King Tides

[scott_fenton]

This image is titled “Splish Splash”.
Every winter, early in the season, high tides on the Oregon/Washington coast get to higher-than-normal surges, becoming what are called “king tides.” They occur at a few specific times during the year when the moon’s orbit comes closest to the earth, the earth’s orbit is closest to the sun, and the sun, moon and earth are in alignment, thereby increasing their gravitational influence on the tides.

[Jim_Gavin]

Nice shot. We have a beach house near there so get to visit what we have always called Little Beach (really Waikiki -not sure why) quite often. What I like about this shot is not just the wave but the clouds in conjunction with the wave. Usually its a bit gray and very overcast. Excellent image.

[scott_fenton]

Thanks Jim! Yes, this is at that same beach and I go every year. It’s quite the spectacle.

Scott

[Keith_Bauer]

Dramatic waves and action for sure. The Lighthouse on top gives a nice sense of perspective.

The entire image looks underexposed to me. The water is gray and there is little or no detail in the lighthouse. Just looked at another image of the same scene and the exposure issue is very evident when comparing. The white water, and clouds would have easily fooled your camera into under exposing. Easy to fix in post.

[scott_fenton]

Thanks Keith. I was in shutter priority mode fixed at 1/1500 sec to catch the fast moving scene. Appreciate the comment and will play with my post processing a bit. Many thanks! Scott

[Diane_Miller]

Holeeee Cow!! That wave, juxtaposed with those clouds, is incredible!! I’d love to see @Keith_Bauer’s suggested exposure tweaks but the scene is so wonderful that I hadn’t even noticed that it might be less than ideal.

[holgermischke]

Absolutely fascinating display of nature’s power. I love the interplay between the water, the mist coming down from the cliffs and the clouds in the background. I’m not really missing any detail in the lighthouse… Even as a silhouette it gives an idea of scale and stands alone as the sole manmade object in this scene. I love it the way it is, but being me I’m thinking what this would look like in monochrome

[Tom_Nevesely]

Wonderful image Scott! it really shows the awesome power of the sea and you caught that wave at just the perfect time but what really makes the image for me is the water/mist against the cliffs on the left.
I look forward to seeing post processing edits (if you choose to post them).

[scott_fenton]

@Diane_Miller

Holeeee Cow!! That wave, juxtaposed with those clouds, is incredible!! I’d love to see ’s suggested exposure tweaks but the scene is so wonderful that I hadn’t even noticed that it might be less than ideal.

Thanks Diane! I’ll be working on it this week.

[scott_fenton]

Thanks Tom! Hope to have some edits done this week, will re-post.

[scott_fenton]

@holgermischke

… fascinating display of nature’s power. I love the interplay between the water, the mist coming down from the cliffs and the clouds in the background. I’m not really missing any detail in the lighthouse… Even as a silhouette it gives an idea of scale and stands alone as the sole manmade object in this scene. I love it the way it is, but being me I’m thinking what this would look like in monochrome

Thanks Holger! Most appreciated.

[Patrick_Campbell]

Wow! Scott, having been to Waikiki Beach for the king tides a couple of times myself, I really appreciate what nice wave you captured, and the clouds are just the icing on the cake! It appears you were going for drama with the post-processing, kind of a chiaroscuro effect, if that is even a thing in landscape photograph, LOL. Personally, I would go for less contrast and a little brighter tonality overall. You might also want to increase the vibrance/saturation a little to bring out the color. However, this image would probably work great as a monochrome too. I also would consider cropping out some of the left hand side of the frame. To my eye it is not nearly as interesting as the right hand side of the frame. I am enclosing a quick edit on your post to illustrate my suggestions.

[scott_fenton]

Thanks Patrick! I last edited this image 2 years ago, so am going to reprocess. I’ve learned a lot since then. Appreciate the feedback! Scott

[Patrick_Campbell]

@scott_fenton, you are welcome! I am always learning new techniques myself as well. Looking forward to seeing the reprocess!

[Bill_Pelzmann]

WOW! Those clouds compliment the wild waves.

[scott_fenton]

Thanks Bill, most appreciated!

[scott_fenton]

Thanks all for the suggestions. I did some tweaking to this photo with luminance, cropping, and contrast. I had never noticed until a closer look, the clouds in the original image had a yellowish tint to them. I also took that out and am quite pleased with the result. Thanks again! Scott

[Keith_Bauer]

I like your latest version more than the original. I guess it depends on the mood you are trying to create, but I still find it significantly underexposed, especially in the foreground water, and that water also has a blue cast. With a few selective adjustments, I took your latest and tried to address those topics and also did some selective dodging and burning. Here’s the result:

PS… you are also posting your images with and Adobe RGB embedded profile. They should be sRGB to enable the best chance for others to see the colors you see on your computer.

[scott_fenton]

Thanks Keith! Appreciate the feedback. Scott

[Sean_Bagshaw]

@scott_fenton

…Thanks all for the suggestions. I did some tweaking to this photo with luminance, cropping, and contrast. I had never noticed until a closer look, the clouds in the original image had a yellowish tint to them. I also took that out and am quite pleased with the result. Thanks again! Scott

I really enjoy this image and this latest edit you did is excellent. Love the mirroring of the waves and clouds sandwiching the lighthouse.