Stormy sunset

Happy new year all at NPN! I took this shot around June 2019 at Portencross, at the West Coast of Scotland. The island in the distance is Isle of Arran. I’d appreciate any feedback, be as harsh as you would like to be!

What technical feedback would you like if any?

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

As always I’d like to receive feedback on the composition! I originally shot this at 3:2 but cropped it to 5:4.

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)

If you would like your image to be eligible for a feature on the NPN Instagram (@NaturePhotoNet), add the tag ‘ig’ and leave your Instagram username below.
You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
2 Likes

Happy new year, Zoltan! What a moody sky and I really like the shimmering on the water. It really echoes the entire mood above it especially with the storm in the distance. That said, I am not quite sure about the foreground being brighter than the BG. Perhaps some darkening on the rocks?

2 Likes

Zoltan,
I really love this composition, it has great mood and is very dynamic. I like the rocks but agree with @Adhika_Lie that the foreground might be a bit bright. That said, I think is a very strong image.

1 Like

Adhika & @Alan_Kreyger you know when you think you done with an image then someone points something out to you and from there on you just cannot unsee it?! Well that’s the case with the rocks :blush: once I get home I’ll have a play about with them, see how it would work. Thank you both for pointing that out!

Zoltan, this image has a wild and untamed feeling to it, you captured a wonderful mood here. I think the use of 5:7 aspect ratio also makes that wonderful sky more prominent, so good call there. The processing of the sky looks great, it has a very dynamic look to it. I agree with the others comments about the foreground being too bright, and would decrease the luminosity there. I also find my eye being drawn too much to the shadow in the rock along the bottom frame edge. If this were mine, I’d consider cloning or cropping it away, but that is a matter of subjective personal taste.

You did not mention if this was a single image, or blend of several exposures. Something about the mid-ground water looks a little “off” to me. It has a lot less texture and definition than either the sky or the foreground. If this was a single image, then perhaps a faster shutter speed might have added more definition in the water. If this is a blend of multiple brackets, do you have another one with more definition in the waves? I know I am getting nitpicky, but I think waves with more definition would re-inforce the "wild’ feeling in the image.

1 Like

@Adhika_Lie, @Alan_Kreyger @Ed_McGuirk here is the picture with the rocks made a bit darker. I just tried to clone out the gap in the rock but it was a disaster( I am not great in PS to be honest).

@Ed_McGuirk It was a single shot where the shutter speed was 2.5 sec, so I think what you explained came from the movement of the water. Oh don’t you worry, I really appreciate nitpickines :slight_smile: I am personally quite hapy with the texture of the water but next tiime I shoot something like this I will try a faster shutter speed for sure! I will check if I have any photos from this outing with faster shutter speed, however I would not be able to do the same edit again :smiley:

1 Like

For all, here is the Raw file, without any editing…

Lovely image, Zoltan ! The tones in the sea and sky and the delicate blue hues surrounding the mountains are delightful. Think I agree with others about the brightness of the rocks - but they do form a strong lead in to the image.

1 Like

Nice lead in with the water indeed, and a perfect dramatic sky!
There should be some good tips about the clone tool on youtube, it’s really powerful. You could also try to open op the blacks in the fg a bit, masking it in, and burning the surrounding rock to a similar luminosity, maybe the darkest shadows do not stand out so much then?
I would maybe have tried another composition here too, with a lower angle, the midground becomes a little less (but wave action still visible) and the line in the stream and textures of the rocks become a bigger part of the image, if you like that of course :wink: .

1 Like