Enchanting Seas (Best Large)

Thanks.

simply stunning

we already got used to your photos... keep posting... we became dependent :)... congrats...

Wow , Very powerful with amazing colors

Vincent, awesome shot. This is then opportunity I am looking for while I'm in Maui. Is this the sunset or sunrise? Can I get to this beach by car? Is this just walking distance from the road?

Stunning! Most gorgeous color and light.

Kind Regards Andrea

Vincent, Post exposure we can increase sharpness, adjust saturation\hue, crop, etc. but I don't think any of those things would 'improve' this shot. Your gut instincts have proven to be pretty much on the money. I really don't think you can improve this shot now. Take it & run! You don't say but this one looks to me like a grad ND filter was used though I could be wrong. The lighting here simply looks manufactured, ie: foreground appears lighter than it should be given the sky conditions. Some don't mind that look & more power to them, & to you too if it sells well. I'm a big fan of your work and haven't seen anything I didn't really like in your posts but this one has to rate as being at the bottom of the pile for me. (I don't like the manufactured look) Still, in my opinion, the bottom of your pile is still levels above the average post on PN. Hope this satisfies your critique request. Best, LM.

Thanks for your comments on this. Will, this is a sunset taken on Feb 27th of last year. The sun should be very close to where it sets in this image here, when you get there later this month. Yes you can easily drive to and then walk to this exact spot. Here is a photo taken by my son Scott from the exact same spot that I am standing for this sunset, only turned directly to my right. THAT is Big Beach (also called Makenna Beach). You will find plenty of maps showing you how to get to this particular beach. It's an even better daytime photo opportunity in my opinion. The colors just glow!

 

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=5051838

Thanks Len! I always enjoy your visits. Actually I sort of thought the forground was a bit too dark in this as we see it here. Very interesting that you find it appears possibly too bright then. I just got my PC back from the shop and will look at this one on my other monitor as well. Nothing in post-processing was added or manufactured by the way. But I do respect your opinion and will try burning the foreground to see if it improves the image some. Many thanks!!

 

 

PS- I have uploaded a larger version to examine more closely.

Vince--I think this shot really shows off your skill and composition eye quite a bit. It's not the most breath-taking scene you've shot but you made it into a stellar photograph with skill! Colors are, of course, nice and vibrant but what really makes this shot for me is the shutter speed and your composition. You resisted the urge (that I follow to often) to include a lot of the pretty red sky and it paid off because the foreground sand and rocks really make this shot. I like how you composed with the sky as the top 1/3 and put the brightest part only in the far upper right corner--this allowed the photo to have the beautiful colors without being a shot of only a pretty sky. I like how the sand seems to emerge from both of the lower corners and converges in the center of the photograph as a sort of "vanishing point" that leads your eye into the scene. Furthermore, the water "streaks" also moves toward this center point again leading my eye and also conveying a sense of movement. I really like how your got streaks of white. lastly, the wave breaking just beyond midway up the photo adds a sense of action and has just enough blur to look nature and mesh with the receding water in the foreground. That is probably over analyzing but that's my $.02. Another great photo--thanks for sharing...I have not only enjoyed this shot but have learned a lot from this composition and exposure!

 

PS-I got a little bit of money for Christmas so I'm getting my new equipment order ready. Thanks again for the advice and I'll keep you posted on what I get.

Thanks for the in-depth comment Tyler. I can pretty much agree with your conclusions here. Though to be honest, I really do not notice all of those details when setting up. This was the night before my son got married (or here we call it Mauied!). Since I live on Kauai, I was visiting this island. Anyway, I had been to this same place the day before and realized it had some potential as a sunset as well. I shot several rolls from many angles and have at least three or four usable images. Two (including this one) have just been print-proof approved and just recently put into our gallery line. We have already had a few requests for this image since I posted it on our website a couple of months ago. That fact has me somewhat optimistic about this photograph. We will see.

 

What makes this one appealing to me is that throughout the image we have something going on. The sky is definitely not a weak link here. I was instantly drawn to those low-lying clouds. The water still has the appearance of a cresting wave along with a hint of tropical color. The foreground, I believe may be the weakest portion of the image, but it does have SOME action and seems to fit in fairly well. I could crop some of it, but like how the white streaks fade out too.

 

But I have learned the hard way that it really does not matter too much what I think. The buying public is very difficult to predict. And let me tell you, they have the final word!

 

A hui hou.

Tyler makes some very good points (they're good because I agree with them). I, too, am glad that you chose to concentrate on the water. In part, that's what sets this apart from what most people would choose for composition. I don't know if you've changed the photo, but I think the balance of light in the sky versus the water is just fine. Light tends to become more evenly distributed as the sun drops further behind the horizon, and this works very well for me.

Vince, the things I like about this one are the dynamic cloud line complemented by the fanning out of the wave in the foreground, and the contrast between the hint of yellow in the sky and the blue of the incoming wave. One thing I don't like, as you know for me, is the effect of the coloured filter, which has resulted in muddied skies and odd colour transitions unrelated to what you would get from the sun (maybe that's part of why the light looks unnatural to Len too). If you shot any variations with a neutral rather than coloured grad I'd be interested to see the comparison. From the hint of yellow, it looks like there might have been some nice tones in the sky anyway. The other problem for me is the lack of detail in nearly all the rocks and land masses. If these were all black or very dark rocks, there's perhaps not much you could have done, but if not and the highlights weren't too close to the film's limit, a little more exposure might have been preferable to get a bit more texture. All up, still an enjoyable image, but for me too, not among your best. Cheers.

Vince, this one caught my eye in the Gallery; on first seeing this I thought to myself: "Maui!". Several years ago we visitied just to the north at Kihei. I wanted to drive down to the Ahihi Nature Reserve, which I think is just to the south of your location here. But as things went we never made it down that far.

I remember sitting on the beach enjoying the sunset, with my camera on one side and my wife on the other. I was indulging in a rather good cigar (Nancy didn't care for that too much, but it kept the crowd away ;0) The evenings along this coast are breathtaking (even without the cigar) and this photograph is a good example of that. This serves as a great reminder of this coastline and an inducement to go back and experience more of its treasures.

Nice decision to keep the shutter speed on the faster side. Regards.

Simply excellent ! Another real masterpiece. Congrats !

Thanks for the comments. I reply a liitle later. Been super busy today.

Thanks for your opinions once again.

 

Stephen, you make a good point in that the further down the sun goes, or the more obscure it becomes, the more "evenly distributed" and consistent the lighting becomes. It flattens out quite a bit in fact. Also after pulling out the original and examining closely, this image here looks very close to what that slide looks like. The foreground white streaks are a tad brighter than in the original, which could be giving Len that unnaturally "brighter" impression. I did notice when the waves were breaking, I was able to see a little color through the water, which is really what I remember focusing in on here. I appreciate your commenting on that specific point.

 

Richard, yes I well know by now that you are not a fan of colored filters. I have plenty of your comments to remind me of that : )) I can respect that as well, and have been using them less often myself in fact. By having an established print line for many years now, I find that I can start to be more particular in how I shoot and what we add. Though I will probably always shoot at least a few frames both ways for business purposes. For my last posted sunset on this site, I preferred the one without the added warmth of a filter as was discussed. Also, remember too that I support my family and I entirely from photography. Sometimes the only way to "get the shot" is to use the added help of a colored filter. This is an undeniable fact for me. I do not live on Maui, so opportunities there are limited. For this image, it was no contest; the added warmth made the shot special. I personally disagree that it muddies up the sky in this image or creates odd color transitions. But that is my opinion. These filters are graduated and made specifically for this exact purpose. You should try one sometime... : )

 

However, I am more agreeable with your thoughts on the dark rocks. First of all let me mention to you that these rocks in Hawaii are VERY dark to begin with. Especially when wet! For example go here:

 

 

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=3245516&size=lg

 

 

This is a daytime capture with full sunlight on the rocks. Now take a look at the black rock in the center of the image. Contrast that rock with the other brown ones. I'm just letting you know that these guys are very, very black. I should do some research one day on these different kinds of rock formations. But from what I do know, these islands were formed entirely by volcanoes. Old lava is practically jet black.

 

 

Look at this one now of an active lava flow. This image was taken under a full moon just a foot or two away with a flash; and yet you still have to struggle to get detail.

 

 

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=1229464&size=lg

 

 

While on the other hand this location has an entirely different, brighter appearance. (I will be going back to this very location on the south-side for a seascape soon by the way).

 

 

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=2037009

 

 

 

So I hope you can see what I am dealing with here. When I do get a shot like this next one to work, on these darker rock formations, you really have to be angle and lighting "conscious". This one here worked due to the height and angle of the boulders as well as the fact they were wet:

 

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=4645882

 

 

These rocks, in this image posted two days ago above are very short, plus the sun is down and on the other side of the rocks. (Which is another reason why I like reverse sunsets in Hawaii by the way, due to helping illuminate these oftentimes problematic areas). So then, we will at the very least be "limited" in the amount of detail we can pull from these little black formations, under these conditions (or most any conditions for that matter). Additionally, these little 96 DPI J-pegs do little to help the situation which is usually why the print is so much better that what we see here, now. Now, that said, when I went to the original slide, under a 15X loupe, there is at least some detail in the slide, which is missing in this image above. I then went to my original scan and was actually quite surprised (discouraged might be the better term here), to see more detail in that scan than with the edited version. The very simple fact that I must keep in mind for now on is that I have to use contrast or offset exposure with KID GLOVES on these kinds of photographs. The blacks cannot afford to be compromised one ounce when taken under these conditions. My adding even a little contrast without protecting those formations turns them into detail-less black holes.

 

I am attaching a new version here with the preserved detail in the rocks. Viewed as a 24x36, 300 DPI TIFF at 100 or more percent, the difference between my fist version and this one in those dark rock areas is very noticeable. Though I am not sure how much you will notice the difference here as a little j-peg. Thank you for the incentive to delve deeper by the way. It always helps to do just that!

 

Walter, you simply need to get back out here. In fact, I wonder if you and the Mrs shouldn't just sell everything and start over in the land of hula. Though I'd assume you might miss the cccold quite a bit...

 

Yes, I also agree with you that the shorter exposure really helps this one out too. I always try to bracket and vary everything that I can when getteing the gear out. Focal lengths change with my zooms, apertures for DOF, shutter speeds for issues like this water above along with 1/3 stop brighter and darker on almost every opportunity. Usually something will stand out. Don't think you can quite do that with 4x5...

 

Many thanks again for ALL of your thoughts. This is how we get better!

New version attachment.

Vince, thanks for your expansive discussion of the issues related to the making of this image. I appreciate the reminder that walking away from the shoot without some sort of result is not always an option. With regard to the dark rocks, I have locations with black basalt that I've tried to tackle too, but like you have not really been able to produce a satisfactory result on slide film. I suspect that when you eventually go digital, you'll be in a better position to tackle them. As I said, this is still an enjoyable image to me. The action in the water is immediately familiar and draws me in despite the issues I raised. I suspect that will be a large part of this image's appeal to others too.

On a more serious note ...

 

Vincent, as your Marketing Manager - and therefore full of ........ ideas. I'm thinking we will go ahead and make these your new business cards - kind of a take off on Planet of the Apes.

 

I think also it will be good for your clients to see your a** out there working and up to your - big lens in sand.

Unfortunately, my a** has to spend more time in front of a computer than out in the field lately. Though the day should come where freedom reigns. But not yet...

 

Poor Cowboys yesterday. I thought they had it won KW...

 

Even Poorer Redskins last month...

 

: (

My a** agrees with you - I recently acquired some 200Mb scans of some of my older slides thanks to the generosity of a friend - and it's keeping my a** busy too .... !

 

Your marketing manager thinks it's time to post another shot from your Pacific Northwest trip ..

 

They did have it won - right up until they snapped the ball .. )-;

Actually I've been editing my 100 plus rolls Shenendoah National Park trip from two years ago. The three years ago 200 plus rolls Pacific Northwest trip will follow though. Sheesh, that sounds pretty lame...

Vince, I was at Hickam AFB today and I saw this photo of yours as a 5x7 being sold at the BX. Actually I saw a lot of your work there for sale. Really great stuff man. It's my first day here in Oahu. I checked out the North Shore. HUGE waves.

Thanks Will. Hickam military base is a nice account for us. Northshore waves are 20 plus tomorrow. And there is the possibility of tsunami now. Hope you are more than cautious. Many have been caught off-guard. A hui hou!