This image in my edit I have brought out detail in the shadows. Does this image work.
The previous image I posted from this area from the same night had no details in the shadows.(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
Hi Larry, the details in the shadows fit this scene well (I found your other post that was taken in the blue hour and had no shadow details) and you must have experienced a fantastic sunset with this sky!
The very lowest edge of the image is getting too bright I think, and since the reflection is not mirrorlike and doesn’t show the sky clearly you can consider cropping from the bottom part up til the waterline lies at about 1/3 of the frame? You can try if you like it. Maybe play a bit with fine-tuning the contrasts in the sky, a bit softer feel will look nice here.
The amount of detail, and contrast, within the shadows is personal taste I guess. I enjoy playing with these with targeted luminosity masks to get a nicer balance within the image as a whole.
That beach must be fun to shoot on, it looks great!
Edit: I’m on a better monitor now, the shadows need no more boost to avoid an unnatural HDR look. I think darkening the sky, and fine-tuning the shadows after that (darker on the right?), can increase the atmosphere.
Larry, this is very subjective on my part, but I prefer the silhouette in your prior post over this one, although I’ll admit that the sky and clouds are more interesting in this post. I think what I like less about this image is the shadow detail in the rocks. As presented your shadows are dark and relatively realistic looking. I think if you tried to introduce more shadow detail, you might risk veering into bad HDR territory, with flat shadows, lack of contrast etc. But as presented, I think the amount of shadow detail in this is okay but I might actually prefer to see it in silhouette, while leaving the sky and reflected sky on the wet sand alone. This opinion is a matter of personal taste, I’ll admit. The reflected sky on the wet sand is wonderful, and I like that you devoted a lot of real estate in the composition to it.
Nice image. I think that I would desaturate the blues a bit and maybe the reds, but that may be because I just got done looking at Patricia Brundage’s dawn image.
That’s a tough one. I’d like to see it in silhouette, or with less shadows to compare. The sunset light is the best part of the image, though. A very enjoyable image regardless. Better light than I had when I was there. It was pouring buckets!
Larry,
Terrific sunset image from here. Interesting too as it relates to my comments on your previous image post; ie. how difficult sunsets are from this location (or most any location on the West coast…)
I think you’ve done a pretty good job keeping some detail in the shadow areas which getting a great exposure and colors in the sky and reflection. I think as someone mentioned, getting any more detail from the rock/cliff would likely not improve the image and approach something that wouldn’t look natural. I think you’re pretty close as presented.
I really like the composition with the great sunset sky and mirrored reflection. I do see a little bit of haloing between the land mass and sky/clouds on the right; indicating that some effort was made to raise the shadow detail a bit. Minor in the overall image presentation.
In the end, these are one of the most difficult lighting conditions to capture and process. Overall, I think you did well.
Lon
