A more intimate scene from my trip to Acadia. I’ve been very quiet here the last few weeks, the start of the school year is always a bit hectic, and this year is taking that to a new level! The images I’ve posted so far have been more of a vista/typical seascape. I wanted to make some other images while I was there. I envisioned this one a bit before snapping it, I liked the idea of the rocks slowly receding out into the expanse of the water. I have another that is similar to this one but has one very unique rock. Interested in your thoughts!
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Always interested in peoples thoughts on composition, which I can’t really change now, but I can learn from, as well as the processing. I took an artistic approach here, this deviates significantly from the raw file…
To me this feels nicely balanced with the two prominent rocks, one a bit right of center and the other a bit left of center, and the transition from the water on the left to the pile of rocks on the right. I am curious as to how this deviates from the raw. I personally have no problem with significant deviation if the resulting image expresses an intentional idea or feeling.
Really beautiful image, David. When I first saw this I thought the water was fog! Did you use a really slow shutter to get that? It’s a really awesome effect! Great composition too!
Here is the raw, it was shot at mid-day. I loved the idea of the image but the colors didn’t match that feeling I was getting at all. Obviously I could have potentially shot this at or just before sunrise and come out with something similar, but this was the opportunity I had and when the idea struck, so I figured I’d go with it!
Thank you Vanessa! Yes, the shutter speed was about 45 seconds taken in mid-day on a cloudy day. Had it been too sunny there would be reflections all over and it would have been more of a challenge for sure.
I love this image as is. I would likely desaturate the purples a bit. But overall this is really a processing triumph. I also feel that the water and rocks are what this is about and the rocky shore intrudes on the matter. I would darken the urc to bring the viewer back to the water.
It’s a subject worthy of more study and experimentation. Here is the direction I would go in terms of subject matter. I just love the blue fog with warm rocks rising from it like ghosts. How strong was the ND filter you used.
That’s quite a ways from the raw to your original post. I love the warm/cool contrast, and the misty look of the water is great. I also like the transition across the frame. Very nice!
I’m not a big fan of the waves-as-fog look, but this one really works! I think it’s the way all the scattered cobbles stand out and that you can tell they’re wet. What were you trying to convey with the color scheme? I like the red-blue combination, but the blue is rather overwhelming.
I don’t want to mess with your vision (well, not too much ), but I did a little edit - increased the luminosity of the blues and desaturated them just a tad, and increased the luminosity of the purple tones to bring more depth to the rocks on the shore (all in ACR). Hope you don’t mind.
@Igor_Doncov thank you for the kind words! I could see adding some selective vignetting like you suggested. Balancing the colors in the water was a real challenge. It felt like the slightest move in one direction was too cyan yet the slightest move in the other was too purple. I may look at adding a curves adjustment and using the color channels instead to balance some of the colors. Also, it was a 10 stop ND.
@Bonnie_Lampley thanks for checking it out. I really the edits on the rocks, it seems to bring out some more definition in the rocks. As for the vision, I knew I would need to cool it off when I shot it as the raw file was so warm which is not at all what it was like to be there! It was so flat and it seemed like the colors in the rocks just ended up melting into the color of the sea. So I had this idea of cooling it but without a real way of knowing how to do it. Then I watched a video from Alex Noriega where he significantly shifted the colors using the temperature slider and how he offset that with desaturating the image. The problem with that was I lost all the color in the rocks and they looked terrible. So I went with a few raw smart objects in PS to keep color in the rocks and bring the cool color to the water. Maybe that explains more of the how than the why, but the raw just doesn’t really feel like water in my opinion and I liked the somewhat ghostly look of the bits or rock just poking out haze of the water. Like you, it’s not a look I’m generally drawn to and I almost can’t stand it in waterfalls. But here, it was the goal from the start and I’m quite happy with how it came out.
Interesting. Do you think this is due to the neutral density filter or the white balance setting? Filters like NDs can sometimes create casts and other white balance issues that are difficult to correct, both in the field and in post. I changed out my filters to better ones, but still sometimes have this with certain lighting conditions.
I like the creative license that you applied in processing this one. The cooler WB certainly creates a more moody look than the warm raw file. I might dial the coolness back very slightly (somehere in between you and Bonnie), but that is a matter of personal taste. I do think the cool /warm contrast is a much more interesting look than the warm raw file.
In terms of composition, I think your composition as presented works, and is reasonably well balanced. But I am intrigued with the direction that @Igor_Doncov took with his rework of the composition, it certainly makes the “foggy” water more front and center. I might even be tempted to try this as a 16:9 and cropping away the rocks at the top.
This is beautiful image, very well taken and with a creative processing.
I do like your photo but i do have to agree with @Igor_Doncov and @Ed_McGuirk concerning the crop.
Your original composition, while balanced, is “pack with to much information”. I rather like a “cleaner” approach.
), but I did a little edit - increased the luminosity of the blues and desaturated them just a tad, and increased the luminosity of the purple tones to bring more depth to the rocks on the shore (all in ACR). Hope you don’t mind.
