What technical feedback would you like if any? I realize there are several things I might have done differently. Unfortunately, I did not capture enough range to do a great job in the shadows nor was my focus point sufficient to get as much DOF as I would have liked. Any suggestions on editing techniques in those areas would be helpful.
What artistic feedback would you like if any? Open to any recommendations…
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
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I like the image David, The balance between cool and warm tones is great. I don’t see any problem with the shadows in this one but I did notice the focus is relegated to the bottom sliver of sand. There is nothing I know of that can increase DOF in post but, for the future you might want to use a focus stack and take a few more frames with different focal points through the image and stack them in photoshop.
David, I really like your composition, and processing of exposure/contrast/color here. Even though it is a bald sky, there is some nice color, and it’s the foreground that carries this image anyways. I’m okay with your shadow detail here, it looks very realistic, you want to keep shadows somewhat dark, but not blocked up, and I think you have done that successfully here.
It’s too bad the DOF is messed up here, I don’t believe there is anything you can do about it in post processing. I’m a little surprised the DOF looks the way it does here, usually at 14mm you have a ton of inherent DOF. If this is from a single image, I’m surprised how sharp the sand in the foreground is, and how soft the rocks look (especially the rocks on the left). You do not list an F stop in your image info, but even at lower apertures more of this should have been in focus, just from using a 14mm lens. Was this blended from more than one shot, where the focal points got messed up? To me that’s the only thing that makes sense.
As a thumbnail, I was really drawn to the lines and simple color pallet. Agree with Ed that the foreground is nice/strong. From a luminance, texture and color perspective, the left wall is a distraction to my eye. The brighter rocks and magenta hue seem incongruous with the remainder of the color/luminance theme. And the harsher texture/higher frequency detail also pulls me away from the smoother rocks elsewhere. Still, I really love the “cove” feel here and the relaxation of the calm water and smooth color transitions.
I really like the comp and set up here with the tidal pool leading the viewer out to sea and the setting sun. The rock on either side work well to frame the image and I think you have sufficient detail on the right and it all looks pretty natural - especially considering you’re looking directly in to the sun and much brighter sky.
For my taste, the sky is a little bit to saturated. Not by much and perhaps enhanced by the slightly darker presentation.
I think an alternate view might be a slight crop off the top. The blank sky isn’t necessarily hurting anything in the image, but then again it’s not adding. I’m thinking a crop of say 1/4 - 1/3 of the sky, say down to the first bump on the rock edge on the right. I think that might work nicely and that enhances the detail in the sand at the bottom; and the highlighting in the sand pretty much goes from edge to edge and a narrower format could bring that out. Just a thought.
I think you did a great job of vignetting the sky. Had the blue been all one tonal value the sky would be too dominant. As it is, we are pulled into the center.
