foreground is a little long and has some illusion of OOF at the bottom. I would crop to just above the lower right individual rock.
Posted by Rick Lundh on January 23, 2008 at 10:46 PM
Love the light here, but I'd like to see a little more detail in that big rock, but it isn't a deal breaker. And clone out that little flare right above the reflection.
Posted by Geoff Shapiro on January 24, 2008 at 2:52 AM
Hee, hee - it might have been me that was OOF, Bryan. I was looking at it at work and I'd just come back from an eye exam! Now that I look at it at home it does indeed look more in focus in the FG. But, I still like a crop off the bottom...
Posted by John Williams on January 25, 2008 at 9:10 AM
I agree with Rick. As to the crop, my personal preference is to leave it as is; I think it will only lose interest or balance if cropped more. Nice shot, especially working with a mostly open sky.
Discussion
8 repliesThe only nit I'd have is that the FG rocks appear a bit OOF. Personally, I think it'd be stronger if you were to crop up from bottom to just below that central dimple in the FG rock. That would leave enough of it there to retain the nice warm light on the rock yet still omit most of the OOF area.
Marc - I had thought about cropping a bit off the top, but I rather like the extra breathing room as a way of emphasizing the open-ness of the area. Looking at it again, I think it does need to be brightened a tad though.