Classic Yachts Sails at the Cannes Royal Regatta 2021

Image Critiques Everything Else Critiques
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FREEHAND CROP

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ORIGINAL

Classic Yachts Sails at the Cannes Royal Regatta 2021
Classic Yachts Sails at the Cannes Royal Regatta 20212000×1334 412 KB

Bermudan Cutter K4 “Cambria” (William Fife III, 1928), 2-masted schooner “Naema” (Alfred Mylne,1938) and Gaff Sloop P5 “Corinthian” (Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, 1911).

This photograph was taken in the water (Sony A7R4 in a surf housing), as are 95% of my images.

In my work, I strive to give primacy to the drama and power of the sea rather than to that of man-made structures. Hence, I purposefully do not show the hull or the whole crew. I find special aesthetics in these grand old sails alone isolated between sea and sky, and leave it to the viewer’s imagination to fill in shapes and action not seen.

Specific Feedback Requested

My main aims in post-processing were to make the sky and sea blue to my liking (rather than the cyanish blue I always got before), increase sharpness on the sails and clean up a large water drop in the sky to the right of the sails just below the second small, fluffy cloud - as well as streamlining the dark blue cross-section of the water surface - using frequency separation.

I tried cropping but didn’t get anywhere.

This is a first edit.

Any feedback appreciated.

  • I was also wondering if such images are of interest on NPN, and if the non-nature category chosen is correct? *

Technical Details

F11 1/640s ISO160 53mm

ACR RAW processing, +0.35 exposure increase, +48 shadows, -64 highlights, +25 whites, -17 blacks, +18 dehaze, +12 vibrance. ACR mask to further lighten the water - exp +0.05, shadows +46, color temperature blue -2. +4 col mixer blue hue, +49 blue luminance. Have messed with the calibration RGB Primary Hue and Saturation quite a bit to get the blue that I wanted.

Slight cloud sculpting using dodge and burn with TK7 luminosity masks.

Shake reduction filter on sails + additional clean up of halos and artefacts caused by this sharpening (only recently starting using Topaz AI Sharpen which will probably do a better job).

1 Like
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Hello Laura, what a unique take on sea scape photography. I like this a lot and the blues you’ve worked on bring out the contrast of the sails quite nicely. Your processing work is quite nice too. Thanks for sharing your processing.

Regarding the correct category, here are the descriptions:

  • Landscape - Landscapes, seascapes, and celestial images. Human elements are acceptable as long as they are not the main subject. Please tag such images with ‘type_human-element’.

  • Non-Nature - Open category for non-nature subjects that do not fit in any of the other categories. G-rated only!

For your image, I think you picked the correct category. Those sails do appear to be the primary subject.

And finally, yes, this is of interest here. I for one, appreciate the uniqueness and originality of this image. Looking forward to seeing more of your work, Laura.

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This is a fascinating and original shot, though it looks like you went to some risk! I’m sure shots like this would go down well, framed on the wall at the yacht club. I’ve never noticed sea with that colour, but then I’ve never been where you went. That large hump of wave does bleed a little into the distant sails, so your next edit I’m sure will see to this. You clearly have a unique style, and I’m looking forward to seeing more images.

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Hello @David_Bostock, I realise that this is not for every one so am always happy to know when the uniqueness and originality of these images are appreciated. Many thanks for that! (and good to know that I picked the right category :smile)

Hello @Mike_Friel Thank you very much for taking the time to share your impressions. Yes, indeed I was quite close to the sails and in some fairly big waves, but at a safe-ish distance and it was totally exhilarating and great fun. Certainly, one of my best shooting memories :smile

Unfortunately, there is less than zero local interest in my images, so there is little chance to see them hanging on the at the Cannes Yacht Club any day soon… The blue of the wave is creative, for sure. The original is darker, but I seem to be unconsciously going to these electric blues over and over again in post. Thanks also for mentioning the bleed on the sails. To be frank, I did not deem it a problem as I think of it was water haze/halo but I will revisit it in post and see if it can be removed effectively.

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Surprising. I guess everyone wants to see themselves so having them hidden doesn’t stroke their egos enough. I think this is a fine interpretation of the interplay between boat and water. It speaks to the fact that while we can manage it, we can’t control it and will always be at its mercy. That said, I find the dark part at the bottom overwhelming. Perhaps that’s the intent, but maybe a smaller slice of it with more sky would be more engaging. Keep at it though. We don’t have anyone who shoots like this on NPN so it’s a nice addition.

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Haha @Kris_Smith yes, so much for the sporting sailors’ “love of the sea"… it’s good enough as a backdrop, but of not real interest as the primary subject… my intention is precisely to show its true, awesome power in the old sense of the word, so your words are spot on. Many thanks for this!

Yes, I do agree that the bottom is a bit overwhelming. I’ll try and crop again, though I do not have any more natural sky to put in if I wanted to and am not inclined to doing a sky replacement. If nothing can be done, I’ll leave it as is considering that my images of the sea tend to be overwhelming, even terrifying to some, but I regard this as a truthful portrayal of this most formidable element. And I’ll keep at it. Thank you for the encouragement, Kris (or is it Kristen?) :smile:

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Either works, but most people call me Kris.

I have never sailed, but sometimes in my kayak the wind pushes me around! Was out yesterday on a slow creek and it was enough to continually put me out of position for landscapes. Patience is such a part of photography in a kayak or other small boat.

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The only aspect here that I struggle a bit with deals with the mountain in the background, specifically the now upon is a town of white buildings. If you were to crop this piece, I would perhaps lean toward a 5:4 aspect ratio and crop out that section on the right. This would still leave the primary mountain in the background, to a degree, which flows well with the main wave in the foreground and helps highlight the sails as well. Further, this crop would help to eliminate some of the wave in the foreground - just enough, as it feels a bit too foreboding to me at the moment.

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@Kris_Smith Patience indeed, Kris , patience… :smile:

@Cody_Schultz Hi Cody, Many thanks for taking the time to look at my image and giving me your feedback. I shall give it a go and let you know the outcome.

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First attempt at cropping. 5x4 seemed a bit too cramped for me, but that’s partly because I am not used to that format. It might grow on me with time.

It’s nice when the cropping works right off, unfortunately that is not often the case. Does this mean we should give up on the image? Probably… sigh!