Driving on the Sky Road in the Clifden area in Ireland, hoping for a sunset that I knew wasnt going to be realistic - but then the clouds gave me a few rays of hope!
I am sure there will quite a few artistic visons of this one - including Black and White - lets see what you have to say
Is this a composite: No
Nothing unusual
Gorgeous! I think the sunbeams are perfectly brought out and love the colors. I’d only suggest maybe finding more detail in the dark lower corners.
Karl this is one of the best sun rays over water that I’ve seen. I agree with @Diane_Miller that there could be a bit more detail in the lower corner shadows, but that’s not a deal killer. This is really a nice shot.
I’m glad that you hung in there Karl, sometimes it pays dividends. This is a very powerful image, there’s nothing subtle about it, but that’s what I love about it. The processing is very bold, but I think you managed to pull it off and make a very interesting statement. I don’t care that it has a “processed” look, it was obviously done with clear creative intent. The processing adds a lot of emotion to the image.
Yeah, this is one of those images that will likely invite a lot of alternate rework suggestions, because your processing is so untypically bold. I almost hate to make any suggestions for tweaks, because you obviously had a very personal creative vision for this. Without tampering with your creative vision too much, I’d suggest a small crop from the bottom, I think it would place more emphasis on the circle of light near the horizon. In addition, I think it helps by placing less emphasis on the heavy darkness of the lower corners, as mentioned by @Diane_Miller and @David_Bostock. I cropped this to 16x10, and liked the way that looked.
@Ed_McGuirk, I think that’s a good idea, or else a gradient burn from the bottom. The reflection below the pool of light does pull the eye toward the bottom a bit.
Or maybe both at the same time…
Thanks @David_Bostock , @Ed_McGuirk and @Diane_Miller
Initially I intentionally kept the lower corners dark but agree with showing some detail. I have also burnt the bottom of the reflected light in order to one’s attention more focused.
Any thoughts on a Black and White approach ?
Here’s a quick try at B&W:
I used a plugin I have called B&W Styler. I chose Fuji Acros as the profile and imitated normal paper. It produced a bit of noise but it should work well on your larger file. I say give it a try…
Thanks @David_Bostock
I do like this a lot - Only I dont have B&W Styler - may try Nik Silver Effex in layers for different effects on different parts of the image
I think this is much more interesting than what you might have captured with a traditional sunset. Wonderful photograph. I don’t know if I have a preference for the color or the B&W. One of each, please!
A calm sea like that - that’s a very good day in the West of Ireland! I love how the clouds run parallel to the horizon and water. All you needed was for a whale to appear centre stage. Gorgeous shot!
With these rich blue and yellow tones of color, I’d stick with color over B&W. To me switching from color to B&W loses a lot of the emotional impact of the image. If I was to switch to B&W, I would consider a cool toned B&W, to retain some of the emotion the blues bring to the color image.
I like the burn at the bottom but, dramatic as the structure is, the gold and blues are too gorgeous to mess with.
Thanks again @Diane_Miller , @David_Bostock , @Mike_Friel , @jefflafrenierre and @Ed_McGuirk
I too think that the complimentary Blue and Gold is an important part of the mood. I thought I’d see how others felt
