Sand Dollar

[Steve Maxson]

Something a bit different from all the beautiful flowers and insects. This Eccentric Sand Dollar was photographed on an Oregon beach at low tide. I used a diffusion screen to eliminate a harsh shadow and produce the nice even light. 40D, 90mm tilt/shift, tilted to maximize DOF, 1/13 sec, f/16, ISO 200, tripod, mirror lock up, cable release. Comments are welcome.

[Julie Kenward]

What a beautiful and serene image! The lighting is beautiful - the diffuser probably did wonders in this case. Did you use a white, gold or silver diffuser? The composition is very nice and the detail in the sand is really wonderful. I especially like the sand on the back of the sand dollar...it really makes you sense that this is a living creature and get a sense of motion.

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi Steve, nice to see something different. I love the nicely detailed subject. I like the complementary colors of the sand and the sand dollar. Composition with the sand dollar on the rule of thirds hotspot is great. I would consider increasing sharpness a little to gain even more details from the sand.

[Steve Maxson]

Thanks Jules and Jerry for your comments.

Jules: I used a white diffuser and it made a huge difference. Photos taken without it had a very harsh dark shadow on the left of the frame - those went in the trash. I should clarify some of the biology here. This is actually a dead specimen. Live sand dollars are covered by short, dark, hair-like spines and aren't very attractive to look at. The depression in the sand around the shell was made by waves washing back and forth over it as the tide was falling.

Jerry: I initially applied more sharpening, but the sand grains started to look oversharpened so I backed off a bit. I'll take another look at that.

[Fabs Forns]

The light on that sand dollars makes the image for me, great placement in the frame and love the dark sand.

[Charles Wesley]

Steve,

Your image looks wonderful to me. Like the intricate detail and colors.
__________________
Charlie Wesley
St. Augustine Beach, FL

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Steve,
Nice and simple with very good light and contrast. very nice DOF and great use of the tilt shift.

[Randy Stout]

Steve:

Lovely image, has me itching to try a tilt/shift lens.

In regards to sharpening it more, I was also afraid it might make the sand look too 'grainy'. :):) Sorry, I couldn't resist.

I guess I will have to start carrying around a diffuser, worked well.

Randy