Ocean JPEG

I went out to one of my favorite spots with Annie last night just to take in the ocean and shoot the sunset over Seal Rocks. The camera (1DsIII) had some still unexpalained error message for absolutely no reason that went away seemingly on its own. I cleared the camera settings prior to the problem resolving itself, after I had already tried rebooting it and putting the battery back in.
When I resumed shooting I forgot to set the RAW mode so all images were JPEG's. You never really know how much you'll miss a RAW converter until you have to process an image like this without one. Recovering the shadow detail was almost impossible and there were all sorts of color and noise issues that required extensive attention, considering the difficulty of the exposure. This would have taken 2 minutes for me to work in RAW and it took 2 hours as a JPEG and still isn't as good. Does this look pretty good at this small size at least?

I would take your JPEG's over my RAW's anytime. Great capture.

Looks excellent at this size Marc! Beautiful image, I especially like the sun breaking through the clouds off in the distance.

I've been teaching a lot of photoshop workshops/lessons lately, one of the big topics I always cover is the advantage to shooting in RAW, this is a perfect example. I'm always amazed at how many folks shoot in jpeg, once they see the advantages to RAW they never go back though.

That RAW does get addictive, especially shooting high contrast scenes like this. This one looks okay at this resolution, but I'd like it a lot more if I hadn't seen "Violent History." I prefer the sky pattern and detail (probably the RAW issue) and color on the rocks, in that photo.

real nice mood, comp, and color. nice drama. would like to see a tad more detail in the rocks but perhaps thats the jpeg disadvantage.

Wow, Marc, you can see what's missing... great lesson for support of RAW. I mean, the image and comp and lighting is your cherished style, no question, and honestly, we'd be removing right arms to get shots like this (your two hours were NOT in vain). But compared to what you've been posting with that 1Ds/16-35mm Saturn V rocket combo, the missing detail in the shadows and the lesser IQ overall is a little evident. Arrgh, frustrating when the technology glitches... not so much dealing with the equipment error and hitting reset at the time, but realizing later that it caused you to miss what you normally would have gotten.

To crop or not to crop.....
My first reaction upon seeing this photo, is wow, that is a beautiful shot. Of course everything is relative and held next to other shots of yours this may seem less stellar....but this one is great. One question I have is the reason for including the landmasses to the left of the rocks, including the sand and hills, that don't add much aesthetic value to the photo. Are they included to provide balance or extra space for one's vision to roam while taking in the photo?

Don´t fell "stressed", last week I was taking photographs to my girlfriend before sunset, and set ISO 400 and file size at Medium Jpeg. Until today I'm not believing that the next sunset landscapes at the beach with a great sky were taken with the previous configuration
I think the 2 hours yo spend in this one were a good investment

I'm always amazed at how many folks shoot in jpeg

Well, Ken Rockwell tells them it makes no difference...

Those kind of days happen. I remember a perfect morning shoot in the Gorge "rouined" by my D2X being on ISO 1600. (not a good idea on a D2X). But I always remember one thing.....and that is appreciation.

I love the experience of "being there" as much if not more than the "photography". From what I have read from you....it is the same for you. It is dissapointing when we make mistakes like that but the experience we had is still irreplacable.

May this be the worst thing you will have to put up with this year!!!!

Roman

Shadow detail is really missing for me in this one - the middle rocks seem pretty dark compared to the rocks above and below. The area Left of the stacks doesn't help this shot for me either. I'm not sure, Marc. There are element I love (the wave and sun/sky especially) but the rocks are not matching in their comparitive energy so they drag it down for me....

Still a shot most of the rest of us would love to say they took, but coming from you I'm not sure....

I agree with Richard's comment, but this shot, as nice as it is, doesn't have that Adamus wow that I think we've all come to expect. What I mostly notice is a lack of the high dynamic range that your images normally have.

Thanks, guys. Sometimes you can get away with JPEG's but I think this image is one of the greatest examples I've ever seen of the power of RAW in the digital capture these days. The clear issue is shadow details, tone and colors on the black rocks. It dosen't come close to what I've done in RAW from this spot, and it didn't help that I thought I'd have the advantage of the RAW file when I took it.

Marc,

Aside from the fact that this is not a Raw file, I am surprised that you did not notice the extremely high number of shots left as opposed to if you were shooting raw files.....

I know right away if I am in RAW or JPEG just based on the counter on the top of my camera!

Darren, this spot is the most intense shooting you'll ever do in your life short of perhaps a hungry grizzly bear. You don't look at such things in these situations. It's an exciting spot to shoot, but you MUST give it every bit of attention you have and even then it's difficult. You're teetering on the top of a pointy, hundred-foot sea stack fighting off wind and sea spray while trying to control one of the most difficult exposures anywhere, balance the tripod, hand hold filters and capture the wave action with extreme precision at the same time. But don't take my word for it, you really have to experience it yourself. Just when you think you can master seascape I garantee this spot will have you rethinking everything, but you'll leave very exhilarated at the same time!

I have shot raw from day one. I even wish my p&s had raw. It's the only way to go. No doubt this would have turned out better if you had your camera on the raw setting. Nice shot none the less.

Indeed, there is a certain lack of richness here, but you worked over this image for a long time and no doubt you have mastered techniques to tease maximum rez from these jpegs. Despite these limitations, this shot has your stamp, Marc, and it's interesting attempting to figure out just what it is that is distinctive. Certainly the drama in the sky and timing with wave action looks like your style but before that, as soon as I saw the image, what I got first was the entire scene - clouds, stone and water - drawing me in to a vanishing point in the near center of the picture. This is something I have seen in many of your images. Fantastic how you see this stuff.

I sure agree with Zack and the rest of you regarding RAW. I shot only jpeg until I joined NPN last year when I slowly switched to RAW. What a difference - - I'M NEVER GOING BACK!!!! It's an extra layer of work, but totally worth it.

Marc,
I agree...this spot is one of the most challenging areas on the coast. It's gotten me a few times. Looks like this was not at high tide +9.0 which does induce another danger...getting smashed by waves while you are monkeying around on those spires. It got me twice...what a rush!
I think the rocks are dark, but think they still work. It might not be the biggest print you'll get but it will work at smaller sizes... I like it enough.