Morning Thunder

Original version:

Lighter outcrop suggested by @John_Pedersen:

My favorite wild water so far was this day at Shore Acres on the Oregon coast back in 2014. Most people shoot it from the south, but I found I preferred this view from the north.

I loved that old D7100, but it struggled with noise at higher ISO settings. My inexperience showed here; I shot this at ISO 1100 and f/16. I was far enough away I could have used a larger aperture and a lower ISO to get the shutter speed I needed to freeze the wave. With lots of careful tweaking though, I printed it to 24 x 54 and have it hanging in my office. It looks great, as long as you don’t touch it with your nose to pixel peek. However, I’d love to shoot this again with my current full-frame and better settings. I’ll have to keep an eye on the weather this winter.

Specific Feedback Requested

This conversion is pretty far from the high-key image the camera took. I’d love any thoughts on the BW, but all suggestions and comments are always welcome.

Technical Details

NIKON D7100
NIKKOR 55.0-200.0 mm f/4.0-5.6 at 55.0 mm (82.0mm)
1/125 sec. at f/16 and ISO 1100

There was a small railing below the right edge of those near trees that I’ve cloned out. (This was prior to the larger structure that stands there now.)

3 Likes

Great Image John. Powerful but mysterious with all the mist in the background. I like the white line that the foam makes as it snakes around from the BLC, and the faceoff between the incoming wave and the rocks. I like the softer look of the medium contrast in your BW conversion.

1 Like

The B&W is perfect for this image! That wave is fantastic and I love how the cliff has sort of a rounded tilt down toward viewer with many shelves, if that makes sense. The trees on top the cliff and the mist are added attractions. Love everything about this photo. I don’t know what the south end looks like, but the north end is a winner.

1 Like

Love this shot John! I really appreciate seeing a familiar view from a less familiar angle. From the North the scene takes on a much different feel. I really like this. The symmetry between the shape of the wave and the shape of the rocks is fantastic.

I think the BW treatment you’ve given it is as good as you can probably do. Fantastic. The highlights are just about peaked and the shadows are dark without being blocked up.

The only thing that caught my eye, and it’s not a criticism at all, is when viewed large, the rock outcropping on the left was big and imposing, perhaps overshadowing some of the visual impact of the wave action beyond it. That was just a first look reaction. I call it out simply as something to consider. If this were my shot (wish it was) I might play with another version and lighten up the outcropping a bit to remove some of the visual weight/importance and see how that changes the balance and focus in the image. Just some food for thought.

Well shot and well processed!!!

2 Likes

I had not thought of that John; thanks for the suggestion. When processing, I was trying to contrast it with the wave, but I can see your point that it may be too contrasted and becoming a competing focal point. I posted a new version above running with that idea. It’s not a huge change, but I find the result interesting.

That was fast John! :slight_smile: I like your term…interesting. Yes, it is interesting to see and toggle between the two. Honestly, I’m not sure about it. There is something about the darker tones in the rock that is very appealing in the first shot. In the second, the tonality of the rock is about equal to the wave and i’m not sure it recedes as much visually as I thought it might. Boy, it’s a toss up which one. Great experiment to see how the image changes with just a small change like that.

1 Like

I prefer the original …Having been there I do think having some people on the cliff top makes it a lot more dramatic for the scale of the waves which are just enormous!

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@John_Williams This locale is on my list and I think you nailed it! With the gray skies, I think you made a wise decision to go with monochrome. My preference is for the second version, although maybe with a little added contrast or clarity to the rock?

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Truly awesome! I enjoyed the brighter

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Amazing. I love the violence of the opposing forms. I can understand why you keep it in your office. You timed it perfectly and arrested the moment. The rework is an improvement.

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Thank you all for your feedback!