I spent four days and nights camped out on Capers Island, South Carolina. Capers Island is a undeveloped, uninhabited, barrier island with no roads to or from, and no facilities of any kind. It's approximately 3 miles long by 1 mile wide. Think Gilligan.
With no distractions, I had great trip, photographically, with a much higher percentage of keepers than normal. There's a lesson there if I can only find it.
Anyway, this image has me a little torn. I love it, but maybe I love it because I associate it with a beautiful experience. I was there and I am biased. You were not.
So, does this work? I think it does, but on the other hand, it is a bit heavy on the left side with little to balance it on the right. I like the diagonals and the soft twilight and the moon, but is it enough to carry the day?
Looking forward to hearing your opinions...
Posted by Bill Stice on December 17, 2008 at 9:37 AM
Richard, I like it a lot for just the reasons you stated. I am a strong fan of diagonals and you have really captured them well here. The diagonal of the trees leads you to the moon and its reflection and the dead tree trunks and beach do the same on the right. I don't feel the sky takes away from the image since it is so strong on the other side. I believe the negative space is actually need for balance. To me it actually echoes the vastness of the ocean and beyond. I really like it.
Posted by Lance Warley on December 17, 2008 at 12:14 PM
Try cropping away quite a bit of the sea on the right side, so that you just see the shoreline lapping up on the beach. This will accentuate the tree diagonal and make it more dynamic, because it will make the eyes flow from the high trees down to into the moon. Boom!
If you like this idea, I'd luv to see you repost it, because I think it will work. Also, it will get rid of most of the outcroppings in the water, which I find distracting, even though I'm sure they were beautiful in person.
Posted by Wade Hardy on December 17, 2008 at 1:50 PM
What's not to like. the strong diagonal of the trees lead straight to the moon and the winter twilight colors are very peaceful. The URC is a little empty, but that's an extremely minor observation. Great shot.
Posted by Joyce Dumas on December 17, 2008 at 2:09 PM
Richard,
I like the shot, especially the colors with their mixture of warm and cool (peaceful and exciting at the same time). But I do agree with you that the right does not quite balance the left. My first instinctual repsonse was, "I wish it was wider" to the right. My eye kind of stopped short. A similar shot from standing in the shallows (if possible) would have been way cool.
I cropped from the right, making the image a 5:7 ratio instead of 2:3. I also brightened it a bit (but not too much as this is actually 20 minutes or so after sunset) and bumped the saturation a tad in the red channel to bring out the glow on the trees a bit more. Sorry Lance, but the stumps and debris in the water stays :)
One more for now...lots more I haven't even looked at yet...
Posted by Wade Hardy on December 17, 2008 at 3:40 PM
Wow! Looks like you had a wonderful trip - great images. the birds and the beach snag are my favorites. Every time i shoot the beach snags at CI i have zero clouds to work with. I can't wait to get back to the coast.
Posted by Ed Cooley on December 17, 2008 at 4:14 PM
My favorite is the snag and streaked clouds. The composition is exquisite and very moody.
Next choice would be the starfish.
Must have been an extremely interesting time shooting. Amazing what you can accomplish without the noise of everyday commitments.
Posted by Lance Warley on December 17, 2008 at 5:08 PM
Boom! I love the repost.
The others are great, except for one request for the Birds In Flight shot - change the name on it to Lance Warley.
You did the beach scene exactly right on the repost!
Posted by Sandy Young on December 18, 2008 at 11:14 PM
Richard - All these are very nice. Did you Kayak out? I have been there and agree it is one of SC best spots.(SCDNR owned - Had to get a plug in there) SandyLee
Posted by Leann Greene on December 20, 2008 at 9:45 AM
The crop of the original is a nice improvement-I love the hint of light on the trunks and that it's left subtle and not over processed. The other posts are equally enjoyable. I love the b&w tree and the birds in flight. You can feel that you were enjoying yourself.
Discussion
19 repliesWith no distractions, I had great trip, photographically, with a much higher percentage of keepers than normal. There's a lesson there if I can only find it.
Anyway, this image has me a little torn. I love it, but maybe I love it because I associate it with a beautiful experience. I was there and I am biased. You were not.
So, does this work? I think it does, but on the other hand, it is a bit heavy on the left side with little to balance it on the right. I like the diagonals and the soft twilight and the moon, but is it enough to carry the day?
Looking forward to hearing your opinions...
If you like this idea, I'd luv to see you repost it, because I think it will work. Also, it will get rid of most of the outcroppings in the water, which I find distracting, even though I'm sure they were beautiful in person.
I like the shot, especially the colors with their mixture of warm and cool (peaceful and exciting at the same time). But I do agree with you that the right does not quite balance the left. My first instinctual repsonse was, "I wish it was wider" to the right. My eye kind of stopped short. A similar shot from standing in the shallows (if possible) would have been way cool.
I cropped from the right, making the image a 5:7 ratio instead of 2:3. I also brightened it a bit (but not too much as this is actually 20 minutes or so after sunset) and bumped the saturation a tad in the red channel to bring out the glow on the trees a bit more. Sorry Lance, but the stumps and debris in the water stays :)
Next choice would be the starfish.
Must have been an extremely interesting time shooting. Amazing what you can accomplish without the noise of everyday commitments.
The others are great, except for one request for the Birds In Flight shot - change the name on it to Lance Warley.
Wade, I am headed to Cumberland Island in January for a few days. I can only hope to have as successful a trip as you recently did.
Lori
All of these are amazing! Wow, you really had a productive trip!
-Mike