After teaching two back-to-back conferences for Out of Chicago, we decided to stay on the Oregon coast for a bit longer for some personal time. We returned to North Seal Rock with low expectations of finding anything on this morning. I spent some time observing what was happening with the waves interacting with the rocks and realized that every once in a great while, a big wave would smash into the rocks creating these ephemeral waterfalls. I composed the best I could and waited, and waited, and waited. The waves were only big enough to occur once every half hour or so. I’m not sure how long I waited, but finally, a massive wave crashed, spraying water hundreds of feet into the air and I thought I was surely going to be massively soaked. The water fell straight down and poured over the rocks, just as I had hoped.
Specific Feedback Requested
Does the burning and dodging feel natural?
Technical Details
0.8 seconds, f/16, ISO 100 with a 6 stop ND I believe. Processed in DxO PureRaw to clean up some noise. BW conversion done in Lightroom with some small tweaks done in Photoshop.
If your tripod was in the water it appears to me that you had some movement…the water appears blurry rather than smooth from the SS you selected.
The comp is nice but the highlights are right on the edge…
Nice composition, David. I never got to N. Seal Rock. Now I’m curious. I’ll have to check it out. I can see what Dan is talking about, but I’m not sure how to distinguish motion blur from slow shutter blur when it comes to water. I like the vignette effect of the darker sky and foreground, but perhaps a tish less dark or narrower band of darkening on that lower right corner. The “peaky shadow” there (maybe an actual shadow?) grabs my eye a bit. I love the sky. It’s what I like to call “Ansel dark” and mean it as a compliment.
Great patience for waiting for that waterfall effect. It’s really unique as both a natural phenomenon and as a photographic subject.
ML
Yes, for the most part. Looks awesome man! I love the patience!
The graduation of the sky and foreground isn’t natural but I also think you should leave it in place because it helps to suspend the eye on the most important parts of the frame.
For me, black and white is by definition a stretch from reality and I think it allows great variation in what you want to contrast and emphasize in an image; this looks fine to me. This plants a nice focus on the water, which is the star of the show.
It’s amazing how perspective shifts in photography. I know how large those stacks and the ridge to the left are, and they kind of shrink in this image. I think it works fine, it’s just interesting.
My only “want,” and I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t an option, is for the image to be shifted right. It feels cut off on the right and I don’t mind sacrificing some of the left to let that water flow move into the image a bit more.
I really like this David. It has a lovely LensWork feel about it. To me, the tones are great as is the tint that maintains some pure whites and black(ish) blacks.
I agree with John that shifting the image to the right a bit may help. The main white focal point of the waterfalls seems to keep drawing my eye off to the right and I feel that I then want to see whatever is beyond that edge. Cheers.
Great to see an image post from you here in Landscape!
I think this is awesome and especially kudos for the out-of-the-box perspective/viewpoint. The low viewpoint is refreshing. And also kudos for recognizing the potential and the patience to wait this out. I think it’s paid off!
I don’t think it’s been mentioned, but my only real nit/suggestion would be some detail in the bg stackn the left. Not a huge deal, and I understand the time of day and exposure range, but if there’s anything there to extract, I would consider that.
I think in general, yes. Other than the gradient in the sky, I wouldn’t even have thought there was any other dodging/burning going on. I agree with Matt on the sky, I do like that the darker top works well to keep the viewer in the frame. I suppose it’s a matter of personal preference if the gradient is too much, but think for sure I like the top a little darker.
Terrific seaside image! Oh, the “waterfalls” anchor the scene beautifully and the bit of motion in the surf work nicely in the scene.
