Why do I hate this shot?

[Stime]

Maybe the title is a bit harsh, but seriously, something about this shot doesn't work for me and I can't place it. I know the composition is fairly weak, and light definitely could have been better, but there's something else that's bothering me.



Any thoughts? Ideas?

I've stared at it for too long. This is essentially the original shot, I've only done some light processing, web-sizing, and ran my border action. I'm afraid this image might be destined for the archives of almost shots.

Thanks, everyone.

- Scott

[ljh34465]

at first glance there is a lot of "fuzzy" - until you look at the rocks, it first appears the whole thing is soft - this is just a thought or idea to help you along - might not be "it" at all

[Stime]

Originally Posted by ljh34465

at first glance there is a lot of "fuzzy" - until you look at the rocks, it first appears the whole thing is soft - this is just a thought or idea to help you along - might not be "it" at all

Well, soft is part of the goal... I wanted motion in the water but not a long exposure, I think this was 1/15" @ f/16 or so. Notice the waves aren't sharp but have definition, that was intentional.

The overall shot is soft though, I haven't sharpened it yet... so you're right there. But there's something much more than just images softness that bothers me... although the intentional softness in the water could easily be whats bothering my eye.

Thanks for the input.

- Scott

[ljh34465]

I figured you were going for the water effects but maybe there is too much water in the scene or might be the roughness of the water making the "softness" extend to the horizon rather than just on the rocks in the foreground. or saying it another way, have seen numerous shots with softness of water in the foreground (over rocks or whatever) but because of the water conditions, it goes into the middle and almost the background - hope this makes sense?

[KMA Dakota]

Scott,

I don't know if I am being brave or stupid here in giving my suggestions but I do like this shot. My feeling is it is too busy at the bottom. To get a feel for a different crop, I just rotated the picture down in my monitor to crop the bottom a little more.

Viewing this with more of the bottom cropped out and starting with the middle, small splash there, the rest of the shot looks better to me. not as busy, more soothing.

Anyway, that's my take on it. I like what you are trying to do there! That's a tuffy for a call!!

Dakota

[D.Rodgers]

+2
You need to sharpen the rocks it looks like it was hand held,and i also agree with the crop do a pano crop the rock in the forground takes my eye right to it.
Also the color is a bit overwhelming ,maybe cool it off a bit and leave the orange hue more on the sun and sky.

[Paula.R]

I love the colour. I wouldnt change that at all.

[Stime]

Thanks, guys... I almost want this to be more a of learning experience for people to see what others think about a shot that doesn't quite work.

I think I've figured out what bothers me about it:
1) The composition sucks. It needs a foreground to anchor the viewer or some more dynamic movement... also, a lower angle would have helped.
2) Its too busy. There are not too many elements in the image, its that there are too many that don't work together... I should have tightened it up and been more careful, see #1.
3) The light while natural just doesn't look good for some reason, I think the WB is too warm.

With that said, I agree about the rock, I might consider a different crop but I probably won't ever fully process this shot... its just not the quality I usually shoot for. Also, I don't crop to anything but 2:3, 4:5, or 16:9... only printable sizes, so a crop to anything else would be out of the question.

- Scott

[Paul Shields]

The colour's great - an unusual look to it but it works. I find the setting sun in the top left corner a little distracting. Maybe if it were taken a few minutes later when it was hitting the horizon it wouldn't distract me so much.

[Jackel]

Hi Scott - You know I am such a fan of your work, it would be difficult to say anything was out of place!! I would also suggest 'hate' is a strong word, I cannot see anything to hate about this image, good work!

Where does that leave us then? You asked what we might think was wrong......well maybe I can spin this on it's head,,,,if you will indulge me,,,,,,I'll tell you about what I like,,,,,,,

#1 you made the foreground with the rock (bottom left), sharp and positioned nicely.
#2 The water is good and your exposure captured the effect I think you wanted.
#3 Depth - The cliffs and rocks on the right are layered nicely back into the pic
#4 Colour / Hue - Beautiful, some nice warm skies to counteract the cool sea
#5 Framing - Both natural and added are spot on
#6 Sky - Very nice indeed, with some puffers in there to break things up

So all the ingredients are here then, so what is bothering you?

What about the overall composition? Could it be a number of little things which together unsettle you? I don't know, I'm no expert but how about.....

#1 Sun too close or not far enough away from horizon?
#2 Too much framing, not enough material in the middle?
#3 That old rule of thirds, not quite being hit?

Well Scott, I make that 6 positives and 3 'maybe' negatives......does any of this make sense? Personally I think you produce such good work that anything not 'outstanding makes you feel a little disappointed. For what it is worth,,,,I think this is a superb shot.

As an aside, I have just posted a pic that I am not to happy with but cannot determine what is wrong with it, so opened it up to Camel community. (I wasn't copying BTW, spent 10 mins writing text, posted and then seen your post afterwards, but maybe between us we can canvass some good opinions )

I'm not sure if this has been helpful or not, but it is my few pennies worth and an honest opinion so it's as much as I can offer. My final thought though,,,,,If I was shooting pics as good as this,,,,I wouldn't be losing too much sleep other than to wonder about where the extra wall space was coming from!!

My very best to you Scott!

[Jackel]

Oh bugger!!!! spent so long typing,, several posts beat me to it again!!!! Sorry. (It was sitting at Dakota's post when I started writing previous post...LOL)

[New England Moments]

Nice post Scott!!

I think for me, the crashing wave is a solid foreground .. there is a number of , lets call them loose rocks around the shot , that could make it feel busy... I'm thinking those all on the left.. I believe the sun is enough to balance out the frame..but might leave the furthest rock on left in... The sun bothers me, and not just this shot, but about 90% of sunrise / sunset shots... and this is just me, I see a sun in a shot , and I am DRAWN to look for a blown highlight lol... I mean even the tiniest highlight ... Why do I do that lol

I guess, I also just feel the sky is a bit unnatural feeling , or perhaps displaying color most are not used to seeing?? its just throwing a pinkish cast thru - out the frame... So from what I've listed, I feel the sky and tint bother me the most??

If you wouldn't have asked , I would probably only mentioned the unusual sky color , and its tinting effect on the shot.. but sure don't have the same hate with this shot as you lol... actually its a bit unique..

[Goofup]

I see what you mean. I don't like the color of the sea. I know people are loving the overall color, but it just doesn't look natural. It should look like sea, but with a reflection of the sun on it, and the sky remaining orange of course. I can post a version if you'd like.

[RichardGeorge]

Scott: The sun is too close to the edge of the picture - and the brightest part of the picture. My eye wants to travel through the picture to the right and the sun holds it to the left. Remember we view a picture like we read. If you had moved to the right it would of helped with the placement of the sun. Of course that is where the cliff is!

[Padre]

For me it is the heavy contrast between the dark on the upper right against the bright sun on the left. My eyes bounce back and forth trying to focus. When I move the image off to the right of my screen enough to eliminate the dark area the image settles down a bit, but that sun is dominant. A nice post, thanks.

[Goofup]

Stime? You out there?

[Stime]

Originally Posted by Goofup

Stime? You out there?

Oh yeah, I'm here.

Wow, looks like theres alot of opinions about what the issue with this shot is. Thanks, everyone.

And Jackel, you certainly have a point... I'm extremely hypercritical of my images, there are many images similar to this one that have never been posted here or added to my website, if only for I didn't like the way it felt.

And Goofup, you nailed another issue of mine with it... the sea. It looks off-color and muddy, I'm wondering what the original color of it is (non-sunset), if its some odd color that just looked stranger when hit by the sunset glow. At any rate, it doesn't work and that alone knocks the image down a couple notches.

Basically, this might be good for someone out there when it comes to critiqueing yourself. Any good photographer has to be able to let an image go. I spent a long time driving to this spot, setting up, waiting, getting wet, and then going home. Yes, I would love to have an image for the work... but sometimes it just doesn't happen and you have to give up on it and do better the next time.

The most improvement I've done in my photography the last few months hasn't been with a camera, its been with myself and trying to be more honest. If the image is not that good, I try to get over any attachment I have to it. To be honest, there are only about 10-15 images on my website I'm happy with... but