When I’m out scouting locations, I commonly grab the camera and take handheld snaps to get a rough idea of how a composition will look. I was prowling the Oregon Coast looking for a location to shoot a sunrise and snapped a shot of this view. I’m not very good at seeing/remembering black and white opportunities (would like to get better at it), but this looked like it had potential so I went back to the car to grab the tripod and take an image to play with.
There was an obvious contrail that I “adjusted,” but the rest of the sky had odd streaks and I’m not actually sure if any remain; I just left them.
Does the composition work for you? (I didn’t get the picture quite level, so the view is slightly tighter than I intended.) The small amount of ocean doesn’t bug me too much; I was more focused on the light play on the shore. Is that a concern? As always, any comments appreciated.
I realize there are some shadowed areas that might be opened a little. I elected to leave them here, both for the drama and the fact they contain a little more noise and lens flare than I wanted to expose. (I have a bracketed image I could blend in, but I’d really have to work on a couple of flares in that one.)
Nikon D7100
Nikon 12.0-24.0 mm f/4.0 at 12 mm (18mm equiv.)
1/125 sec at f/22 and ISO 100
You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
John, I like the comp and the b&w treatment. There a nice main balance between the sun(star) and the dark rocks in the lrc. The glow of reflected light makes a fine leading line and the bit of ocean with its waves adds a good extra bit to the view. I think letting the foreground rocks go black works well, as it’s the presence of the rocks (not their detail) that add to the view.
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Really strong image. It has a great mood, very mysterious and almost mystical. Very well done.
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I like the scene here and looks like a really nicely done B&W.
I quite like how the different elements make up a leading line all the way to the back of the image on the right. But I don’t feel it leads you anywhere. I Don’t want to contradict myself in what I’m about to say, so get me wrong here I think this is a superb image. I also know that when shooting a location for the first time positioning elements is down to luck. If the sun were more central or to the right of the leading line I think that would have improved the composition. Gives the leading line a target as such.
Hope that helps. But I really like the shot
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Very much enjoying this, John. No problem whatsoever about the size of the ocean view - the focus on the shore works beautifully. I might just like to see odd areas brightened but take your points about not doing so. Overall the movement of the eye down from the sunflare to those channels in the sand makes for a very strong image.
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This is a fairly high contrast image with strong blacks because you shot it into the sun. The collection of small rocks at the bottom adds a lot to the image. The composition with it’s numerous arcs works well for me.
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Beautiful pic… Really has a strong impact for me. Now I’m inspired to try more b&w.
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Fantastic B&W John. I think you have a balanced exposure for the strong contrasts of light and dark areas.
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Wow John! It’s great you went back for your tripod. What’s most compelling to me is the dynamics of your diagonal design of main components, with the sun flare, the shoreline and down to the tidal action and the rocky shore at bottom - all coming together so nicely. Excellent work and congrats on the WP.
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Thanks all for the feedback (and Editor’s for the pick!).
@Eugene_Theron Thanks for the thoughts. I never thought to go back with the sun on the right, but that would have great shot to compare. I might have lost the light spilling over the ridge, but it might have been worth it. (Regardless, I was likely having a nap right about then 
)
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