Pacific Mood +edits

Image Critiques Landscape Critiques
1

Cropped/rework larger view:

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Reworked tight view:

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Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

My second favorite place outside of Yosemite. My wife and I spent a few days on the Pacific Coast in Pacific Grove and the Monterey Bay. My most recent photo outing just a few weeks ago.

This was a crazy weather trip. The day before this session it was stormy and part of the “atmospheric river” that hit CA at the beginning of the month. The prior day, rain, wind and changing conditions produced no less than 5 different rainbows that I chased for most of the day. But this day, this sunset was bluebird skies all day and so I just waited for late light to see what I could come up with from one of my favorite locations.

I have to tell you a nice NPN story here. I was set up with this scene, of course with tripod and my pack anchoring the tripod due to a good breeze. Not very many people, except for the tourists in their cars waiting for sunset. I noticed just one other photographer (and tripod) not to far away. He was in a spot that made me start thinking if that was a better angle than I had (doesn’t that always happen?) At some point we both moved and ended up chatting for a bit. Of course, with the setting sun, fleeting light, I think we both were probably more anxious in composing a scene and pressing the shutter! But in that conversation, the gentleman noticed my NPN sticker on my tripod. This of course led to introducing ourselves and it turns out I was talking to our own NPN member @Erik Stensland. He’s one of many members in the Rocky Mountain region and is good friends with @David Kingham. We both probably could have chatted further, but both of us had our wives sitting the car waiting for the sunset to end and of course we had to be clicking our shutter releases! We photographed the last of the sunset and then parted ways. I thought it was so cool to meet a fellow photographer with same NPN connection!

Great meeting and chatting with you Erik!

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Your feedback and suggestions welcome!

Specific Feedback

The tighter version was captured about 20 minutes before the wider view, which explains the different color temps as it was more yellow with the sun higher and turned warmer as the sun was setting.
I’m looking for feedback on the wider view in terms of overall composition and any potential crop or editing suggestions. I’m especially interested in processing - colors, sat, etc.

Technical Details

Nikon Z7ii, Z24-200mm @98mm (130mm for 2nd image). f/13 8sec, 6frame multile exposure In Camera.

I wanted to get the long-exposure look of the waves, but since it was still daylight and tough to get such long exposures, I used the multiple exposure feature and captured 6 consequtive exposures, in camera.

Critique Template

Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.

  • Vision and Purpose:
  • Conceptual:
  • Emotional Impact and Mood:
  • Composition:
  • Balance and Visual Weight:
  • Depth and Dimension:
  • Color:
  • Lighting:
  • Processing:
  • Technical:
2

Lon,

I don’t know, I mean your composition in the wider photo is pretty good as is. I thought maybe crop out the immediate FG rocks, but since the tops are so close the first sunlit rocks the border would crowd those rocks. I love the crisp look to the photo, and especially the horizon line and colors.

Cool story too. Its nice when you meet someone you know but didn’t know.

3

They’re both excellent. I thought the close up version was the clear winner when first seen on the iphone but the wider view has a mood about it. The zoomed version has a stronger composition and the horizontal aspet ratio is so right for it. But the distant view has the better mood with patches of sunlight on a descending sun. It’s the mood of a completed day. So in a way it’s apples and oranges. The diffused water looks good - not too foggy and yet the texture is smooth. I think that’s what you were after. I guess all that ICM work payed off in terms of knowing what shutter speed would give you.

I really like the bottom half of the wider view. It really carries the image and the distant sky and mountains aren’t that interesting. I would try a radical crop and form a comp with that lower section. It’s mostly dark with splashes of sunlight. That’s the difficulty in photography. As the light is changing to recognize when the light is arranged in a meaningful way and act upon it quickly and correctly. I find that challenging.

I may be wrong but I think the sky is unnaturally dark. Given how bright the light is on the rocks the sky looks too dark to me.

4

Pacific Mood, indeed! I love both of these. Both Monterey and Carmel By the Sea are two of my absolute favorite places and how romantic if you happen to be with your significant other. My wife is addicted to Carmel. The scenery is simply spectacular!!
These two are actually very different even though they are of the same basic scene. The wide angle image has REALLY good, soft pinky orange light soaking the tops of the rocks and I find that light to be significantly better looking than the yellowish/green cast in the tighter version. It’s still great light but it’s missing the reds and pink/orange of the wide angle. The water is much bluer in the tighter version than the greyish blue of the wide angle. I prefer the blues of the tighter image. The tighter version has a better composition. There are no holes or obvious unbalance going on anywhere. In the wide angle image, I’m distracted by the hole in the LRC. If that hole could be filled/cloned and you don’t object to that, it would be an even better composition that the tighter image. The wide angle tells a story about the setting or rising sun and that there are distant mountains and a large ocean and is more calming and “beautiful” per say. The tighter version could be any lake or body of water and the light is good but it doesn’t necessarily say sunrise or sunset. Just good light. There is more crashing water so it is less calming and more “active.”
In the end, they are both great images but I think the wide angle has just about everything you could want from a romantic seaside getaway with the one exception of the composition and that small hole in the LRC. The light is spectacular, I love the different colored rocks as well as the mountains of Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay in the background. Now, if you can get rid of the greenish cast on the sunlit rocks in the tighter shot and make those rocks sing with those warm colors of the wide angle, I might have to reconsider but I still think the wide angle tells a better story. I think I’ve confused the issue for you, Lon! LOL

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5

Hi Lon,
My first thought was where are all those wonderful trees? :rofl: All kidding aside these are both lovely. After toggling back and forth several times I still haven’t decided which image I like better as both are quite lovely and evoke different moods. I love the combination of warm and cool tones in the wider version and it has a serene peaceful vibe to it. The tighter version still has wonderful light, but just not quite as stunning as the wider view. The water movement gives it a little edgier mood which is less calming. Bottom line is I don’t think you can go wrong with either one. I am not trying to muddy the waters, but I played around with some crops and came up with this rework. Not necessarily better just one more option.

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Lon, I’m especially attracted to the mood and the long view of the first post. It is sooooo peaceful and inviting with it’s wide variety of subtle colors and shapes. The tighter view looks slightly oversaturated to me, with it’s extra contrast. Great story about Erik, I met him shooting a sunset (or maybe a sunrise…) near the top of Rocky Mountain Natl Park, several years ago. He was out with his (about 10 years old) son. We set up in similar locations and started talking after the light changed.

7

Great story Lon! I just met an NPN member @James_Shoemaker in Death Valley! Always great to run into other NPN members, such good people!

What great timing and inspiration for me, I will be on the Monterey Peninsula later this week! Monterey/Carmel are my home waters for underwater photography and I really have not spent much time shooting above the water there but your images have given me inspiration.

Back to the subject at hand…your images…I really like the first one for the sense of place it shows with the full breadth of Monterey Bay as the background. The ocean weathered granite rocks are pretty iconic to the Central Coast of CA and your image shows that well. Here is a rework with some bumped up light in the brighter areas of the subject rocks in the foreground to give them just a little more attention for the eye.

Thank you for the inspiration!

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Thank you @Youssef_Ismail , @Igor_Doncov , @David_Haynes , @Ed_Lowe , @Mark_Seaver ; and @Keith_Flood for your comments and suggestions! Much appreciated. After posting this comment, I’ll be uploading reworked versions

Thanks Youssef . Interesting you commenting on being crisp. The actual file is quite soft due to 6, in-camera Long exposures during a quite windy evening. I even had my camera bag hanging off the center column for stability. Of course, denoise, sharpening and Topaz helped improve the perceived sharpness.

Thanks Igor. Yes, given it was still daylight, in order to get that diffused water, I had an 8-stop ND, PLUS 6, in-camera exposures. The later gave the water texture with the multiple frames. IMHO, smoothing out the water allows the focus to be on the light, rocks, forms, etc. - and mood! Silky water - to each their own!
Oh, and good catch on the sky. I agree. At the time of processing I wanted to give the sky interest by simulating (or enhancing) the “earth’s shadow” look. Thanks for the detailed observation

LOL - Not at all David. Excellent observations and suggestions. One can go batty playing with colors, temps and saturation. I can now see the green cast on some I’ve worked on. And the blues? Very hard for me after the fact to get it where what I thought or remembered. Trying to balance hue between green/magenta. Hopefully the reworked images if anything show a little different.
Reposted a cropped version of the wider view - I agree with the “hole” in the LRC. Good eye.

Not at all Ed. I appreciate you taking a look. I really like your crop and have reworked both, although not a crop of the original wide view. I had about a dozen original RAWs to work with. Can’t go wrong in places like this!

Thank you Mark. I’ve reworked the cropped version, although I’m not sure if I did much with the saturation; I did tweak a few things including the color temp.

Thanks Keith! Enjoy your trip! Funny you mention the underwater photography. From our Hotel bay window, which literally is right on top of the beach of Cannery Row - I watched numerous folks out in the bay swimming and diving among the kelp and sea otters. I can imagine what a wonderful experience that must be. Make sure and take the drive along Ocean View and Sunset Drives! Have a great trip! I might be back in a couple weeks, bringing the grandkids to the Aquarium!

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. Although I never posted in Tom’s Discussion post, this is a classic example of the “grand scene” and the more intimate nature portraits. For me, I don’t normally go for the wider scenics… but when you’re in Rome - do what the Romans do! Can’t get enough of the beauty of Monterey Bay.

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Lon, that wider scene steels the show with that crop. The light is just epic and everything seems just right with that one. That’s my new choice. Well done on the remakes. Enjoy your trip in a couple of weeks. I’m very envious.

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