A rainy day in Sydney. This place is usually windy as it’s exposed to the open ocean but on this afternoon I remember the wind being calm.
What technical feedback would you like if any?
Anything
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
When processing the shot I went for a calm ethereal mood. That’s how I remember the scene feedback on how you interpret the scene or any other approaches would be valued.
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
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Hi Nathan. To me most engaging and ethereal elements of this image are the nuanced sky and the quiet wave. The land is quite saturated and detailed, so for me, it is a contrast to the ethereal elements. I played with it on my tablet and found another interpretation by decreasing land contrast, increasing its lightness, and cropping out a lot of the water at the bottom. Not sure if any of that takes the image toward where you want it.
Here’s an alternative option. I felt this image was mostly about that wave and the aura of light around it and the island. I also didn’t like the beach to the right and the connecting trees. I may have removed too much water off the bottom in order to emphasize the expanse of horizontals.
Nathan, I have a different perspective about that beach. I like it. I think the image looks more like a snapshot without it. As presented in your original, the image seems more complete. I also like the amount of water and sky. I think Dick’s crop is a little bit too little and it seems to take away from the minimalist spirit of the image (I think that’s what you are going for?)
thanks for your input. Yes I was going for a minimalist take. I think that including the beach is key to conveying a story of calmness. Those that know the city of Sydney would realise that this is one of the most popular beaches in the city. The rainfall that day meant that no one was sitting stationary on the beach and anyone moving through the scene don’t appear in the fame due to the long exposure.
Hopefully the image can gove Sydney siders a take of peace and quiet from a usually hectic spot.
I like your original take on this scene, Nathan. The minimalist take works very nicely and I think you need that section of beach on the tail end of the island. The overall cool tones also work for this image IMO. That wave is the key to this as it just seems to perfectly tie everything together.
Nathan, I like your processing of the original image the best. I agree with you that the wave is very important , but I’m also with @Adhika_Lie about the beach being very important too. The separation of the island that the beach creates is critical to the image. But given the strong horizontal line of the horizon/wave/beach, I think this image really lends itself to a panoramic aspect ratio. For me, eliminating a lot of the sky doesn’t really de-emphasize the soft, ethereal mood of the image.
