Sandstorm during Storm Diane in the UK

Image Critiques Landscape Critiques
1

Hello all. I’d love some comments and suggestions surrounding composition and processing on this image.

Basically I shot this sandstorm during high winds on a local beach with a moody sky. The trouble is I don’t know if I like it or not. I’ve had a good response on social media but I’m still not convinced.

Composition wise I tried to get the blowing sand to act as a leading line, but to me they don’t really lead anywhere.

I think the image is original but I’m not convinced. Does the water on the right hand side cause too much of an imbalance?

PP wise I’ve tried to create as much contrast between the blowing sand and still sand as possible to make the separation clear.

From memory iso 100, f11 and shutter speed 1/3 second (I experimented with a few)

2018-11-28_07-26-37
2018-11-28_07-26-371376×2048 661 KB

Thanks in advance.

2 Likes
2

Hi Chris,

Your image definitely has depth. My eye does follow the lines towards the horizon. It then gets pulled to the highlight in the upper right. I suggest burning down that highlight a bit.

I would also try cooling the white balance of the clouds. That should give a bit more colour contrast to the sand and may give the image a bit more pop

3

Thanks Nathan. I’ll try that.

4

Chris,

Excellent and unique. I think you did a great job with the lead-in lines of the blowing sand; it’s pretty clear to me anyway. And the blowing sand does lead the eye to not only the horizon and sky, but I also like how it appears the lines of sand all come together.

I would also agree with Nathan’s suggestion about dropping the brightness in the UR. You might even be able to get away with a crop from the top. Those scattered darker clouds I think are the most interesting anyway.

The water/wave line on the right doesn’t bother me. If anything, it provides some context (which makes it less abstract, but again doesn’t bother me)

Well done!

Lon

5

Thanks Lon. I did try removing it and it didn’t seem right, no point of reference or context

6

Looks real good. I agree with Lon’s suggestion about the sky crop. The drama and contrast I find in the dark clouds rather than the bright area.

1 Like
7

One more vote for the sky crop. The image comes together for me without that bright area. There is good strong mood to this comp.

8

Thanks Igor. I haven’t got round to it yet but will crop it and repost

9

What they said.

This is a great image Chris; it works well for me in part because of its simplicity. Play with the crop (and be convinced :grinning:).

10

:joy: Thanks John