richard van hoesel

I'm undecided Bill - I like the sky better here, but the contrasts in the sand in the other one. Maybe some level adjustments in the sand of this one would tip it this way for me too.

Leigh, whilst I have to admit not all your works in this series appeal to me, this one offers some unusual contrasts that I very much enjoy. The pleasing palette and textural differences between sand and water are very nicely punctuated by the thin dark blue line at the top and the 'glow' in the centre. Together they produce an unexpectedly dynamic set of contrasts, that I suspect would be absent without any one of those elements. An interesting composition that would be easily overlooked.

An interesting image indeed Gary. It looks a bit like a 50s postcard to me. Seeing more of the woman's face on the right would have been the icing on the cake, but I appreciate it's a candid. I'd be inclined to leave things closer to your original colour balance than some of the later adjustments; maybe slightly more yellow or saturation in the sand, but that's about it for me. You might also care to consider eliminating a few minor distractions if you allow yourself such manipulation: some of the 'lone' darker pieces of seaweed to the right of the main person, and the con-trail on the left.

I've looked at this one several times too Mike, as it really strikes a chord with me. I find the composition 'pivots' very nicely around the round boulder in the bottom right, and the light control is exceptional, especially given how contrasty these scenes often are. The rainforest was my first love in my early landscape days but even now I find it difficult to do it justice on film. I think you've captured the essence of this spot very nicley. As far as the midtone brightness goes, I think I prefer something closer to the original, but monitors vary.

Superb capture of one of those rare moments we live for as landscape photographers. I'd be inclined to have tried one without the log as well with such a brilliant display, but either way, very satisfactory. Maybe the impression some have that this is less spectacular than other images along these lines on this site has more to do with the unadorned presentation than the actual image.

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.

Beautiful Jeff. Lovely conditions elegantly portrayed. The only slight distraction for me too is those dark 'blobs' in the foreground. Although I find the longer I look at the image, the less they intrude, my initial reaction was certainly to try to eliminate them.

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.

For me, this one actually transcends the seascape you compared it to! This is more playful without disturbing its restful feel, so it holds my attention longer. A fun and very successful experiment.

Marc, you've certainly captured the drama of being close to the water's edge very nicley in this one. If I were to suggest anything, it might be to try pushing some of the the blues in the sky and water to contrast with the warm tones that dominate the land masses. Cheers.

The orange horizon slicing into the predominanlty blue palette is lovely Kah Kit. The highlight region on the water is perhaps a little fierce - maybe a bit of a burn there?

Looks great Eugienia. I think the sculptor would love your portrayal in this beautiful light.

The sky tones are excellent Robert. Perhaps a graduated ND filter might have been worth a try to lighten the foreground beach a little?

Hi Darko, this is an interestng mix for me. I like the approach of reducing the frame into simple strips of light and dark without regard to preserving complete human form, but am a bit unsettled by the face on the right being out of focus as my eye seems to be drawn in that direction quite quickly. Wishing you excellent light and opportunities in 2007 also. Cheers.

I agree, this one works best of these recent ones for me too. The more intimate composition really draws me into that looming sky, and the small island of warm colour in the lower LHC is the icing on the cake. If there is any more of the image available, it might be interesting to see a version with just a little more of that satin foreground for comparison (although it looks pretty much full frame from the aspect ratio).

Lovely image of an enticing location. I think I prefer a small crop eliminating the small amount of tree on the right edge.

Mike, here's another vote for this one in this wonderful series - partly for the exposure and/or light conditions that seem to give this one more of a glow, and partly for the subtle semi-circular patterns at the bottom and top of the image. I do feel there's a little competition between the two main pools in the mid region that could be resolved for example by making the right sand peninsula loom a bit more, but I certainly wouldn't want to sacrifice the foreground or its relation to the clouds to do so. As you say, this looks like a place to get lost in for a long time.

Great seascape David. The apt name of the location, your looming projection of those spines towards the rugged pinnacle, and excellent B&W conversion, all combine to make for a lovely dark mood. Looks like you turned your misfortune with the lack of colour that night into an advantage.

Looks great Kah Kit. The flare is not bothersome to me, particularly at this size, and does not warrant giving up the wider view as in your crop imho. The full frame to me has more breathing space and a much grander feel to the sweeping foreground lines.

A strong simple composition with wonderful foreground detail. The soft background doesn't work so well for me though and stops my eye form spending any time up in that part of the image. I think a crop retaining just the lower square portion of the image works well too.

Lovely image with gentle tones and lines, my favourite in this folder. I find the logo you use is quite intrusive though, and makes it hard in this case for example, for me to determine how much the branches bother me. Maybe make it smaller or more transparent?

I agree this is an unusual image Kurt, and I like that aspect. However, I do find myself wanting something in the foreground that is a little more defined or perhaps just sharper. Might just be a conservative streak in me...

Nice soothing image Vince. The colourful streaks in the sand are my favourite feature here, although they do need the large view to be appreciated. My only suggestion is to also have tried a version with a slightly stronger grad to get a bit more light along the bottom.

In contrast to your comment on the B&W version, I much prefer this in colour. Although I agree it initially comes across as a bit 'loud', after a brief spell I find myself wondering all over the image, exploring the lovely interplay of lines, tones and hues.

Vince, unfortunately I was not speaking from experience when suggesting a blend of 2 exposures. Although you raise the issue of movement in combining longer exposures, it seems that should not be a problem here. Everything that might move would be captured in the single exposure for the high EV levels. The details for the inside of the cave in the low EV level exposure would be stationary. One thing I find interesting in the response to this image is that the dark areas bother some people but not others. I wonder if that might be subject to the size of the image? I know I am more tolerant of featureless dark regions in smaller than in large prints. Have you found this to be reflected in your sales? Cheers.