Witnessed a spectacular sunrise in Westport MA - thanks Ed McGuirk for the location
I am not sure if I am able to convey what I actually witnessed
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
I knew that this was a good spot for sunrise but handling the back lit rocks is a challenge
This is an interesting scene. I’ll give a very personal opinion.
In general, I’m not a fan of long exposures. They take away any dynamic in the image. Therefore I only like them if the long exposure is used in case of a very tranquil, calm scene. I’ve scene seascapes in B&W with very long exposures with an almost empty sky, that breathe solitude and serenity.
In this case, the sunrise is spectacular. In my feeling, it doesn’t match the milky, flat sea. Although the sunlit clouds are smoothed as well by the long exposure, their message is very different for me than the dead sea. I’d prefer a different rendering of this beautiful scene.
This is a beautiful sunrise seascape. I agree with Han for sure on his first point - these are very personal reactions and opinions. I also agree that the long exposure removes any dynamic energy(my word) and also acknowledge many folks don’t like the silky results of long exposures. Butthat’s where the agreement ends - I love the effect. In fact, the smoothing out of the sea, turns it in to a giant color reflector and/or absorber of light. It also clearly allows the rocks to become a primary element and not competing with the dynamics and motions of the waves.
Speaking of motion, I like the zoom effect in the sky, providing a bit of dynamics to the big picture.
The stones at the bottom make for a solid anchor - quite literally.
Processing and colors appear spot on to me. Nice work there.
If I have any suggestion it would be to consider cropping/changing so that the scene was less 50-50. Not quite, but the horizon pretty much splits the scene - so the viewer is not sure if it was the sunrise sky, or the sea/rocks that you’re trying to showcase. Of course you’re wanting to show both and I’ll assume like most of us - looking for a compelling foreground element to complete the sunrise landscape.
This may not agree with your vision, but I think there is room to crop much of the blue sky - as much as 50%. At least for me when I tried, the sense of the motion in the clouds, or the zoom effect is not lost when cropping the top; in fact maybe enhanced? What that does also is give a little bit more emphsis on the rocks, stones and soft colors of the sea. I dunno… just a thought. I’d be pretty darn happy and excited about this one for sure!
