The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I’ve been struggling to go out in recent months, as the everyday took over most of my time. Last weekend was a spontaneous exception. With the right weather forecast, the Dead Sea can offer just what one needs for such an outing.
It was my first time at this area, and I was left speechless by the beauty of its salt structures - both above and under the water. There were almost no waves, which allowed getting a good view of the underwater patterns.
Hopefully, I managed to pass some of the grandeur of this place.
Specific Feedback
Any feedback is welcome.
Technical Details
14mm + CPL
f/18, 8sec, ISO 31 (to avoid the need for an ND filter).
*Edit: as several of you guys mentioned a wider view, I’ve added a pano shot I took shortly after for your consideration. Thank you all for your time and critiques!
I can understand that well. Busy workdays, family, and other private commitments take their time. So it’s really great that you managed to go out shooting.
And the result looks really awesome. I love this gloomy mood created by the clouds. And those patterns are amazing. I have never seen anything like it.
You write that these structures are partially above and below the water. So I can understand your speechlessness. That must have been a great experience to see the scene with your own eyes.
There is one thing that bothers me slightly. I wish I could see just a tiny bit more of the shore at the right and bottom of the frame. Do you have some shots that include more of the land?
That is an amazing location. Seems like I could spend hours shooting there.
Wow. So this is what the Dead Sea looks like? Did it look this way during the New Testament? I’m just curious in that it helps add to the pictures from my religious upbringing.
Those curves of salt are just wild. In some way they remind me of Mundt’s Scream but only in appearance. I agree about the rocks being cut off at the bottom but it’s not a really really big issue. I think it’s their brightness at the edge that’s a bigger issue than being at the edge. On the other hand they do have a presence and using them is a good idea.
Hi Tom, this is a beautiful, otherworldly landscape. Those curved lines are amazing, and enhanced by the moody sky. They remind me of cut and polished halves of thunder eggs. I agree with the previous suggestions about including more of the shoreline and the brightness of the rocks at the edges of the frame. In addition, I think the ULHC is a little dark. I took the liberty of doing a quick edit of your image. Using masks in ACR, I used a linear gradient in the corner, increasing the exposure slightly, and then brushed the curves, decreasing the exposure to match the rest of the frame.
Wow, this is a beautiful and intriguing image! Those patterns are fascinating, more like solid mineral than water.
I really like the ultra-wide angle perspective. The stones at the bottom don’t bother me at all. I find them very nice and interesting. The sky looks great, too with gentle light and soft, pastel colours.
The increased exposure on the left done by @Patrick_Campbell looks great, bringing subtle luminosity and enhancing the subtle pink of the sunset in that area. It balances out the image nicely, though the mood changes somewhat and it boils down to a matter of taste and what emotions the artist wishes to convey.
I really like the work on your website. It is very captivating and soulful. Truly a pleasure to discover.
@Jens_Ober Thank you dear Jens for your kind critique.
It really is a unique area I’ve been waiting to explore, it’s not typical to the Dead Sea or anywhere else I’ve seen…
@Jens_Ober@Patrick_Campbell@Igor_Doncov I understand your point regarding the rocks at the edge. I don’t think it was possible to include more of them with my 14mm without compromising on getting additional distractions in the frame. However, following your feedback, I’ve added a wider view in the original post (a panorama I took shortly after). Would love to hear your thoughts.
I used a linear gradient in the corner, increasing the exposure slightly, and then brushed the curves, decreasing the exposure to match the rest of the frame.
@Patrick_Campbell thank you for taking the time to show what you meant with ACR etc. - totally makes sense. I’m not sure what’s the cause of the brightness of the salt lines in the edge of the frame (it was there originally), but it totally makes sense to balance them.
@LauraEmerson thank you for your kind words Laura (both the feedback on the image and on the website). That wide perspective is exactly why I preferred to leave some of the shoreline out - allowing to exaggerate the perspective on the salt lines. Appreciate your insights on the corner / salt lines brightness too.
Last but not least… Thank you @Matt_Payne! Appreciate that man.
Thank you Igor!
Wrote a separate reply due to your interest in the Dead Sea… But first -
In some way they remind me of Mundt’s Scream but only in appearance.
It took me a moment to understand what you meant - those curly lines in the painting. That’s a beautiful association, never occurred to me. Thank you for that.
I think it’s their brightness at the edge that’s a bigger issue than being at the edge. On the other hand they do have a presence and using them is a good idea.
I do get your meaning. For me it was a tradeoff between not having anything solid (as the bands are under the water), or having the rocks despite their brightness. I chose the latter, as you said too. I’ve also attached a wider view to the original post.
Wow. So this is what the Dead Sea looks like? Did it look this way during the New Testament? I’m just curious in that it helps add to the pictures from my religious upbringing.
And last… I think it looked quite different several thousands of years ago. The sad thing is that the Dead Sea shrinks rapidly in recent times… around 1m (height!) per year. Quoting Wikipedia - it had an area of ~1050 Sq.Km in 1930, while nowadays it’s only ~600 Sq. Km. You can actually see beach signs tens of meters above the actual sea level.
Btw, I’m not religious myself, but I’ve recently heard someone who made the connection between Lot’s wife turning into a pillar of salt, and the salinity of the Dead Sea. I’m sure there is geological evidence for it being much older… but it’s still a nice observation.
Hi Tom,
very good that you thought of taking a panorama. It contains, in my opinion, just the right extra amount of shore rock that is needed.
I would try to crop it similar to the image you posted originally, to get rid of the hill on the left edge. And I would darken the rocks at the edge of the frame.
That area looks really amazing. Great potential, even for smaller scenes. It seems like I could spend the whole day there.
I feel this view is much too wide in that the hills in the distance are too far, causing me to lose interest, and the patterns in the water cease becoming the centre of interest as they feel more distant and less defined and with the shore acting as a distraction. That said, the sky is more dramatic in this view - so that’s the uncomfortable trade-off, but there’s always one isn’t there? Ah why are the choices always so difficult to make?
I agree with @Jens_Ober about cropping out the hill on the left. I think you will be left with something pretty similar to your original post doing this.
In short, I think your original crop is a really nice one. It works extremely well in focusing the attention on these extraordinary patterns on the water, whilst conveying a very calm and slightly mysterious mood. It’s a really nice image, and I like it very much.
Those are crazy patterns for sure! There is nothing you can do at this point, but compositionally I wish you had included more of the rocks down below and less of the sky since they play a much more important role in the scene. The way there are just slivers of them included along the bottom edge makes them feel accidental rather than purposely included. The shoreline is such an important part of the scene as well you should have included more space beneath it so it would be more pronounced.
*Edit I spoke too soon. The pano version you included is much better in regards to what I mentioned above, but now you have included too much on the left side. I would crop that out again so it is similar to the original but with the added space down below. With so much room on the left side it makes my eye want to wander in 2 different directions, and carries me out of the left side of the frame.
@Jens_Ober@LauraEmerson@Eric_Bennett thanks again for your wonderful feedback and suggestions.
Yes I definitely agree that this hill is best left out of the frame. The reason it’s there is that this seems like the right perspective for the wider focal length that the pano simulates, and in these image proportions - it’s just there. Photoshop can handle that of course, but I’m less into cloning or warping into unnatural proportions.
However, that pano took some work and tweaking to reach something that looks natural. It’s possible that playing with it a bit more may help getting a better crop that still looks natural - as you suggested. It’s something I’ll definitely try.
@Jens_Ober these shores are indeed rich in details too. I’m sure if you visit there sometime you’ll get magnificent shots. This place always has something fresh to give. Thanks again for your feedback!
@LauraEmerson thank you for these warm words Laura. While there are still the options with the pano, I’ll admit that currently I do tend to favor the first image too. Something about the proportions probably, although maybe that pano can provide something similar…
Tom, having seen, spent time photographing and swimming in the Dead Sea, I was not bothered whatsoever by the whiteness or the lack of shoreline. Instead, I was taken by how you captured the lines of salt and the sky. When you see the contrast in person; the white almost needs to be there to actually portray the scene as. it is. I could not help but continue to look around the photograph and discover everything you had managed to include in this image.
if you want, the Photoshop AI will add the content others have suggested. But for me, this is an amazing image and you did a splendid job of capturing the scene.
Thank you dear @horatio , really appreciate your feedback, and so glad you observed all that! It was probably one of the most beautiful mornings I had in several years - that combination of sky and the patterns, as you wrote.
Thanks again for that critique (and apologies for my late reply!).
