Taken on the south coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. I spent an entire morning watching the waves (one of my favorite activities) breaking on the near shore rocks. I was experimenting with different shutter speeds and liked the results of this shot.
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.
Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
Comments on the square crop and centered subject especially welcome.
Technical Details
Sony A7RIII
Sony FE 70-200 f2.8 GM OSS @ 178mm, CPL
ISO 50, .5 sec @ f22
This is a great shot Bill, a really clever capture showing the power and the beauty of the waves together. The half second exposure allows us to literally see them inundating, (good use of the word), the rock and also shows the wonderful abstract forms.
I think that the square crop works and that rock could probably be in a number of positions within the frame, but there in the centre seems to be it’s natural position being entirely enveloped by the water.
The whites are pretty bright but I think that you have controlled them well, and the blues/turquoise coming through in places serves to tone them down a bit.
Overall, to me it, evokes beautiful chaos… a morning well spent.
Mysterious and elemental. The undulating quality you convey with this one is wonderful. It’s the repetitive nature of the waves as caught with this exposure - not quite sharp, but sharp enough to have some texture and form. With that in mind you could crop this slightly differently to put the rock off center and to clone or color over or crop out the blue part at the top. I think it would untether the rock even more and enhance the feeling of disconnectedness. You might also enhance the contour you’ve caught in the waves by some judicious dodging and burning. I’d use a luminosity mask to really define those edits as well.
Well done, Bill. The longer exposure gives the direction and mystery of the sea with the rock formation. The area on the lower left area shows some nice direction of the wave. I think the square crop works here, and I would see how a 2:3 ratio works by bringing down the top area a little. It is a great photo image and always fun to try different settings with the camera for the scene. I think the time of day also had a lot to do with the good lighting you had.
Outstanding Bill! Probably not unlike ICM’s… you just have to keep clicking to capture that special moment - and you’ve certainly captured that here. Love the title too! “Engulfed” could be another.
Not sure if it’s the conditions, processing or both, but I really like the somewhat lower contrast presentatin. The rock is of course inundated, so the water is actually reducing the darkness and contrast of the rock. And there is still enough detail and sense of motion that makes for a very dynamic image.
The only suggestion I have would be to lighten/modify the small, darker patch near the top. Very minor, but I could see bringing that out a little more to match the contrast/tones of the rest of the image. But, quite picky.
To your question - crop and center rock - perfect. That’s why there’s the saying that rules are meant to be broken. Love this!
I thought these were clouds obscuring a distant mountain until I read your description. I’m floored, Bill. This is an absolutely perfect image in every way. A little bit of mystery, wonderful textures, lovely colors. Bravo!
