Gosh, it’s been months since I’ve posted anything or even visited. I’ve missed seeing all the beautiful work and all the friendships; hope everyone is well. Since retiring last September from my day job, I have concentrated on monetizing my photography through art shows and fairs, getting set up in retail outlets, mostly at the beach, and through sales on Fine Art America. All that seems to be a 24 hour/day job!!
I shot this at St. Marks Wildlife Refuge a month or so ago on a beautiful and windless day. Hope you enjoy it. Would appreciate any and all comments, especially critiques for improvements.
Nikon D810 w/ Nikkor 80-400 @ 80mm
1/8 @ f/11, ISO 800
Tripod
No filters
Processing with ACR, CS6, and Tony’s luminosity masks
Glad to see you back @Bill_Chambers…good luck with your business venture! This shot sure is pretty! Nice to see the water somewhat still…makes a nice reflection. The reflected sky seems a bit brighter than the “real” sky, so I’d check the luminance values and adjust accordingly. The only other post-production recommendation I would have would be to consider a crop from the bottom as the open water to my eye is serving more as dead space rather than providing value as negative space…if that makes any sense.
From a pre-production standpoint, I sure wish the lighthouse was lit! Also, there’s a bunch of sediment in the water, but there’s little to be done about that. I know of some photographers who will painstakingly remove this as these bits can serve as a visual distraction/unnecessary texture (to some viewers interpretation). I’m not recommending it, but simply making the observation.
The sharpness looks great…and if any was incidentally applied to the texture in the water, it may be helpful to remove that sharpening as the eyes are drawn to brightness>saturation>texture/sharpness.
Thanks Jim, for the constructive critique! I will definitely check the luminance values and adjust if necessary. I too wish the lighthouse had been lit, but I’m afraid that’s impossible. This light is no longer working, and the fresnel lens is just for looks. The house does still function as a lighthouse but the working light is located on the other side of the house, on the outside. There was a LOT of stuff in the water and I removed most all of the big stuff (sticks, etc.) but I didn’t worry about the “dust”. Thanks again for the comments - I truly appreciate them.
Bill, this light is just lovely, and makes for a very appealing image. In terms of composition, I like having the lighthouse off-center, but strongly supported by the trees on the right, and the reeds on the left, it is a very pleasing arrangement of elements. The soft, warm mood of this scene is just wonderful.
I would suggest some tweaks to take a good image up another notch. I agree with @Jim_McGovern about reducing the luminosity of the water to be darker than the sky. And I agree with @John_Williams that I could see cropping away some negative space from the bottom. I also think you could do some very subtle dodging of the reeds to show a little more detail there. But you have to be careful to avoid having the reeds get so bright they compete with the bottom of the lighthouse.
Bill,
I love the warm light here and this peaceful looking scene looks like a great way to start the day. I have no suggestions other than those already mentioned by @Jim_McGovern, @John_Williams and @Ed_McGuirk. I think those small tweaks would elevate this outstanding scene another notch. BTW good luck with monetizing the photography as it does take some time.
Thanks @Jim_McGovern, @John_Williams, @Ed_McGuirk, and @Ed_Lowe for your comments and suggestions. I have reworked the image with your suggestions and am presenting it along with the original above for your appraisal.
I sort of miss the old format that had arrows that would let you click from one image to the next. I can’t really see the changes that have been made now. @David_Kingham
OK, so I’m new to NPN and I am primarily a lurker. But I open up NPN this morning and I see a photo of a familiar looking lighthouse. And I am surprised to see that it was taken by someone who apparently lives very close to me. I went over to instagram and found your feed and I am now following. Hello Bill! I’m Jim and I live in Pensacola and spend a lot of time photographing our local beaches and whatnot. We should visit sometime. OH, and beautiful image BTW. You caught good conditions.
Good morning, Jim. Great to “meet” you here. You will love NPN; it’s a very friendly community and everyone is anxious to help in any way possible. We definitely need to get together sometime and formally meet. If you’re available tomorrow (Saturday, 3/7) come down to Quayside Gallery downtown. I’m a member there and will be working there tomorrow from 10:00 to 5:00. I volunteer there one Saturday a month. Would love to meet you and chat.
This option is still there and hasn’t changed, the important thing is that the repost has to be put into the original post, it can’t be a reply. It looks like Bill has done this since you replied.
Congratulations on your retirement Bill and best of luck in your business venture. I like your repost a lot and also John’s suggestion for removing some of the debris in the water.
Bill, you’ve undertaken one heck of a challenge for your retirement. Congrats and best wishes. This is a lovely peaceful view. I slightly prefer the repost, mostly due to the image shape.
I don’t know what happened. When I posted my comment there were 2 images in the original post. If you clicked on either one you got a new screen with a white background with which you could enlarge and diminish either one but no arrows. I decided that you had implemented the change to allow the same enlargements as single images but lost the arrows. I think opened NPN on a new tab and now it works as before with the arrows.
The changes are subtle. The water is warmer and the tonality has been dropped slightly in the water. I think the rework is an improvement, Bill.
Bill - would like that, but I’m tied up tomorrow working on a house project. that doesn’t mean I can’t make it, it just means i don’t know when I’ll get free. But I’m sure we can meet, even if it doesn’t happen tomorrow. Stay in touch.
