Looking for Critiques

[Dave Mills]

Shot this at Bandon Beach, Oregon a number of years ago and was scanned from a slide. Looking for a beautiful morning with golden light and this storm blew through. Weather is extremely changeable there.
Looking for critiques about what you like about the image and what you would consider flaws or how you might approach this differently...

[Nick Palmieri]

Hey Dave, I love the way the rocks pull your eye through the scene. The SS gives the water a nice effect and the sky and reflections are cool. I don't like the red thing on the rock in the FG (starfish?), it looks soft and a little distracting. The only thing I could think of changing "in hindsight" is possibly getting lower when taking the image (buts that's only because you asked). Overall a very pleasing image.

[Dave Mills]

Hi Nick, Yes, that is a starfish on the rock...

[Harold Davis]

hi dave, i'm a little rusty at this critique thing, but i'll give it a shot. compostionally, i might would have panned left just a tad. would give more room on the left side of the foreground rock. it's pointing that way and just seems natural to have more room there. i love how all the rocks seem to walk through the frame. your position was great. the water seems busy to my eye. i like the way the slow shutterspeed blurred the water around the foreground rock, but i would clone out the bubbles on the right rear of it.

i might tone down the whites in the scene and sharpen all the rocks more. they seem soft. the starfish doesnt bother me, but the pinkish hue in the water left rear of the foreground rock just seems out of place with the rest of the scene. it's a pretty dramatic scene. i think it might be a great candidate for a black and white!!!

[Rob Miner]

Hey D., Not really a critique, but a feeling. Crop foregrn water in front of rock, ocean-soft, big island soft, and clouds soft. The softness of all features creates an unconfortable feeling. Maybe, sharpening one or the other would present the picture in a better light.

Rob............

[Anita Rakestraw]

Hi, D. I'm far from being a landscape expert but will add my .02. It's a great scene/perspective, very dramatic. I like the position you shot it from, but also wonder what it would have looked like had your shot it from a lower perspective. What I notice most in terms of the negatives are the too-light areas (mostly in the sky - and it may be my monitor even tho it's freshly calibrated) and the softness. I like the softness of the water in front of the rock/island and would keep it. The water in the mid part of the image seems to have some issues and I'm not sure what they are exactl; noise, or issues with trying to correct the noise?? Overall, though, love the image and wish I'd shot it!

[Dave Mills]

Nick,Harold,Rob and Anita..thanks for the thought out critiques. There are elements in this image that I love and some I question. Even though it's a simple comp there is alot going on here which gives me some reason to wonder.
Harold, good suggestion about a B/W conversion. I'll check it out...
Anyone else has an opinion I would like very much to hear it....

[Fabs Forns]

I love the upper half of it but the foreground seems a bit overpowering to me, especially given the two levels of sharpening. Just my opinion, though.

[Morkel Erasmus]

this sure is a dramatic scene Dave. I love the mood and colours here, but find the image still a tad soft...if shooting again I wonder if it would be possible to step back just a few steps, thereby diminishing the size of the FG rock, including more sky and getting a better 'feel' of the place?

[Jay Gould]

Dave, I for one like the whole! :eek:

Starting in the foreground, I like the large rock - like a stepping stone into the rest of the image. I especially like the way the light water wraps around the lower right side of the rock and I think the starfish is kind of the foreground anchor for the rock.

The light area above the rock on the left side is appropriate because the sky in the upper right corner shows an opening which tells me that the sky is mottled with openings.

The current lines between the foreground rock and the two small rocks in the mid ground kinda divides the image and prepares you for a second complimentary image.

The first white water line starting on the right in a diagonal leads you to the small rocks and then the white line on the far side of the small rocks leads you to the larg rock in the background.

Having reached the large rock in the foreground of the background, the storm behind the large rock adds to the power of the presentation. :D

I like it; but then, what do I know, I am one of the newbies. ;) :p

[Jim Michael]

It strikes me as kind of an "in-between" photograph in many respects. The current in the foreground is interesting, but that seems to be the only movement. The slow shutter speed resulted in some softening of water in the rest of the image, but it feels like a little more would have been appropriate. The image has a large rock in the foreground on which is perched a starfish, but it feels like a little closer would have been appropriate making it a little more about the starfish, albeit perhaps at the expense of the nice current effect. Overall it feels like it could have been a little more dynamic, perhaps by darkening, sharpening, and upping a contrast some, and might have been helped by use of a polarizer.

[david cramer]

I enjoy the ethereal look you've created. Count me as one who thinks the foreground blocks up the image. The rock takes up too much space and isn't particularly interesting. I would crop from the bottom to more of a pano, leaving maybe the third top of the rock. Then really work with curves adjustments to bring out those powerful clouds on the horizon behind the island. That will keep the viewers eyes in the image without having to hunt too much. It's potentially a powerful photo.

[Dave Mills]

Thanks folks for the array of comments.
The image is a bit soft. I shot this at f22 but between the slide conversion,reduced size and a bit of correction that was the end result. I like the image but also wanted opinions about the foreground rock that many questioned. I have other variations of this with other foregrounds which I'll post at a future date.

[Fabs Forns]

Will be looking forward to those :)

[Kobus Tollig]

REally nice shot but i do feel the FG is a bit to strong. I also wish that the shot was sharper