Ocean Sunset

[Andrew Aveley]

My first Seascape of the summer here in South Africa last evening. I am not one for blending images and still try capture enough with one frame. I have used a 0.6 grad Lee filter to help tame highlights. Any and all advice will be appreciated:) I am not sure if the blown sun is an issue but would like to hear your opinions :)

Canon 5D MK 2 , Tripod , shutter Release , Lee 0.5 Grad , Manual , F 11 , 1/8th ISO 100 , Canon 16 -35 F2.8 @ 16mm

[Jay Gould]

Andrew, frankly it is impossible to capture "enough in one frame" if you want the entire frame properly exposed and all details revealed. For starters, when you were standing there shooting the scene, given how light it is, I am sure you were able to see the details, the bushes etc, in the hills and rocks facing you. We cannot!!

Are they intentional silhouettes?

Before filters and digital photographers like Ansel Adams were experts at burning and dodging in the dark room. Now we can multiple process a single image IF there is enough information to support the multiple processing and blending.

Filters of all types and multiple blendings like HDRs are necessary if you want to present the whole scene as your eye saw it at the time of capture.

I very quickly played with the image in LR3 and CS5.

You have lost a lot of information in the shadows.

You could dodge the hills facing you; you could use a program like Nik Viveza to rework parts of the image.

Why .6 grad and not a 2, 3, or 4 stop Reverse Grad? When the sun is high in the sky and the sky is hot you want to use a normal grad; when the sun in or near the horizon you want to use a Reverse Grad to tame the heat on the horizon.

Cheers,

[Chris Korman]

No, the sun looks fine to me.

Nice colors in the sky.

You might want to experiment with having the camera oriented down a little more to see the effect of including a little more foreground.

[Don Railton]

Hi Andrew

Nice sunset with beautiful colour in the sky and an interesting cloud formation, but I agree with Jay. I feel there is too large an area (left and right) where detail in lacking and this reduces the impact of this image somewhat. I also might have considered going lower and focusing in on of one of the backwash streams formed by the receding wave as a lead into the image. Not sure of conditions would have allowed that but...

DON

[Andrew Aveley]

Thanks Jay for a honest answer To answer you on a few things......yes the silhouettes are intentional in this post .I do have various exposures of this scene to use in a blend and or HDR and will endeavor to process in the future when I have honed my blending skills a little more. As for filters , also a awesome learning curve and must use the basics for now and build up a knowledge as this post has given :) I am not sure that this is far off the scene as it was except for the silhouettes. Thanks for the advice on the filters ! Already this image has helped me learn more :)

Chris , thanks for the comments ! Don , , thanks for viewing and commenting also. Unfortunately the conditions did not allow this time for going any lower and there was a 30 knot wind howling from the LHS and the ocean was very grumpy with wave heights between 12 and 15 ft causing a terrible surge .......Fortunately the rock on LHS sheltered the wing but not the tidal movement !

It is an interesting section of the coastline near my home so I will be revisiting this and will use all the comments to improve and re attempt this scene and capture. Thanks for taking the time to offer comment and suggestions, it is much appreciated !

[Morkel Erasmus]

Lovely light, sky and colour in it Andrew. The composition looks interesting enough but my eye just wants to see more detail, as Jay mentioned...
With a scene such as this I am not sure a grad filter would help as you would end up with shadows on the cliff edges on either side since they ascend to the "top" of the image. Maybe the reverse grad would have helped. If you have multiple exposures, it'll be good to see an "experiment" with blending - even if you feel it's hit-and-miss at this stage. Perhaps if you post it here you can get some pointers to improve and learn the blending process faster?

Composition-wise I would have preferred a little more at the bottom so as to not have that prominent rock "hugging the frame".

[Andrew Aveley]

Thanks Morks. The problem I have with the blending is the movement in the water etc. point taken with filters as I said and when the ocean calms down i will revisit this at a lower tide and angle :) I have use the TK method and am sure I will find a suitable situation to use it. I will spend some time and try some blending soon :) Maybe if you visit I will let you in on this spot and we can compare notes

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Andrew, I like the color in the sky and the incoming waves. I do wish for a little more room at he bottom as Morkel suggests. If the raw file contains enough detail in the shadows you could try blending a double processed raw file (one for the highlights and one for the shadows). I think the silhouetted hills only need a little more detail in them. With the sun like that it will be blown. I usually shoot a few varied exposures and determine at the computer which blown sun works best. Look forward to more. Nice to have such a beautiful location close to home!

[Andrew Aveley]

Thanks Andrew , will definitely look at that :)

[Rachel Hollander]

Andrew - Dramatic and vibrant sky. Some very good suggestions above and a good thread to learn something. Thanks for taking us along on the lesson.

TFS,
Rachel

[Robert Amoruso]

You on the right track Andrew.

Sun - if it is in an image like this, it will be clipped. That is OK

FG - agree more would have been better here.

Filters - if you want a silhouette a graduated ND OK as it will not affect the exposure on the slopes. If exposing for blending/HDR, then that will adversely affect the exposure on the slopes so cannot be used.

Given the extreme contrast range here, I feel that the best image would have been possible before the sun created the horizon. I find I like the pre-dawn light and colors much better before the sun shows itself. At that time, more exposure is possible as the sky is not bright. Because of the slopes, a filter is problematic here and blending multiple exposures your best option. Even if you are not blending yet, make the exposures for later when your skills develop.

[Andrew Aveley]

Thanks Robert. I have done numerous exposures here so am thinking ahead I am hoping to shoot this scene at dawn with warm pastel colours that the light will hopefully present.

[Santanu Banik]

Lovely colors and composition, the blown out sun works for me.

[Brendan Dozier]

Beautiful scene captured, Andrew, what a location! Like the colors and comp, blown sun not issue for me, but would like to compare with a blended image if you get around to it.

[Gerald_Gilligan]

Hi Andrew,

I really like this image...I agree with Morkel that a little bit of room at the bottom would be an improvement... at low tide , I would suggest using a slower shutter speed rather than the 1/8th sec.

You might try a 8 - 10 stop ND filter that would slow down your shutter speed and soften the water as it flows outward...

Several attempts would be necessary to find the right moment. You could also get the setting sun color in the standing water in the foreground as an extra bonus...

[Andrew Aveley]

Thanks for the comment Gerald ! I am experimenting with the filters as we speak but the Lee big stopper is not an option right now....... I have a 8 stopper but it does not fit my 82mm thread..........so i have some grey glass panels which i will be testing ! I have manage to catch the gold reflection in the water a few times but not enough to put in a huge effect on the image. Thank for kind suggestions :)

[Mark Wiseman]

Hi Andrew,
If you use the full range of luminosity masks and curves you are bound to get more detail in the shadows and highlight areas of you image. It would be well worth your while to study more on luminosity masks as the changes that one can bring out in the highlights, mid tones and shadows is well worth the effort. Have a look at Hougaard Malan's blog and you will learn a lot.
A wonderful image and thanks for sharing. I hope to take some nice images of Knysna heads at the end of the year.
Best wishes, Mark.

[Andrew Aveley]

Hey Mark. I have indeed read his blog and used the methods of Tony Kuiper. I am "collecting " various exposures of theses scenes to work on later but am still trying to find a usable single exposure Well if you heading this way , be sure to let me stamp your Garden Route Passport :)

[Mark Wiseman]

Hi Andrew,
I had no time yesterday to do a repost, this was done really quickly and I brought out more detail in the darks of the image using a luminosity mask. The change is evident and is one of the ways to increase detail in the darks. I would have used at least a 0.9 Lee ND grad and may have combined more grads to bring out the detail in the foreground and finished the image with luminosity masks. I hope you approve of the changes in the repost.
Best wishes, Mark.
PS: Andrew, I should be in and around George from the 14th December to just before Christmas. If you send me your mobile number we can meet up in Knysna or go and take some images together.