The photographer is looking for thoughtful feedback on the image as a whole, especially around the areas noted below.
Feedback Focus: Artistic + Technical
About This Image
On the evening of July 4th, I decided to head down to Garrapata State Beach to see if I could photograph the bioluminescent algae in the surf as it splashed among the sea stacks. I photographed through the blue hour and into full darkness. I was somewhat disappointed as I could not see any blue in the water, and the surf was very mild and did not create much foam on the rocks.
This photo was my last one made that night. It was completely dark. The warm light on the right is coming from Carmel. The sky was completely overcast, it was dark, so I was surprised that the photo came out so bright.
There was only one small hint of any bioluminescence just behind the middle sea stack in the line of three in the upper right area of the image. I guess I will have to go back later in the year, perhaps the bloom will be there later.
Feedback Requested
I did not think this trip was successful in the sense that I did not capture what I was after. But I am posting this to get feedback on the composition and to marvel at how much light is still present even when our eyes can barely see.
It’s a beautiful and calm image. I like the gentle light and soft pastel colors. The yellow rocks in the bottom and the glow in the upper right corner provide good balance and together bring delicate contrast with the dark sea. The bluish stripe between the sea and clouds on the left adds some color to the closed sky which finally is quite colorful. Not too much foam works very well with pastel colors and the calmness of this image.
There is only one small point of interest: I would consider removing those two or three blurred bushes hanging on the cliff in the right corner but I not sure if it’s worth the effort.
Youssef, camera’s with long shutters are much better than our eyes at gathering light. In night photos, I’m always amazed at how much light even a small town adds to the sky. That effect is exagerated by clouds, since they reflect well. The “calmness” of the ocean looks quite good and fits the overall view well, thanks to the long shutter. I do see the bit of blue behind the middle of the three rocks. This would be a good view with a starry sky (and you might get less light from Carmel). I expect that you have the software to handle a slow shutter with moving stars to keep them as points. Bioluminescence in the surf will be an intriguing addition. Good luck.
What a great image! It just has class. The light is marvelous. It has those subdued colors without anything clashing. I would be very proud to have made this. I can’t decided whether all that color and brightness near the bottom is good or bad. If I crop it out the image gets worse so I guess it’s good. But it does draw the eye down to the lower 1/5th of the image. I would try darkening it and maybe using a gradient.
The only obvious change would be to remove that sliver of brightness at the bottom
Wonderful seascape. The first thing that comes to mind for me is how you’re transformed the notion of the sea being a powerful, rugged and often violent force… and created such a calm and serene image. Of course the long exposure takes care of smoothing out the waves and that’s the big part of the transformation.
It’s also fascinating and amazing that this was captured in the dark. Of course Mark is right in that the camera is going to pick up so much more than what we think we’re seeing.
Hypocritically, I just posted a response to your request about processing the similar image you posted, and I responded that the small jpg would be tough doing any big adjustments without the RAW… and here I am actually posting an edited version of this particular image. But I still say, we’re limited to making adjustments with the small jpgs and not the RAW files… I digress.
I agree with Igor’s comment about the sliver at the bottom. I’ve cropped a tad all the way around, including removing some of the sky/clouds up top. My personal choice/thought was this was a little on the warm side, so I cooled the WB just a tad. I also targetted the yellows at the bottom and dropped the sat and luminance a few points. Very subtle and personal choice edits. I think I boosted the blue/aqua to bring out the bioluminescence of the agae.
There’s also quite a bit of color variation throughout - although very subtle…
I coule see this location as one where you might want to visit during other seasons, weather conditions and times of day.
Thank you @JacekZielinski, @Lon_Overacker, @Igor_Doncov, and @Mark_Seaver for your feedback. In a sense the ocean at night is calm like depicted because we can’t SEE its tumultuous nature, we can only hear its lullaby.
