storms rolling thru the gulf of mexico on florida coast.
any and all comments. what post processing could improve the image?
the image is a composite, although taken only minutes apart. i was moving around some as the lightning strikes came. i just didn’t like the foreground on the image taken with the lightning in it.
Is this a composite: Yes
iso 100 16 mm 18 mm 15 secs
The foreground contrast and detail are very striking. Only suggestion I have is to crop most of the sky maybe just above the horizon. Your image portrays a stark and stormy atmosphere.
I really feel for you with this image, Frank. Overall, it has a wonderful feel, beautifully done in monochrome. I love the patterns in the sand around the leading posts and the way the posts themselves ground the picture. Your handling of the surf - soft and glowing - is perfect against the detailed grit of the sand and posts. The reason I feel for you is because of the lightning. It’s a great strike , captured cleanly and dramatically. But, as Eva implied in her comment, it is just too far above the horizon and feels like it is a second picture apart from the main body of this image. Without the lightning strike the image loses its, dare I say it - electricity and becomes much moodier and contemplative, which wasn’t , I gather, what you had in mind or experienced at the time. Still, I find without the lightning the image is much more cohesive.
Frank, I agree with @Eva_McDermott and @Kerry_Gordon. This image is so much stronger without the lightning. The bottom 80% here is a wonderfully moody fine art image. The lightning (independent of its location in the sky) overwhelms the image, and distracts the viewer from all the great nuances of the scene below. To me the lightning is incongruous.
I appreciate the image for the contrast of the dark sky against the gorgeous look that you have in the water. That triangle of lights/darks in the water is just so beautiful. Repetition of triangles abound here. The arrangement of the pylons is perfect. I actually feel the power of the storm more intensely when the lightning is removed. Less is more.
The processing looks great, except for some posterization low in the sky. Here is a rework with a proposed crop, some blurring of the sky to reduce the posterization, and a cloning away of the rock in the LRC.
Frank, I have looked at this several times trying to decide whether I like this better with or without the lightning. I think if the lightning had more of a downward diagonal trajectory it would be no contest. The direction that @Ed_McGuirk is taking the image going is my favorite. Of course that might not be the direction you want to take this drama laden scene. All of the diagonals that you have created with the pilings and the water’s edge add some additional visual tension to the image. I love the tones along with the lovely glow on the water. Great job on this!
One more vote to remove the lightning. I’m not a fan of lightning to begin with and here you have an excellent image without it.
