Once there were blue skies and seas 2

Tried two versions of this rotting tug on the Adur, a muted colour one and

this B & W one. This shot also has a little more space on the right. I would

appreciate any comments or views. Many thanks William.

Hi William. I'll be the first to comment on this photo. I was drawn to this shot as I know the very tug you have shot, indeed I have a pic up here of it as well! I do like this image, but something about it doesn't sit perfectly well with me. I've been enjoying this shot for a good few minutes now and I'm still not sure what it is that doesn't quite work. Firstly, you have used a long exposure which has nicely blurred the clouds that may otherwise have been a little boring on such an overcast day (the usual here this time of year). The blurred clouds nicely mirror the mottled mudflats and, with the pleasing lack of other points of interest, neatly frame the boat. I'm not sure if it just the added texture that this approach has given the image that unsettles me, but the image seems a little abrasive when I kind of want it to be soft. I'm not being very clear here, sorry, as I said I can't quite put my finger on my feelings. I mean I wish the background to be softer and actually wish that the boat were somehow sharper, more clearly defined. I'm not sure if you got a tiny amount of camera shake with the long exposure, it's very hard to see without zooming in more than we can do here, but the boat itself just seems a little soft, a touch lost. I suspect this to be a subtle HDR which, when processed as a monochrome image, usually allows one to be a little more aggressive than in colour. As opposed to much advice here, I wander if you've actually gone far enough. Or perhaps just an extra dollop of contrast could really help the boat here, again this is something that can be spread fairly heavily on a monochrome HDR. William, please don't think I don't like this shot, I do. I am just trying to articulate my feelings towards it! Oh, regards the "space" on the right of the shot, I personally would have cropped it! Sorry. Perhaps a square crop would work magic here. Anyway, enough from me, perhaps I'll see you on the Adur someday snapping away? Thanks.

Thanks Scott I share some of your views and reservations on this shot. It is a HDR shot and it may well have affected the ability to have good B & W tones in it. A vertical shot may be the answer rather than a square crop? I'm going to keep going back to this wonderful old tug, so may see you out there on the mud. Best wishes William

I like the shot a lot. Your caption creates a story that could be a book. Great stuff! All the best and regards, Mark

A beautiful shot with very nice lighting, William!