The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I’ve spent pretty much my whole life in a love affair with the Oregon coast. My grandparents lived in a beach house in Yachats and we would travel there almost every summer from Indiana. Once I grew up (something I’m still working on) I’ve tried to go back on a regular basis. Most of my explorations though were north of Coos Bay. Chrissy and I did drive all the way down the coast in 2014 but basically just passed through the southern coast. After seeing so many great images from Harris Beach and the Samuel Boardman Scenic Corridor I decided to make a special effort in October of 2023. That was the first year that I had my drone and I was planning to try to shoot the lighthouses from north to south. I got halfway through but managed to do a stupid pilot trick and crashed and lost the drone at Shore Acres. I still got some regular images with the standard rig but decided to go back in 2024 with the drone and a bit more experience and expertise. One can shoot the natural bridges from the observation deck near the road or brave the trail that these hikers took. I wasn’t quite that adventurous but the drone let me get this perspective which allowed some separation between the top of the bridge and the BG seastacks.>=))>
Specific Feedback
Added a tiny bit of canvas on top and boosted the contrast in the sky a bit. Should I do more to enhance the sky?
Technical Details
DJI Mini 3 Pro, HDR in LRC
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Bill, I like the lead in of the water under the bridge. The hikers do a good job of establishing the size perspective. The churning ocean is impressive also. This does look a bit crunchy. Is that a limit of the drone’s camera?
Bill - Overall it is a nice composition, as Mark said the hikers do give pespective to the size of the seastacks. I personally think the white upper corner is washed out. Is there a way you can reduce highlights in the sky or reduce exposure slightly and make water line and sky look separate, that may add 3rd dimension to your photograph.
Thanks very much for submitting this image and apologies for my delay in getting back to you.
Another lovely travel photograph that works in the sense that the Oregon coast has just been added to my ever-expanding list of places I’d like to visit in the States. There is some excellent geology here that immediately makes the scene interesting. As Mark says the hiker adds both scale and context – I like the way you’ve got high enough to frame the person in the water. The way the island naturally mirrors the shape of the arch is very nice as well – good attention to detail. There’s an argument for removing the hiker sitting on the right, but they also balance up the image quite nicely – ultimately personal preference.
For me, this image currently feels a little bottom heavy and I’d be inclined to remove some of the lower half with a 2x3 crop – see the attached image as a suggestion. If this is a cropped image I’d also leave a little more space between the top of the island trees and the sky, give it a bit of breathing room.
This is a high contrast scene and even bracketed the drone has maybe struggled with the highlights a little. There’s some highlight clipping in the whites of the waves and the sky – I’d see if they can be recovered.
Hard to tell here but it also looks a little over sharpened, I’d try a slightly softer approach and see how it looks. It’s a dreamy scene so might even benefit from a tiny bit (be gentle with the slider) of negative clarity.
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