Hawaiian Sunset C&C please

Bad Andy · Sep 17, 2010

Just got around to uploading my photos from Hawaii. This is my favorite sunset picture. Let me know what you honestly think.

1.)

And another one of my favorites on my last night in Hawaii.

2.)

Thanks for looking.

-Andy

Counterpoint · Sep 17, 2010

I think that the horizon needs to be straightened in both images. The second image is very much underexposed. If you were going for the silhouette look, I would crop off a lot of the bottom of the frame. I'm not sure how I like the overexposed middle of the frame in the first image. I know it's the sun but I think it may be just too harsh.

dannystoria · Sep 17, 2010

I like them very much!!

Negative ISO · Sep 17, 2010

I'm very much an amateur, so weigh my feedback accordingly:

#1 has got to be an HDR, right? I like it, but my first impression was that it is a photoshopped explosion of some kind rather than a sunset. It doesn't look "real" to me. I still like it... but wonder if I got the impression you meant for me to get from it. (I totally missed the crooked horizon, btw)

#2 I agree with counterpoint in thinking it would look better cropped immediately below the waterline. I'm not seeing the crooked horizon in this shot... I thought there was just a mild uphill slope to the land on the right.

Blake.Oney · Sep 17, 2010

Some of the surreal look could also be from the extreme distortion around the edges. I'm guessing this was taken with the 8-16?

JG_Coleman · Sep 17, 2010

Negative ISO said:
I'm very much an amateur, so weigh my feedback accordingly:

#1 has got to be an HDR, right? I like it, but my first impression was that it is a photoshopped explosion of some kind rather than a sunset. It doesn't look "real" to me. I still like it... but wonder if I got the impression you meant for me to get from it. (I totally missed the crooked horizon, btw)

#2 I agree with counterpoint in thinking it would look better cropped immediately below the waterline. I'm not seeing the crooked horizon in this shot... I thought there was just a mild uphill slope to the land on the right.

Very much agree with NegativeISO and Counterpoint.

The problem with #1 is that, as an HDR (or at least a tone-mapped image), you'd expect more of the highlights to retain detail in the area of the Sun. It has an HDR feel, but doesn't make ample use of the prime advantage of HDR... expanded dynamic range.

On a side note, NegativeISO makes an amusing point... one could almost picture this photograph on the newspaper frontpage with the headline: "Nuclear Bomb Detonates Off Hawaii Coast". Though, admittedly, I didn't really see it that way until after reading that critique.

#2, with the crop that has already been suggested, would be greatly improved. There is a lot of banding in the sky, but that's a pretty common difficulty in those shooting scenarios. The gradient of different colors and especially the steep drop-off between bright and dark in such a relatively small area really tax the ability of a digital sensor to render smooth transitions.

Bad Andy · Sep 17, 2010

Thank you for the comments. I still don't notice the crooked horizons. In the second one the land does slope up to the right.

#1 is a single exposure, but I did run it through Topaz Adjust for a bit of a color/exposure boost. That is where you get the "fake" look to it. I took many different shots, and I didn't have a tripod with me. They were either to dark in the foreground, or too over-exposed in the sunlight area. I liked the compromise that this pic gave, even though I realize it is blown in the middle (sun). Outside of multiple exposures, I am not sure what I could have done better. Any suggestions?

#2 I wanted the silhouette look, and this was taken with my Point and Shoot on my way to dinner. I can see what you mean about too much dark foreground. I will play around with the crop some more.

I have other photos too, but will post over the next few weeks. I am still a newbie, but enjoyed all of the photo opportunities.

Thank you all for your help. BTW the Sigma 8-16 is an awesome lens. I absolutely loved it.

-Andy

mommy22 · Sep 18, 2010

#1) Cool but it looks fake to me.
#2) I like it except for all of the dark foreground, crop it out a bit?

And I think the horizon needs the be a bit more level in both.

Other than that they look great, I am going to Maui next week and am hoping to get some "frame-ables"

DanFinePhotography · Sep 18, 2010

FYI: they make small levels you can attach to the camera body. You might check with B&H or one of the big guys. The images are nice, looks like a beautiful place.

Foxwolfe · Sep 18, 2010

The tilted horizons were actually the first thing I noticed about both images.

One easy way to see them is to click your mouse wheel to bring up the page drag icon (dunno the name) and then just very carefully pull the pictures down to the bottom of the page until the horizon line is right above the page cutoff.

As for the first image I like the color but the foreground seems like it might be fighting for real estate with the sky, or maybe theres too much sky with nothing going on at the top of the pic? Either way it feels to me like there is too much going on in the frame (although maybe thats just a result of the lens used and the area the photo was taken from.)

Sorry that I can't really get too technical about it as I'm still learning.

I definitely think the second one could use a crop to take out a lot of that black area in the foreground.

ems · Sep 18, 2010

I love the colours of the first image, but I think the foreground detracts from it a little. maybe just a little cropping and straightening would help!