Made in Ocean City, NJ presunrise. Got to the beach when still dark, only one there for an hour or so…suprise in NJ. Really first time experimenting with really low light at the shore. What a peaceful morning.
I left the small jetty in on the left as a focal point for leading lines of waves. I know its at the edge but I think it works. Others thoughts? Any other comments always welcome.
Is this a composite: No
70 mm, f/11, 9 sec, iso 250
Hi Mario, a really beautiful image! I think the jetty works, is unobtrusive yet interesting detail once you spot it.
Peaceful is indeed the word Mario. I love the soft light and the gradient from blues to yellow to orange. the 9 second exposure helps smooth out the water, making it a nice compliment to the sky. Well done.
A lovely image. I particularly like the reflected shape of water on the left. But the sky is great as well and so are the dark shape of the waves. It’s a deceptively simple image in the sense that it would seem that anyone can make it. Just set up and push the button. But there are a lot of subtle features. My only advice is the pure yellow in places. I think I might desaturate it some but I really don’t know.
A simple (in a very positive sense) and peaceful image with great colors and lines. I like the reflection of the sky and its two different areas. The smoothness of the water is just right. For me the small jetty works well, but it is not that important for the image. A very well composed image, I like it a lot!
Thank you all for your comments. Igor Thank you for recognizing that it is not a simple snapshot. The 9 sec exposure transformed the image.
hank you all @Bryan_Mansell @David_Bostock @Igor_Doncov @Ola_Jovall for the comments. Igor thank you for recognizing that it is not a simple snapshot. The 9 sec exposure transformed the image.
Beautiful colors, lines and a very nice abstract feel. Well done.
This is a VERY ovely scene, and shows what the camera can see in low light that we barely can. I love the placement of the horizon and the gentle sweep of the clouds into the gradient at the top.
I do have a small reservation about the yellows, as @Igor_Doncov mentioned. The “correct” WB of an image is elusive, even with careful use of a gray card, so we might as well go for the one we like. But I wonder if some slight tweaking of the Temp and Tint sliders in raw conversion would be worth checking for comparison. There is not a preset for predawn, and most of them are not that good anyway. Auto WB is the worst of all, using a formula for the average color of the image that can be way off. But maybe you have explored all that and come to this result – I can hardly fault it for beauty!
This is very nice Mario.
Love the overall mood, composition and color balance on the scene.
@Mario_Cornacchione I’ve come to learn that my more simplified images are my more impactful images. Your’s is no exception!
I think the yellow is fine because it’s balanced out on each side of the image. You did a great job of using the rule of thirds to make this more impactful. The horizon is on the bottom third and the dark area of the sky is also on a third.
You did a great job on the selection of the shutter. Love how smooth but yet textured the water is.
Excellent job on the composition.
I only have one tiny suggestion and that’s the crop out some of the blue at the top by changing the aspect ration to 2:1.
Great job!
Wow, This is so beautiful, Mario! The colors are wonderful and I love the effect from the 9 sec. exposure. The jetty coming in on the left actually adds something here and your thoughts about a focal point for the wave lines is why. I think Mario’s suggestion on cropping just a little of the bright blue on top does work, but also beautiful just as you have it to me.
Wow! Really beautiful image, amazing what a slow shutter speed will do! It makes it look very abstract! I like the composition too.
THank you for hte comments Diane. Yes I did try variations of WB but thought this was the best, actually auto, best reflected my feeling at the time.
Mario,
The very first initial reading for me was that this was an abstract - I try to pay attention to initial readings because they often contain surprises. In this image that was the curve of the waves as they formed across the frame. They are darker than the rest of the image and therefore become their own element. As such, they create a dominant shape that comes forward in space from the upper and lower portions of sky and water which seem to recede in space.from the wave. This is an instance, for me, of the image being something other than what is there. The affect could be enhanced a bit, but works subtly as it is.
Me, I’d just leave it alone. 
