Sunset beach @ Koh Lipe

[mabmy]

1. In what area is critique to be sought?
I would like to have critiques on the composition, colours, shadows and highlights of this shot. I also would like to know how this shot could have been better.

2. What one hopes to achieve with the piece of work?
I would like to know if its possible to achieve acceptable landscape photo without the help of an ND filter as mine was shattered when it accidentally drop off the lens as i was screwing it in to take this shot.

3. Under what circumstance is the picture taken? (physical conditions/emotions)
I was quite taken aback by the shattering of my B+W ND 110 filter on the rock, i was abit sad of course as i had only used this filter a few times in a year. I almost have no mood to shoot but the sky was really beautiful that day and so, i attempted it with exposure bracketing. I had no tripod as my missus thiought its too bulky (055 XProB) to bring it overseas and she doesn't want to check in our luggage (haversack), so it was done handheld while sitting on the shore.

4. What the critique seeker personally thinks of the picture.
I thought that this picture could do better, not in terms of just having the ND filter on, but also in terms of exposure, composition and the colour of the sky. I felt that it would definitely look better if the sky is slightly more reddish in colour. The foreground looks like it needs a bit more dodging to be done. As for the horizon, please let me know if its tilted or not as i have tried correcting it but somehow, my eyes just could not affirm if its straight or tilted still. :bsmilie:

Please share me your most honest critiques and tips as to how i can improve further and thank you for viewing.

 

[daredevil123]

Very nice work. I like it.

A slightly wider view will make it nicer. But overall, exposure is well control, bracketed shots are blended well together. I like the PP overall. Great work.

Too bad you did not have a tripod. Or else you could have gotten a wider view and shoot more.

 

[leshrec]

Hi there, I like the look of the clouds and I agree the sky was too beautiful not to take a shot of. I'm surprised that you manage to take such a good shot while feeling sad

Just some small issues I felt could improve the picture: The rocks on the left and right side a little cut off. Could be better if the shot included the whole rocks. Same with the tree on the left.

However, overall, good work!

Matt

 

[daniel-sg]

I like it!
Like the exposure and sky a lot! Horizon looks fine, i only started peeping at it when i saw your question, maybe it looks A LITTLE tilted/distorted, but maybe its my eyes playing tricks on me in the morning, but i'm saying this only because you asked, don't think it makes a difference to the photo.

However, the first reaction i got from looking at the shot was wanting to see what was to the 'left' of the shot, it almost feels that this shot had its left portion cropped out, if you get what i mean.

 

[night86mare]

nice sky, great location.

on composition, as daniel-sg mentions, i find that shooting from where you are, just move the frame to the left might help. this may end up including more of those ugly trees at the back though. i can't think of anywhere else here, maybe you could walk along the rest of the beach to find a better viewpoint.

i personally find that this sky, while great, does not warrant the sacrifice of a split frame, which can be very weak compositionally. the viewer has to divide the attention between both the foreground AND the sky - so in this case i would suggest less sky, as nice as it is.

i'm currently using a laptop monitor so these may not be entirely accurate:

(1) hdr seems overpushed, there is patchiness and haloing on the large rock. definitely not as bad as those notoriously radioactive HDRs, but it's there, and it's obvious on my screen.

(2) left side of the picture, in between those rocks, there is an extreme bright spot - it seems that the main source of light should be behind all those trees... so why is it so bright? every detail counts.

(3) once again, main source of light is behind those trees, but somehow, looking at the picture, the foreground seems to be brighter than usual... better to keep to the hierarchy of light (bright to dark, should remain in the correct order, considering source of light)

sorry to hear about your nd110. i also lost my nd400x within 3 times of using it... i still don't knwo where it went. suspect it slipped out of my coat pocket somewhere in dorset, uk... so i no longer put filters in coat pockets. :bsmilie: btw, i don't think you would have used it much without a tripod......

 

[mabmy]

Very nice work. I like it.

A slightly wider view will make it nicer. But overall, exposure is well control, bracketed shots are blended well together. I like the PP overall. Great work.

Too bad you did not have a tripod. Or else you could have gotten a wider view and shoot more.

Hi there, I like the look of the clouds and I agree the sky was too beautiful not to take a shot of. I'm surprised that you manage to take such a good shot while feeling sad

Just some small issues I felt could improve the picture: The rocks on the left and right side a little cut off. Could be better if the shot included the whole rocks. Same with the tree on the left.

However, overall, good work!

Matt

I like it!
Like the exposure and sky a lot! Horizon looks fine, i only started peeping at it when i saw your question, maybe it looks A LITTLE tilted/distorted, but maybe its my eyes playing tricks on me in the morning, but i'm saying this only because you asked, don't think it makes a difference to the photo.

However, the first reaction i got from looking at the shot was wanting to see what was to the 'left' of the shot, it almost feels that this shot had its left portion cropped out, if you get what i mean.

nice sky, great location.

on composition, as daniel-sg mentions, i find that shooting from where you are, just move the frame to the left might help. this may end up including more of those ugly trees at the back though. i can't think of anywhere else here, maybe you could walk along the rest of the beach to find a better viewpoint.

i personally find that this sky, while great, does not warrant the sacrifice of a split frame, which can be very weak compositionally. the viewer has to divide the attention between both the foreground AND the sky - so in this case i would suggest less sky, as nice as it is.

i'm currently using a laptop monitor so these may not be entirely accurate:

(1) hdr seems overpushed, there is patchiness and haloing on the large rock. definitely not as bad as those notoriously radioactive HDRs, but it's there, and it's obvious on my screen.

(2) left side of the picture, in between those rocks, there is an extreme bright spot - it seems that the main source of light should be behind all those trees... so why is it so bright? every detail counts.

(3) once again, main source of light is behind those trees, but somehow, looking at the picture, the foreground seems to be brighter than usual... better to keep to the hierarchy of light (bright to dark, should remain in the correct order, considering source of light)

sorry to hear about your nd110. i also lost my nd400x within 3 times of using it... i still don't knwo where it went. suspect it slipped out of my coat pocket somewhere in dorset, uk... so i no longer put filters in coat pockets. :bsmilie: btw, i don't think you would have used it much without a tripod......

Hi everyone, thank you for viewing and sharing your critiques with me, i personally agree that most probably shooting it horizontally would have been a great idea. Having no tripod is not a valid reason for me to not shoot it as suggested just that i never thought of it that way that day. Most likely because i was charmed by the fascinating colors of the sunset and wanted to capture the sky as much as possible while not neglecting the foreground elements as well.

Naimeh bro, i'm really pleased with you dropping by to share your thoughts of this picture. You as a seasoned landscape shooter,could i get a few tips from you as to how would you have suggested this shot be taken. Since i agree as well with daredevil123, leshrec and daniel-sg's opinion that shooting it in landscape orientation might have worked better, how would you suggest that i actually compose this? If i had wanted to capture more of the sky, should i still include a little bit of foreground, which in this case instead of placing the horizon in the middle, shift it lower? Where do you think i should have place my horizon and on which rocks maybe should i have exclude in this shot Also i really didn't notice the haloing of the rocks until you mentioned it and i zoomed really close on my monitor and you are right! Any tips on how to reduce this and make it less obvious? OMG and i thought i did ok with it! :bsmilie: For the foreground, do you think they are also grabbing the attention of viewers away from the sky? Should i have burn it instead of dodging? The source of light in the picture is from the left so i thought its alright if the rocks are slightly a bit more exposed. Sorry to hear about your ND400x too. To lose it is more heart breaking than having it damaged. I'll get a new one soon for christmas present.

One other thing everyone, if i were to shoot it in landscape orientation, it simple means that i would also have to include the tree on the left which i think would really make the shot slightly messy. Should i have actually pp'ed away the small portion of the tree in the beginning? Thank you once again for viewing and sharing your thoughts. Lets all learn together. For those who viewed but did not contribute your thoughts, thank you as well for viewing.

 

[night86mare]

Since i agree as well with daredevil123, leshrec and daniel-sg's opinion that shooting it in landscape orientation might have worked better, how would you suggest that i actually compose this? If i had wanted to capture more of the sky, should i still include a little bit of foreground, which in this case instead of placing the horizon in the middle, shift it lower? Where do you think i should have place my horizon and on which rocks maybe should i have exclude in this shot Also i really didn't notice the haloing of the rocks until you mentioned it and i zoomed really close on my monitor and you are right! Any tips on how to reduce this and make it less obvious? OMG and i thought i did ok with it! :bsmilie: For the foreground, do you think they are also grabbing the attention of viewers away from the sky? Should i have burn it instead of dodging? The source of light in the picture is from the left so i thought its alright if the rocks are slightly a bit more exposed.

hi, i won't have chosen this scene, i have been thinking about how to compose it based on what i see and movement around this area, and i can't think of anything. maybe it is better for sunrise, since i'm sure you can find a composition with the rocks, but there might not be any trees... the irony, it being named sunset beach.

the trouble with keeping your camera level is that you will always end up with half half horizon. that usually only works when you have reason enough to have such a composition. usually when i tilt my camera downwards, i would have to adjust the horizon manually with liquify to ensure that there is no apparent reverse keystone effect.

the issue is not with the foreground grabbing viewers' attention, the issue is that the foreground should not be brighter than the sky...

for backlit images, the foreground should be darker. it doesn't have to be pitch black, but it has to be comparatively darker than the sky.

for haloing, suggest you lower the strength of your hdr tone mapping.