Sunrise at Split Rock Lighthouse

[Mike Lentz]

This is what I mustered up after the golden morning colors had disappeared. I just positioned myself to where the sun would peak out from behind the cliff wall.

http://www.pbase.com/mike_lentz/image/85339438.jpg

Nikon D200 ~ Nikkor 18-70mm F3.5-4.5
ISO 100 ~ F/18 ~ 1/80 sec

[Robert Amoruso]

Hi again Mike,

Have been looking at this one for a while. I think some will comment that the right is too void of interest to support the image as a whole and to a certain extent I agree - a boat or the sun out in the right balances the lighthouse/cliff could make it stronger. But taking the image as it stands, I am not particularly bothered by the right side.

I find the large black cliff a bit too much negative space so cropped it in the repost. I also did a Curves Adjustment as an experiment. In it I placed an anchor point in the middle. Then I created a point at the 3/4 position and dragged up and over too taste (about 1/2 grid space up/over on a 10x10 grid) - this lightens the sky some and saturates the color a bit. Then I created a point at the 1/4 position and did the same there - this lightens the water up some. Whether you like this tweak or not, the image looks OK to me w/o it as well.

[Mike Lentz]

Good re-do. When I took the photo I was thinking along the lines of the rule of thirds and that why I did it that way... but you have me re-thinking. I'm curious what others think.

[Robert Amoruso]

Thanks Mike. I am curious what others will think too. I will be waiting to see.

[Judd Patterson]

Hey Mike, this image is quite nice. I like the colors and the silhouetted lighthouse up on the cliff. Robert's repost has several improvements in my mind, especially dealing with the overall composition. Losing a bit of the cliff added a lot in my opinion. :) My only other suggestion would have been for when you created this image. At f/18 I'm pretty sure you could have managed a really nice star burst around the sun if that is your style. This is usualy best accomplished by just barely allowing the bright sun to poke around a blocking object...in this case the cliff. My guess is that you could have created a very distinct star burst if you had leaned a foot or less to your left as you created the image.

[David Kennedy]

Mike,
I believe that Robert and Judd have both given you some great suggestions here. I'll admit that the first question that popped into my head was "why didn't he go for a sunburst?" Judd is correct that a slight more to your left would have provided an opportunity for a sunburst--you simply had too much of the sun showing for the effect to happen.

I think that Robert's idea of cropping in from the right is helpful. It tightens the focus a bit, which is helpful when you have a colorful but fairly uniform sky.

[Mike Lentz]

I agree, all very good points! Thanks, guys! :)