Opinions on this shot please.

[RobNZ]

Hey all, I am looking for some feedback on the following shot.

Some background first perhaps, I have started specialising in taking mainly landscape shots with lots of bold colour as a theme as that is what tends to draw my eye, and can sometimes envoke a mood from the viewer, so basically I shoot change of light and try and combine that with local landmarks that would be easily recogniseable to a local or anyone who has visited the area.

These shots are then printed to large format canvas for me to proof and then if good enough offered for sale online and in a few local galleries.

This has just started moving for me now, 4 prints sold in 3 weeks, 1 gallery taking all 5 of what I have and the other gallery ordering 1 for the moment and after easter to have a wall with all featured. I took all canavses in so they could actually see for themselves how good they are for real.

So holy crap, this is actually happenning now..wow, I think we all have a fear of failure so we dont live to our potential for fear of failing to the detriment of any chance of success. Better to have tried and failed than to never have tried at all. F%&K failure, just do it. This I need keep in mind.

So now you may have better understanding of the style of shot I am after.

And the shot (sorry for the ramble).

I like this shot for a number of reasons, firstly the colour and how having that on large canvas in someones home could warm it perhaps?

The raw energy that comes from the dirty surf, turbulent, angry.

And in contrast, the calm peaceful golden skies at sunset. with the reflection in the sand adding to more are of colour saturation.

The small hill you can see is a local landmark and one of the most popular holiday destinations in New Zealand, easily recogniseable to a local or previous visitor.

What I am not sure that matters is the fact that the foreground wash is in fairly sharp focus, leaving everything beyond not so sharp?

 

[bazooka]

Congrats on the sales, I bet that feels great. I'd love to be able to sell landscape or wildlife stuff someday.

I'm a nub and you obviously have more experience than me, but I'd like to at least throw a few things at you to stir up some thought.

I think you captured the color well. The composition keeps me in the frame and the two birds are a cherry on top.

I don't feel like the surf is strong enough to suggest anger or power. I can see that it's windy from the spray off the caps, but the waves aren't crashing against anything and they end up calmly rolling across the sand. This is fine, I'm just saying that I didn't feel the specific emotion that you mentioned.

I'm curious as to why you chose f/8? I would have tried something much smaller to increase DOF as much as possible, unless you were trying to draw attention to the waves. That wouldn't make much sense to me to use shorter DOF to restrict attention in a landscape.

Lastly, the only thing that I feel is drawing me out of the frame are the dark speckles in the wet sand on the right edge of the frame. I'm not sure what it is, but it is a bit distracting.

Judging from what I've read and seen, I'd say it's a pretty good landscape shot.

 

[SNAPaPHOTO]

Congrats on the sale and showings- something we need to strive to remember is "screw it and go do it", mentality. Thanks for saying it.

As for the picture I would personally crop the picture, I think you are showing too much beach on the bottom.

Unless you had to have that much beach to maintain an aspect ratio you didn't mention I would remove it.

 

[AnthonyS]

I really like that shot. I wish it was wide and not so long - but that is because it is interesting and I want to see more, so I would say its exactly right

Nice job

 

[gsgary]

Sorry it doesn't do anything for me with all the dead space in the forground, I hope you clean your sensor before you shoot any more for sale because the forground is covered in dust spots

 

[KmH]

gsgary and I are on the same wavelength. The dirty sensor spots are something non-photographers probably would not notice.

The background, the surf/hill/clouds are not in focus and it looks like your focal point was in the foreground.

So technically, the image has some pretty major problems for being a landscape shot.

That doesn't mean it won't sell. Printing it on canvas will hide a lot of the technical imperfections and again non-photographers won't know the difference.

Hopefully you'll be able to sustain the interest in your work. Having a thriving tourist trade is helpful as that means a steady flow of customers seeing your work for the first time. :thumbup:

 

[RobNZ]

Thanks for the feedback, no dust on the sensor but how the sand actually was with small shells and the effect of a larger aperture , easily fixed if I feel I want to offer it for sale, I have not done any post other than levels and sharpness.

Aspect is portrait for something different to my usual landscape and panoramas, but I agree there is too much dead space at the bottom. I will post a couple more later today when I get time, from the set that may address this issue.

Thanks.

 

[gsgary]

Thanks for the feedback, no dust on the sensor but how the sand actually was with small shells and the effect of a larger apperature , easily fixed if I feel I want to offer it for sale, I have not done any post other than levels and sharpness.

Aspect is portrait for something different to my usual landscape and panoramas, but I agree there is too much dead space at the bottom. I will post a couple more later today when I get time, from the set that may address this issue.

Thanks.

Thats is dust on your sensor trust me

 

[Dao]

It looks like sensor dust to me as well.

 

[PerfectlyFlawed]

I would crop some of the foreground. Nice shot overall though

 

[RobNZ]

It is not dust, does not show up in any other shot before or since and have just tested again with the actual lens I used.

As I said it is from the shells on the beach and the bokeh perhaps enhanced by the contrast of the wet reflective sand in that location.

The shells are more clearly obvious in this shot, bottom left, same location as the other shot but different height probably whilst standing or kneeling, the "dust" shot I think was taken with the camera almost touching the ground, like an inch above the wet sand.

Thanks again for the feedback. Yes it does look like dust which is the point and is probably another thing that troubles me about this shot, time for a reshoot, luckily the location is less than a kilometre from where I live.

UPDATE: Yes it is dust on the sensor, found it repeating in some other shots.