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Stranded at Sea


tylerwind

From the category:

Landscape

· 290,305 images
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Beautiful colours and simple composition, with an almost abstract feel. Maybe having the lighthouse bang on 1/3 the way in from the right would be marginally more visually arresting- seems that way when I cover a little of the right handside on the screen!. I would love to see a version of this with a longer exposure to render the sea completely smooth. I know it's not everyones taste but it might really work with this shot
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James--Thank you very much for your critique and kind words. Were you saying to move the lighthouse to the other (right) side of the picture? I didn't follow exactly what you meant about moving the lighthouse. I placed it here because I wanted it off-center and the sun is rising (ie-brightest spot) to the right. So, I figured the lighthouse would be the interest on the left and the brightest colors from the sun rising would be the best I could do to balance things on the right. I was going for the "stranded" or "lonely" feeling (as the title suggests) with a very simple composition with few points of interest...kind of simple but pleasant.

 

About smoothing the sea, some people like some chop to it but I am with you--I like is s-m-o-o-t-h as ice, especially for sunrise shots when you can get reflections from the lighthouse (this shot was too early for them) and some sunrise glow on the water. However, this is as smooth as I could get for this shot--it is taken about 10-15 minutes before sunrise at ISO 100, f/45, a polarizing filter (just to lose 2 stops of light), and 3 stops worth of graduated neutral density filters. Some days I go shoot this and the water is like glass but some days it is so choppy that it's darn near impossible to smooth it out regardless of shutter speed. I'll try again another day!

 

Thanks again for your comments--they were very insightful and are appreciated!

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Antanas Strazdas, May 09, 2007; 03:17 P.M.

 

Perfect capture, very good composition, colors, very interesting work!

 

 

 

 

 

STEVE AUGLE, May 09, 2007; 03:20 P.M.

 

A must see!

Great Mood and color, This is a Wonderful Photo!

 

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To whoever ruined my bid to have my second ever >6/6 anonymous rating average by giving me a kind 3/3...Thank You! The Bible teaches me to love my enemies and "bless those who persecute (me)." So, bless you, my friend! :)
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how did you see through all those filters? looks to me like you nailed the composition and the lighthouse seems to be sitting perfectly on the left 1/3 line (of course i don't have a ruler with me to measure it down to millimeters). wonderful gradient in the sky. you are correct about the balance of the light to the right and the silhouette left. very well done and forget the 3/3.

 

by the way, i put up a few pelican shots. take care my friend. J.K.

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JK--Thanks for your comments. I believe you are correct--I think I did use the little boxes through my viewfinder to position the lighthouse 1/3 from the left. I've been shooting most things with the polarizer on to prolong my exposure (I know there is little effect directly into the sun). I was using 2 Cokin ND grads in front of that--a 1 stop and a 2 stop. People keep telling me I can't use more than 2 filters and that I can't shut my lens down too far but I've been getting pretty good results with good feedback so I'm still doing those things. However, I'm also shooting the other ways as well---after I get my composition I run through a complete +/-2 stops with no filters and then hit all the possible combinations with my 4 Cokin filters (2 neutral grads and 2 sunset grads). I then change my aperature, refocus, and do the same thing. Furthermore, with each filter I shoot with is in 4 different positions so I change the position of the gradient. I have this down to an art after much practice so I end up with a ton of exposures but I can put my remote in one hand and fly through them in no time. I generally shoot for 20-30 minutes and end up with about 450 frames. Again, I know what the "book" says but many times I get home and the f/32 looks worlds better than the "sweet spot" f/8...or, stacking some filters (as in this case) really turns out a pleasing result). This seems like the most logical approach for me...at least until I get good enough where I can look a scene and think "Hmmm...I think this needs a 2 stop ND grad and polarizer at f/22." I guess I think that...but I shoot the other ND grads and change my aperture to f/11 and f/32 just in case I'm wrong!

 

Thanks for reminding me about the pelicans--I have some absolutely great shots of them on a dock with a shrimp boat in the background which I knocked out of focus with my 100mm f/2.8. The only problem is the lighting is always bright on the boat and the pelicans are in the shade so it's a tough exposure. I'll stop by and check out your new work soon and go back and try to post some of my shots--I'd love to have your input on them if you don't mind!

 

Thanks again for your comments!

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The first thing I did when I saw this was to say WOW. This is one of the most elegant lighthouse Pic's I've seen. The darker hues in the middle, I think, makes it really stand out. It is a pic that calms the senses because of the warm colors and nothing that distract's you from the subject. Beautiful

 

Blessing to You

 

Barbara

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