This photo was made after sunset, with the scene lit by clouds to the west that were lit by the sun. It was quite dim, which made composing a bit of a challenge. The combination of tufa on the shore and the tufa formations, and the light, caught my attention. I was able to only make a few exposures before the light was gone for the night.
Specific Feedback Requested
Composition and suggestions for improvement. Thanks!
Technical Details
Sony a7IVR, 24-105 f/4 at 26mm. ISO 100, 15 seconds at f/22. Edited for color, contrast and saturation, as well as dodged and burned in LR.
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Wonderful blue light image, Mark. The top portion is classic Mono Lake. You’ve done something unique by combining that with the close foreground. I think it works nicely in the larger image. Well done.
Mark, there are no improvements needed for this photograph, imho. The light, the clouds, the foreground. All of them right where they need to be and perfectly captured. Well done!
Mark,
Gorgeous rendition from Mono Lake. While sure, the “Shipwreck” is classic Mono Lake, the colors you’ve rendered in the water itself are anything besides classic. I’d say the water looks more like the Caribbean, or let’s say Lake Tahoe. And for me, just the top half alone without the foreground is an image worth printing and hanging.
Adding the foreground does create an excellent near/far composition. It does fit in to that 50/50 category - which isn’t always detrimental, but does create a back and forth thing where it’s not clear what is more important. I think perhaps shaving some off the bottom might work, but that’s totally subjective.
Love the colors and processing here. Great eye to see and compose this.
Lon
I’m with @Lon_Overacker on this, big time. For me, including the foreground gives this image a formulistic feel. Again this is the kind of choice that has to lie with your vision but for me, this is a much stronger image cropped square from the bottom. Then, I find my eye comes to rest and I really get into the colour palette and those striking swirls on the shore (which in the full portrait mode feel “bullied” out of the way).
I like the contrasting layers in the image - specifically how you used the alternating color and texture of the foreground which matches the background tufas and how that contrasts with the soft texture in the water and sky. The soft light compliments the scene well.
Beautiful image. I like the foreground very much. The background image is iconic and beautiful but you have given it your personal point of view that separates your image from the many from Mono Lake. Well done.
Wow, what a unique image from Mono Lake. I love your use of blue/turquoise in the water and I love the swirls near the shoreline in the water. You have beautiful light on the shipwreck too (that @Lon_Overacker mentioned), a classic scene that you have beautifully rendered like none I’ve seen before. You have a very interesting foreground but I find the foreground a little too heavy for the scene. This image almost appears to be 2 separate and distinct images, one for the shore and one for the shipwreck. I think eliminating much of the foreground places more emphasis on the shipwreck and the beautiful water color and those water swirls. I hope you don’t mind but I cropped this to square as @Kerry_Gordon suggested and I think it harmonizes the image and removes some of the heaviness of the foreground.
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I love the original image, but @David_Haynes square crop brings this to another level.
Thanks for your input and edit. When I made the image, the formation (I didn’t know it was called the shipwreck. I hadn’t photographed at Mono Lake in over 25 years) was secondary in my intent. I thought the foreground more interesting. I left the shipwreck in to give the foreground context. I tend to make images with a “wait there’s more” approach, in the case the shape, lines and texture of the foreground, then the tufa formation in the background. Besides, it was quite dark and cold when I photographed this. So I didn’t have much time for alternative compositions.
A beautiful image with bright rich colours that are just right and not too saturated. I like this a lot!
