The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Well, Plan-A, Plan-B, and Plan-C fizzled out for me with each passing day as I watched the weather get worse for the locations I had planned on. This was Plan-D, from my neck of the woods in sunny California at Natural Bridges State Beach. A sequence of the partial phases leading up to the eclipse maximum. I also thought my lenses would have been able to capture the entire eclipse, but only made it through 80 minutes. Each image in the sequence is 5 minutes apart.
Specific Feedback
Which composition do you like best, the top one is with the sun at the start of the eclipse at first contact, and the second one is with the sun in maximum eclipse phase. I like the water better at the start, but I like the flare better at maximum since the shape of the eclipsed sun can be seen in one of the ghost images.
Technical Details
Main seascape image:
Nikon D850 , Nikon 24mm f/2 MF Prime, f22, 1/500 sec, ISO 100
Eclipsed Sun Images:
Nikon D2x, Nikon 17-55 AF at 17mm f22, 1 sec, ISO 100, Thousand Oaks Optical Solar Filter
Stacked sequence in PS. Then layered and Screened on top of the seascape image.
How interesting. I didn’t realize you could get these kinds of photos here in California. I prefer the first one, with the way the partial suns lead to the main sun.
I like both versions Youssef, though I think I lean a bit more toward the second. In both I find the edges of the eclipse approaching the edges of the frame closer than I’d like. Since you merged the eclipse with the seascape, I think lowering it a trifle would give the sun a bit of room to breathe.
Very creative, @Youssef_Ismail! I love how you have included your beautiful California shores in the scene. Both images are lovely, but I do agree about adding a bit more space at the top for breathing room. Nicely done.
I like the first one because the lighting is more serene and darker image than the second, Wonderful processing and you provide a unique take on this celestial event…Jim
This may be the best Plan D I’ve ever seen! I like both but find the first more dramatic. The soft light on the landscape feels like the eerie light during or close to totality. And I love the sun star!
It’s no fair to have such clear skies but be out of the area of totality.
This is a really fun series Youssef, and interesting that it came from California, not under the main pathway. I like the second one because it orients me to the series better. It could use more space on top, but it is already a portrait and you would probably lose some of the shoreline if you’d increased the top in camera.
Sorry to hear Plans A through C didn’t work out but it looks like you made the best of Plan D. I am drawn more to the first/top image because of the natural progression.
