Posted by Dan Baumbach on February 19, 2009 at 7:42 PM
I used to do a lot of coastal sunrises and sunsets in color and Muir Beach was one of my favorite places. A few years ago I felt that I did all I could with the beaches near me and decided to move on to other things.
I've had some time this week so I decided to go back and see if there was anything new to excite me there. All I had was color film but I know that this was meant for black and white when I was shooting it so I converted it in PS.
Canham 4x5
150mm Nikkor
Astia
3 stop soft and 2 stop hard grads.
It's a little underexposed so this is the best detail I could get with my flat bed scanner.
- Dan.
Posted by Cory Freeman on February 19, 2009 at 8:45 PM
I like the darker muddier tones of the beach, water, and clouds Dan. I wish there was a bit more detail in the darker rock formations though. Overall I get a very ominous vibe from this which suites me just fine.
Posted by Benjamin Glatt on February 20, 2009 at 1:51 AM
The water/sand contrast is really nice. I find the rocks to be too dark though. A little more separation between the hillside and that main rock would have also been nice.
Dan, this really looks like a perfect area to do some shooting in. I'm really taking in all the compositional objects here, but I do find the dark areas tough to view especially at this size. Gosh, this sure looks to be a good revisit opportunity if at all possible.
Posted by Steve Sieren on February 20, 2009 at 1:57 PM
Dan, I'd have to agree with the others on the shadow details. Looks like some good possibities there though.
Posted by Reno DiTullio on February 21, 2009 at 2:36 PM
Yes, BW is appropriate for this image, Dan. The midground rock and bg shoreline need a little more detail for me though, well done.
Posted by Eric Good on February 23, 2009 at 1:16 AM
Funny... I think I'm burnt out on my local beach scenes and feel I need to start shooting something else to excite me. So I know what you mean.
As for the image, the only thing I wish was different was the slope of the fg bank of sand. I wish it slope in concert with the background rocks and cloud patterns. I thought that would create a little better rhythm. Other than that, this works for me... especially in B&W. I like the dreary mood.
Posted by Lon Overacker on February 24, 2009 at 2:16 PM
Dan,
The b&w certainly works well, although I am curious as to whether or not there was any color in the sky/clouds. I would also agree with others about the darkness of the rock and background ridge. Actually, if the two weren't merging I might bother me less. Now that I've finally been there and have a reference, I thought that the background ridge was problematic for most comps there - especially as the sun is going down. Still, this is a nice, moody image and the sky is wonderful.
Discussion
7 repliesI've had some time this week so I decided to go back and see if there was anything new to excite me there. All I had was color film but I know that this was meant for black and white when I was shooting it so I converted it in PS.
Canham 4x5
150mm Nikkor
Astia
3 stop soft and 2 stop hard grads.
It's a little underexposed so this is the best detail I could get with my flat bed scanner.
- Dan.
As for the image, the only thing I wish was different was the slope of the fg bank of sand. I wish it slope in concert with the background rocks and cloud patterns. I thought that would create a little better rhythm. Other than that, this works for me... especially in B&W. I like the dreary mood.
The b&w certainly works well, although I am curious as to whether or not there was any color in the sky/clouds. I would also agree with others about the darkness of the rock and background ridge. Actually, if the two weren't merging I might bother me less. Now that I've finally been there and have a reference, I thought that the background ridge was problematic for most comps there - especially as the sun is going down. Still, this is a nice, moody image and the sky is wonderful.
Lon