JökulsárlónBeach

In late May, I visited Jökulsárlón beach where glacial ice flows out of the lagoon into the sea, and some of it washes up onto the black sand, making for a striking environment. I mounted by Sony a7 III on a tripod and set it up by this large piece of ice and hoped for just the right wave to come in so I could capture it at a slow speed. The light was so bright I had to set my aperature all the way up to f/22 to achieve the slow speed I wanted.

My post processing included a bit of Viveza structure to give the image extra oomph. Sonly 16-35mm at 16mm, manual exposure, 1/2 second at f/22, ISO 50.

What technical feedback would you like if any?

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

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Ah, classic, Charles. I enjoy the almost B&W feel to this image. Three things that I think will improve this image:

  1. More shadow details on the black sand. I love the counterpoint that the black sand gives to the ice but I think just a tad more details will make the image more interesting.
  2. I would clean up what looks like a water spot on the lens towards the right edge of the frame at the bottom.
  3. The horizon looks a little slanted to me. A little CW rotation will quickly solve the problem.
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Nice composition, Charles. I love the little bit of color in the scene. excellent in that regard.
I see quite a few dust specs in the water and the sky. I also agree with @Adhika_Lie about lightening up the sand.
:vulcan_salute:

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Thanks very much for all the comments. I have incorporated all of them into the redo of the attached image.

Charles, this looks very good. The iceberg and the moving surf look great. I like the smaller bits of ice for what they add to the story. The lightening of the sand is a good improvement.

Charles, this is a classic shot from Iceland. I think you did a great job of timing the wave motion, which makes the image more dynamic. Getting the waves looking good is not as easy as one might think, but you did a great job here. And I like the centered placement of the iceberg, surrounded by tiny bergs on both sides.

As others have have pointed out, the black sand needs more detail, and there are a lot of dust spots to clone away. In addition, I would like to see a little more detail in the clouds, and I think you could also increase vibrance in the aqua/cyan of the main berg. Here is a rework reflecting my comments. I did not remove the dust spots, but the increased detail in the sky reveals their location better.

Darkening the wash around the ice helps quite a bit. But I think you’d be better off having the ice sit on the black sand all around it without the surging wave. That way you could play off the two opposites,

Charles,

Although I’ve never been - many are now familiar from the images we see from this unique and special location. I think you’ve done a great job in capturing the essence of the place - and especially with the timing and shutter speed to get the water motion around the iceberg.

I like your cleaner repost - thanks for taking the time. For me anyway, taking care of things like the dust bunnies just avoids anyone having to point them out… :roll_eyes:, even though they detract very little from the overall impression. The adjustment in luminosity in the sand worked especially well.

I really like Ed’s interpretation - especially of the boosted aqua in the main iceberg. (Although I think the distant bergs could be left alone, or boost that color only like 25% or so. But I love the internal color glow of the main subject.

Cool stuff. Thanks for sharing.

Lon

Very nice rework, Charles, improving the tonality a lot. Love the composition - the way it emphasizes the block of ice and yet places it neatly in context.