Cloud reflections

Image Critiques Weekly Challenge
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Cloud reflections
Cloud reflections2000×1125 598 KB

Sorry my boring photo name. I’m pretty awful with trying to name my images. I took this photo during sunrise at Lanikai beach with calm waters and some nice high clouds getting some color.

Specific Feedback and Self-Critique

Any feedback is welcome, I did darken this a little before uploading since I almost always think my image looks a little flat once I upload it for some reason

Technical Details

Shot this handheld because I was about waist deep in the water, even though the water was calm there is still small waves that messed up the reflections.

ISO 400, F/9 1/500 sec at 200mm

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Hi Glenn,
this is a beautiful abstract image. I really enjoy that type of shot.
By the way, your chosen name is not boring. But I feel the same way about the names I come up with for my pictures.

I took the liberty of playing a bit with your image. And here is the result:

Edit
Edit1500×832 444 KB

  1. Dropped the WB to separate the colors a bit
  2. Cropped a tiny bit to get rid of some distractions
  3. Darkened a few bright areas at the edges of the image slightly to draw attention a little more to the beautiful structures in the center of the frame
  4. Applied some dodge and burn to even more emphasize the center

Those are just a few things I would think of. But I also like your picture very much as it is.

2 Likes
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Glenn, this is a great looking reflection with it’s variety of yellow/gold and blue colors. I also like the mix of light and dark. If you’re using an Adobe product, the software adds a significant amount of saturation automatically when you darken an image. That may explain your finding the original “flat”. Something else you might try with a “flat” image is to increase the mid-tone contrast with a tonal curve restricted to the middle tones.

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Thanks for taking the time to do that Jens! I like your version much more than mine so I’ll have another go at it.

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Thank you Mark! I do use adobe. I often think I am happy with how my images look on my computer and then when I upload it here or elsewhere it looks a bit flat. I’ll pay closer attention to the midtones from now on. Thanks for the tips!